SB2254 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB099 16472 MGM 40807 b

99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016
SB2254

Introduced 1/27/2016, by Sen. Napoleon Harris, III

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

10 ILCS 5/2A-1	from Ch. 46, par. 2A-1
10 ILCS 5/Art. 25.5 heading new
10 ILCS 5/25.5-5 new
10 ILCS 5/25.5-10 new
10 ILCS 5/25.5-15 new
10 ILCS 5/25.5-20 new
10 ILCS 5/25.5-25 new
10 ILCS 5/25.5-30 new
10 ILCS 5/25.5-40 new

Amends the Election Code to provide for the recall of local elected officials. Effective immediately.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning elections.

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

Section 5. The Election Code is amended by changing Section 2A-1 and adding Article 25.5 as follows:

(10 ILCS 5/2A-1) (from Ch. 46, par. 2A-1)

(Text of Section WITH the changes made by P.A. 89-719, which has been held unconstitutional)

Sec. 2A-1. All Elections - Governed by this Code - Construction of Article 2A.

(a) No public question may be submitted to any voters in this State, nor may any person be nominated for public office or elected to public or political party office or removed from office in a recall election in this State except pursuant to this Code, notwithstanding the provisions of any other statute or municipal charter. However, this Code shall not apply to elections for officers or public questions of local school councils established pursuant to Chapter 34 of the School Code, soil and water conservation districts or drainage districts, except as specifically made applicable by another statute.

(b) All elections in this State shall be held in accordance with the consolidated schedule of elections established in Sections 2A-1.1 and 2A-1.2. No election may be held on any date other than a date on which an election is scheduled under Section 2A-1.1, except special elections to fill congressional vacancies held pursuant to writs of election issued by the Governor, judicial elections to fill vacancies in the office of Supreme Court Judge held pursuant to writs of election issued by the Governor under subsection (a-5) of Section 2A-9, township referenda and votes of the town electors held at the annual town meeting, emergency referenda approved pursuant to Section 2A-1.4, special elections held between January 1, 1995 and July 1, 1995 under Section 34-53 of the School Code, and city, village or incorporated town primary elections in even-numbered years expressly authorized in this Article to provide for annual partisan elections.

(c) At the respective elections established in Section 2A-1.1, candidates shall be elected to office, nominated for election thereto or placed on the ballot as otherwise required by this Code, and public questions may be submitted, as specified in Section 2A-1.2.

(d) If the requirements of Section 2A-1.2 conflict with any specific provision of Sections 2A-2 through 2A-54, as applied to any office or election, the requirements of Section 2A-1.2 prevail, and shall be enforced by the State Board of Elections.

(e) In the event any court of competent jurisdiction declares an election void, the court may order another election without regard to the schedule of elections set forth in this Article.

(Source: P.A. 89-719, eff. 3-7-97.)

(Text of Section WITHOUT the changes made by P.A. 89-719, which has been held unconstitutional)

Sec. 2A-1. All Elections - Governed by this Code - Construction of Article 2A.

(a) No public question may be submitted to any voters in this State, nor may any person be nominated for public office or elected to public or political party office or removed from office in a recall election in this State except pursuant to this Code, notwithstanding the provisions of any other statute or municipal charter. However, this Code shall not apply to elections for officers or public questions of local school councils established pursuant to Chapter 34 of the School Code, soil and water conservation districts or drainage districts, except as specifically made applicable by another statute.

(b) All elections in this State shall be held in accordance with the consolidated schedule of elections established in Sections 2A-1.1 and 2A-1.2. No election may be held on any date other than a date on which an election is scheduled under Section 2A-1.1, except special elections to fill congressional vacancies held pursuant to writs of election issued by the Governor, township referenda and votes of the town electors held at the annual town meeting, emergency referenda approved pursuant to Section 2A-1.4, special elections held between January 1, 1995 and July 1, 1995 under Section 34-53 of the School Code, and city, village or incorporated town primary elections in even-numbered years expressly authorized in this Article to provide for annual partisan elections.

