(5 ILCS 25/1) (from Ch. 1, par. 151)

Sec. 1. Whenever the question of whether a Constitutional Convention should be called is required to be submitted to the electors of this State pursuant to subsection (a) or (b) of Section 1 of Article XIV of the Illinois Constitution, the General Assembly shall prepare a brief explanation of such call, a brief argument in favor of the same, and the form in which such call of a Constitutional Convention will appear on the separate ballot as provided by Section 16-6 of the Election Code, as amended. Members of the General Assembly who oppose the call of a Constitutional Convention or, if there are no members opposing the call of a Constitutional Convention, anyone designated by the General Assembly shall prepare a brief argument against such call of a Constitutional Convention.

The explanation, the arguments for and against a call of a Constitutional Convention and the form in which the call will appear on the separate ballot, shall be filed in the office of the Secretary of State. At least 1 month before the general election in which the questions of the call of the Constitutional Convention shall be submitted to the electors of this State, the Secretary of State shall publish the question of the call of a Constitutional Convention, in full in 8 point type, or the equivalent thereto, in at least one secular newspaper of general circulation in every county in this State in which a newspaper is published. In counties in which 2 or more newspapers are published, the Secretary of State shall cause such question of the call of a Constitutional Convention to be published in 2 newspapers. In counties having a population of 1,000,000 or more, such question shall be published in not less than 6 newspapers of general circulation. After the first publication, the publication of such question shall be repeated once each week for 2 consecutive weeks. In selecting newspapers in which to publish such question the Secretary of State shall have regard solely to the circulation of such newspapers, selecting secular newspapers in every case having the largest circulation. The proposed question shall have a notice prefixed thereto in said publications, that at such election the question of calling a Constitutional Convention will be submitted to the electors for adoption or rejection, and at the end of the official publication, he shall also publish the form in which the question of calling a Constitutional Convention will appear on the separate ballot. The Secretary of State shall fix the publication fees to be paid newspapers for making such publication, but in no case shall such publication fee exceed the amount charged by such newspapers to private individuals for a like publication. In addition to the notice hereby required to be published, the Secretary of State shall also cause the question of calling a Constitutional Convention, the explanation of the same, the arguments for and against the same, and the form in which such call will appear on the separate ballot, to be published in pamphlet form in 8 point type or the equivalent thereto; and the Secretary of State shall mail such pamphlet to every mailing address in the State, addressed to the attention of the Postal Patron. He shall also maintain a reasonable supply of such pamphlets so as to make them available to any person requesting one.

(Source: P.A. 86-795.)