SB1577 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB103 05926 RJT 50947 b

103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
SB1577

Introduced 2/8/2023, by Sen. Robert F. Martwick

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

110 ILCS 805/7-1	from Ch. 122, par. 107-1
110 ILCS 805/7-2	from Ch. 122, par. 107-2
110 ILCS 805/7-2.1 new
110 ILCS 805/7-2.2 new
110 ILCS 805/7-2.3 new
110 ILCS 805/7-3	from Ch. 122, par. 107-3

Amends the Public Community College Act. Provides for the election (rather than appointment) of the board of trustees of the City Colleges of Chicago beginning with the 2025 consolidated election. Provides that the City of Chicago shall be subdivided into 20 trustee districts by the General Assembly for seats on the board of trustees, in addition to one at-large trustee. Makes related changes. Effective immediately.

STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning higher education.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Public Community College Act is amended by changing Sections 7-1, 7-2, and 7-3 and by adding Sections 7-2.1, 7-2.2, and 7-2.3 as follows:

(110 ILCS 805/7-1) (from Ch. 122, par. 107-1)

Sec. 7-1. This Article applies only to community college districts in cities having a population of 500,000 or more inhabitants. Each such community college district shall maintain a system of community colleges under the charge of a board, which is appointed as provided in Section 7-2. Except as otherwise provided in this Article, such a community college district and its board have all the rights, duties, powers and responsibilities and are subject to the same limitations as are provided for other community college districts in this Act, as now or hereafter amended.

(Source: P.A. 78-669.)

(110 ILCS 805/7-2) (from Ch. 122, par. 107-2)

Sec. 7-2. (a) This subsection (a) applies until May 6, 2025. The board shall consist of 7 members, appointed by the mayor with the approval of the city council. Prior to the expiration of the term of any member his successor shall be appointed in like manner and shall hold office for a term of 3 years from July 1 of the year in which he is appointed and until his successor is appointed and qualified. Any vacancy in the membership of the board shall be filled through appointment by the mayor, with the approval of the city council, for the unexpired term. If any appointee fails to qualify within 30 days after his appointment, the office shall be filled by a new appointment for the unexpired term. To be eligible for appointment to a board under this Section, a person must possess the same qualifications and meet the same requirements as are prescribed by this Act for members of an elected board of a community college district.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 3-7 of this Act, the terms of all members of the board appointed under subsection (a) are abolished when the new board, consisting of 21 members, is elected by the electors of the community college district as provided in this subsection (b) and takes office.

Beginning with the 2025 consolidated election, each member shall be elected for a term of 4 years and until the member's successor is elected and has qualified. After the 2025 consolidated election, each member shall be elected for a term of 4 years, commencing on the second Tuesday in May of the year in which the member is elected, and until the member's successor is elected and has qualified. For purposes of elections conducted pursuant to this subsection (b), the City of Chicago shall be subdivided into 20 trustee districts by the General Assembly for seats on the board, as provided under Section 7-2.3 of this Act. Each district shall be represented by a member, and one member shall be elected at large and serve as the president of the board. To be eligible for election or appointment to a board under this Section, a person must possess the same qualifications and meet the same requirements as are prescribed by this Act for members of an elected board of a community college district. A person is ineligible for election or appointment to a board under this Section if that person is an employee of a community college district within the city.

(c) No member shall have or be an employee or owner of a company that has a contract with a community college within the city. No former officer, member, or employee of the board shall, within a period of one year immediately after termination of service on the board, knowingly accept employment or receive compensation or fees for services from a person or entity if the officer, member, or employee, during the year immediately preceding termination of service on the board, participated personally and substantially in the award of contracts with the board, community college district, or community colleges within the city, or the issuance of contract change orders with the board or the community college district, or community college within the city, with a cumulative value of $25,000 or more to the person, the entity, or the entity's parent or subsidiary.

