103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
HB1264

 

Introduced 1/31/2023, by Rep. Maurice A. West, II

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
110 ILCS 805/3-7  from Ch. 122, par. 103-7
110 ILCS 805/3-7d new

    Amends the Public Community College Act. Provides for the election of board of trustee members by trustee district rather than at large in community college districts with a population of 300,000 or more inhabitants, other than specified community college districts, and in those community college districts with a population under 300,000 inhabitants whose board approves the election of board members by trustee district by a three-fifths majority vote. Makes related changes. Effective immediately.


LRB103 24865 RJT 51198 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB1264LRB103 24865 RJT 51198 b

1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Public Community College Act is amended by
5changing Section 3-7 and by adding Section 3-7d as follows:
 
6    (110 ILCS 805/3-7)  (from Ch. 122, par. 103-7)
7    Sec. 3-7. (a) The election of the members of the board of
8trustees shall be nonpartisan and shall be held at the time and
9in the manner provided in the general election law.
10    (b) Unless otherwise provided in this Act, members shall
11be elected to serve 6 year terms. The term of members elected
12in 1985 and thereafter shall be from the date the member is
13officially determined to be elected to the board by a canvass
14conducted pursuant to the Election Code, to the date that the
15winner of the seat is officially determined by the canvass
16conducted pursuant to the Election Code the next time the seat
17on the board is to be filled by election.
18    (c) Each member must on the date of his election be a
19citizen of the United States, of the age of 18 years or over,
20and a resident of the State and the territory which on the date
21of the election is included in the community college district
22for at least one year immediately preceding his election. In
23Community College District No. 526, each member elected at the

 

 

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1consolidated election in 2005 or thereafter must also be a
2resident of the trustee district he or she represents for at
3least one year immediately preceding his or her election,
4except that in the first consolidated election for each
5trustee district following reapportionment, a candidate for
6the board may be elected from any trustee district that
7contains a part of the trustee district in which he or she
8resided at the time of the reapportionment and may be
9reelected if a resident of the new trustee district he or she
10represents for one year prior to reelection. In each community
11college district with a population of 300,000 or more
12inhabitants within the district, other than Community College
13District No. 522, Community College District No. 526, or a
14community college district subject to Article VII, and in any
15community college district with a population under 300,000
16inhabitants within the district whose board has approved the
17election of board members by trustee district under Section
183-7d, each member elected at the consolidated election in 2025
19or thereafter must also be a resident of the trustee district
20he or she represents for at least one year immediately
21preceding his or her election, except that in the first
22consolidated election for each trustee district following
23reapportionment by the board, a candidate for the board may be
24elected from any trustee district that contains a part of the
25trustee district in which he or she resided at the time of the
26reapportionment and may be reelected if a resident of the new

 

 

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1trustee district he or she represents for one year prior to
2reelection.
3    In the event a person who is a member of a common school
4board is elected or appointed to a board of trustees of a
5community college district, that person shall be permitted to
6serve the remainder of his or her term of office as a member of
7the common school board. Upon the expiration of the common
8school board term, that person shall not be eligible for
9election or appointment to a common school board during the
10term of office with the community college district board of
11trustees.
12    (d) Whenever a vacancy occurs, the remaining members shall
13fill the vacancy, and the person so appointed shall serve
14until a successor is elected to serve the remainder of the
15unexpired term at the next regular election for board members
16and is certified in accordance with Sections 22-17 and 22-18
17of the Election Code. If the remaining members fail so to act
18within 60 days after the vacancy occurs, the chairman of the
19State Board shall fill that vacancy, and the person so
20appointed shall serve until a successor is elected to serve
21the remainder of the unexpired term at the next regular
22election for board members and is certified in accordance with
23Sections 22-17 and 22-18 of the Election Code. The person
24appointed to fill the vacancy shall have the same residential
25qualifications as his predecessor in office was required to
26have. In either instance, if the vacancy occurs with less than

 

 

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14 months remaining before the next scheduled consolidated
2election, and the term of office of the board member vacating
3the position is not scheduled to expire at that election, then
4the term of the person so appointed shall extend through that
5election and until the succeeding consolidated election. If
6the term of office of the board member vacating the position is
7scheduled to expire at the upcoming consolidated election, the
8appointed member shall serve only until a successor is elected
9and qualified at that election.
10    (e) Members of the board shall serve without compensation
11but shall be reimbursed for their reasonable expenses incurred
12in connection with their service as members. Compensation, for
13purposes of this Section, means any salary or other benefits
14not expressly authorized by this Act to be provided or paid to,
15for or on behalf of members of the board. The board of each
16community college district may adopt a policy providing for
17the issuance of bank credit cards, for use by any board member
18who requests the same in writing and agrees to use the card
19only for the reasonable expenses which he or she incurs in
20connection with his or her service as a board member. Expenses
21charged to such credit cards shall be accounted for separately
22and shall be submitted to the chief financial officer of the
23district for review prior to being reported to the board at its
24next regular meeting.
25    (f) The ballot for the election of members of the board for
26a community college district shall indicate the length of term

 

 

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1for each office to be filled. In the election of a board for
2any community college district, the ballot shall not contain
3any political party designation.
4(Source: P.A. 100-273, eff. 8-22-17; 100-884, eff. 1-1-19.)
 
5    (110 ILCS 805/3-7d new)
6    Sec. 3-7d. Trustee districts beginning with the 2025
7consolidated election. Beginning with the consolidated
8election in 2025, the election of board members shall be by
9trustee district rather than at large in each community
10college district with a population of 300,000 or more
11inhabitants within the district, other than in Community
12College District No. 522, Community College District No. 526,
13or a community college district subject to Article VII, and in
14any community college district with a population under 300,000
15inhabitants within the district whose board approves the
16election of board members by trustee district by a
17three-fifths majority vote as follows:
18        (1) In 2025, before the next consolidated election if
19    that year is an election year, the board shall divide the
20    community college district into 7 trustee districts, each
21    of which shall be compact, contiguous, and substantially
22    equal in population to each other trustee district. The
23    division of the community college district into trustee
24    districts must be completed and formally approved by a
25    majority of the members of the board.

 

 

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1        (2) For each at-large seat on the board that is to be
2    filled by election in 2025 or thereafter, the seat shall
3    instead be filled by a trustee elected from a trustee
4    district. The board shall determine which trustee district
5    seat is to replace which at-large seat by lot.
6        (3) In the year following each decennial census after
7    2025, before the next consolidated election if that year
8    is an election year, the board shall reapportion the
9    trustee districts to reflect the results of the census and
10    shall divide the community college district into 7 trustee
11    districts, each of which shall be compact, contiguous, and
12    substantially equal in population to each other trustee
13    district. The reapportionment must be completed and
14    formally approved by a majority of the members of the
15    board. At the same meeting of the board, the board shall,
16    publicly by lot, divide the trustee districts into 2
17    groups. Four trustees or their successors from one group
18    shall be elected for successive terms of 4 years and 6
19    years, and 3 trustees or their successors from the second
20    group shall be elected for successive terms of 6 years and
21    4 years. One member shall be elected from each such
22    trustee district.
 
23    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
24becoming law.