(d) Whenever a vacancy occurs, the remaining members shall fill the vacancy, and the person so appointed shall serve until a successor is elected at the next regular election for board members and is certified in accordance with Sections 22-17 and 22-18 of the Election Code. If the remaining members fail to fill the vacancy within 60 days after the vacancy occurs, the chairman of the State Board shall fill that vacancy, and the person so appointed shall serve until a successor is elected at the next regular election for board members and is certified in accordance with Sections 22-17 and 22-18 of the Election Code. The person appointed to fill a vacancy shall have the same residential qualifications as his or her predecessor in office was required to have. However, in either instance, if the vacancy occurs with more than 28 months remaining until the term expires, the appointed member shall serve only until a successor is elected and qualified at the next scheduled election.

(Source: P.A. 78-669.)

(110 ILCS 805/7-2.1 new)

Sec. 7-2.1. Nomination petitions. Notwithstanding Section 3-7.10 of this Act, in addition to the requirements of the general election law, the form of petitions under this Section shall be substantially as follows:

NOMINATING PETITIONS

(LEAVE OUT THE INAPPLICABLE PART.)

To the Board of Election Commissioners for the City of Chicago:

We the undersigned, being (.... or more) of the voters residing within said district, hereby petition that .... who resides at .... in the City of Chicago shall be a candidate for the office of .... of the Board of Trustees of the City Colleges of Chicago, Illinois Community College District No. 508, (full term) (vacancy) to be voted for at the election to be held on (insert date).

Name: .................. Address: ...................

In the designation of the name of a candidate on a petition for nomination, the candidate's given name or names, initial or initials, a nickname by which the candidate is commonly known, or a combination thereof may be used in addition to the candidate's surname. If a candidate has changed his or her name, whether by a statutory or common law procedure in Illinois or any other jurisdiction, within 3 years before the last day for filing the petition, then (i) the candidate's name on the petition must be followed by "formerly known as (list all prior names during the 3-year period) until name changed on (list date of each such name change)" and (ii) the petition must be accompanied by the candidate's affidavit stating the candidate's previous names during the period specified in clause (i) and the date or dates each of those names was changed; failure to meet these requirements shall be grounds for denying certification of the candidate's name for the ballot, but these requirements do not apply to name changes resulting from adoption to assume an adoptive parent's or parents' surname, marriage to assume a spouse's surname, or dissolution of marriage or declaration of invalidity of marriage to assume a former surname. No other designation, such as a political slogan, as defined by Section 7-17 of the Election Code, title or degree, or nickname suggesting or implying possession of a title, degree or professional status, or similar information may be used in connection with the candidate's surname.

All petitions for the nomination of members of the board shall be filed with the board of election commissioners of the jurisdiction in which the principal office of the community college district is located within the time provided for by the general election law. The board of election commissioners shall receive and file only those petitions that include a statement of candidacy, the required number of voter signatures, the notarized signature of the petition circulator, and a receipt from the County Clerk showing that the candidate has filed a statement of economic interest on or before the last day to file as required by the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act. The board of election commissioners may have petition forms available for issuance to potential candidates and may give notice of the petition filing period by publication in a newspaper of general circulation within the community college district not less than 10 days prior to the first day of filing. The board of election commissioners shall make certification to the proper election authorities in accordance with the general election law.

The board of election commissioners of the jurisdiction in which the principal office of the community college district is located shall notify the candidates for whom a petition for nomination is filed or the appropriate committee of the obligations under the Campaign Financing Act as provided in the general election law. Such notice shall be given on a form prescribed by the State Board of Elections and in accordance with the requirements of the general election law. The board of election commissioners shall within 7 days of filing or on the last day for filing, whichever is earlier, acknowledge to the petitioner in writing the office's acceptance of the petition.

A candidate for membership on the board who has petitioned for nomination to fill a full term and to fill a vacant term to be voted upon at the same election must withdraw his or her petition for nomination from either the full term or the vacant term by written declaration.

Nomination petitions are not valid unless the candidate named therein files with the board of election commissioners a receipt from the county clerk showing that the candidate has filed a statement of economic interests as required by the Illinois Governmental Ethics Act. Such receipt shall be so filed either previously during the calendar year in which his or her nomination papers were filed or within the period for the filing of nomination papers in accordance with the general election law.

(110 ILCS 805/7-2.2 new)

Sec. 7-2.2. Ballots. The board of election commissioners of the jurisdiction in which the principal office of the community college district is located shall conduct a lottery to determine the ballot order of candidates for full terms in the event of any simultaneous petition filings. Such candidate lottery shall be conducted as follows:

All petitions filed by persons waiting in line as of 8:00 a.m. on the first day for filing, or as of the normal opening hour of the office involved on such day, shall be deemed simultaneously filed as of 8:00 a.m. or the normal opening hour, as the case may be. Petitions filed by mail and received after midnight of the first day for filing and in the first mail delivery or pickup of that day shall be deemed simultaneously filed as of 8:00 a.m. of that day or as of the normal opening hour of such day, as the case may be. All petitions received thereafter shall be deemed filed in the order of actual receipt. However, 2 or more petitions filed within the last hour of the filing deadline shall be deemed filed simultaneously.

Where 2 or more petitions are received simultaneously for the same office as of 8:00 a.m. on the first day for petition filing or as of the normal opening hour of the office of the board of election commissioners with whom such petitions are filed, the board of election commissioners shall break ties and determine the order of filing by means of a lottery or other fair and impartial method of random selection. Such lottery shall be conducted within 9 days following the last day for petition filing and shall be open to the public. Seven days written notice of the time and place of conducting such random selection shall be given by the board of election commissioners to all candidates who filed their petitions simultaneously and to each organization of citizens within the election jurisdiction that was entitled, under the general election law, at the next preceding election, to have poll watchers present on the day of election. The board of election commissioners shall post in a conspicuous, open, and public place, at the entrance of his or her office, notice of the time and place of such lottery.

All candidates shall be certified in the order in which their petitions have been filed and in the manner prescribed by Section 10-15 of the Election Code. Where candidates have filed simultaneously, they shall be certified in the order prescribed by this Section and prior to candidates who filed for the same office at a later time.

Where elections are conducted for unexpired terms, a second lottery to determine ballot order shall be conducted for candidates who simultaneously file petitions for such unexpired terms. Such lottery shall be conducted in the same manner as prescribed by this Section for full term candidates.

Ballots for the election of board members shall be in the following form:

(BALLOT FORMAT

Ballot position for candidates shall be determined by the order of petition filing or lottery held pursuant to this Section.

The community college district is divided into 20 trustee districts, each of which elects one member to the board and votes on one member to serve at-large.)

OFFICIAL BALLOT

DISTRICT ....... (1 through 20)

FOR MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE CITY COLLEGES OF

CHICAGO TO SERVE

A FULL 4-YEAR TERM

VOTE FOR ONE

( ) .....................................

( ) .....................................

( ) .....................................

OFFICIAL BALLOT

AT LARGE

FOR MEMBERS OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE CITY COLLEGES OF

CHICAGO TO SERVE

A FULL 4-YEAR TERM

VOTE FOR ONE

( ) .....................................

( ) .....................................

( ) .....................................

REVERSE SIDE:

OFFICIAL BALLOT

DISTRICT ....... (1 through 20)

(Precinct name or number)

Community College District No. ......, ........... County,

Illinois

Election Tuesday (insert date)

(facsimile signature of Election Authority)

(County)

(110 ILCS 805/7-2.3 new)

Sec. 7-2.3. Creation of trustee districts; reapportionment of districts.

(a) For purposes of elections conducted pursuant to subsection (b) of Section 7-2 of this Act, the City of Chicago shall be subdivided into 20 trustee districts after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 103rd General Assembly by the General Assembly for seats on the board. The trustee districts must be drawn on or before May 31, 2024. Each trustee district must be compact, contiguous, and substantially equal in population.

(b) In the year following each decennial census, the General Assembly shall redistrict the trustee districts to reflect the results of the decennial census consistent with the requirements in subsection (a). The reapportionment plan shall be completed and formally approved by the General Assembly not less than 90 days before the last date established by law for the filing of nominating petitions for the second board election after the decennial census year. If by reapportionment a board member no longer resides within the trustee district from which the member was elected, the member shall continue to serve in office until the expiration of the member's regular term. All new members shall be elected from the trustee districts as reapportioned.

(110 ILCS 805/7-3) (from Ch. 122, par. 107-3)

Sec. 7-3. The organization of the board and election of officers for the a board appointed under Section 7-2 shall be conducted in accordance with the general election law and this Act.

(Source: P.A. 81-1489.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.