(c) At the respective elections established in Section 2A-1.1, candidates shall be elected to office, nominated for election thereto or placed on the ballot as otherwise required by this Code, and public questions may be submitted, as specified in Section 2A-1.2.

(d) If the requirements of Section 2A-1.2 conflict with any specific provision of Sections 2A-2 through 2A-54, as applied to any office or election, the requirements of Section 2A-1.2 prevail, and shall be enforced by the State Board of Elections.

(e) In the event any court of competent jurisdiction declares an election void, the court may order another election without regard to the schedule of elections set forth in this Article.

(Source: P.A. 88-511.)

(10 ILCS 5/Art. 25.5 heading new)

ARTICLE 25.5. RECALL OF LOCAL ELECTED OFFICIALS

(10 ILCS 5/25.5-5 new)

Sec. 25.5-5. Definitions. For the purposes of this Article:

"Appropriate election official" means the State Board of Elections in the case of recall of an official elected from a district that is comprised of more than one county, or is partly in one county and partly in another county or counties; the county clerk in the case of recall of an official elected to a county office, trustee of a sanitary district, or member of a school district board; or the local election official in the case of recall of an official elected to a municipal or township office, other than a municipal or township office where the municipality's or township's boundaries are co-extensive with or are entirely within the jurisdiction of a municipal board of election commissioners, in which case the "appropriate election official" means the municipal board of election commissioners.

"Local elected official" means any official elected to an office of a unit of local government or a school district.

(10 ILCS 5/25.5-10 new)

Sec. 25.5-10. Removal of local elected official. Every incumbent local elected official who has been elected to an office that has a term of 2 years or more is subject to removal by the electors qualified to vote for that official. However, a local official who has less than 9 months remaining in his or her term may not be recalled under this Article.

(10 ILCS 5/25.5-15 new)

Sec. 25.5-15. Petition; form. A petition, signed by a number of electors equal in number to at least 15% of the total votes cast for Governor in the preceding gubernatorial election in the unit of local government from which the removal of the local elected official is sought, shall be filed with the appropriate election official at least 61 days before the next regularly scheduled election under this Code and shall be certified within one day after receipt of the petition. The petition shall demand an election on the question of whether the named incumbent local elected official shall be removed from office with the election to be held at the next regularly scheduled election. A petition must be signed by the petitioning electors not more than 120 days after an affidavit has been filed with the appropriate election official providing notice of intent to circulate a petition to recall the local elected official. The affidavit may be filed no sooner than 3 months after the beginning of the local elected official's term of office. The affidavit must be signed by the proponent of the recall petition and at least 4 elected officials who represent at least 25% the same electors who are represented by the local elected official for which recall is sought.

The petition shall be substantially in the following form:

"To the (appropriate election official):

We, the undersigned electors of (unit or district), entitled to vote for (name of person) demand an election on the question of removal from office of (name of person).

Name House Number Street Date of

if any Signing

.... ............ ....... ...... State of Illinois, )

) SS. County of (name) )

I, (name of person), certify that I am a registered voter, that I reside at (address), in the county of (name) and State of Illinois, and that the signatures on this sheet were signed in my presence, and are genuine, and that to the best of my knowledge and belief, the persons so signing were at the time of signing the petitions qualified voters, entitled to vote for the office of (name of office), and that their respective residences are correctly stated, as above set forth.

...........................

Subscribed and sworn to before me this ......... day of ........., 20 ...

...........................

(Official title)

(Seal, if officer has one)"

(10 ILCS 5/25.5-20 new)

Sec. 25.5-20. Petition; requirements. The petition shall consist of sheets having the form specified in Section 25.5-15 and shall be signed by qualified electors of the unit of local government entitled to vote for the office held by the local elected official whose removal is sought, and opposite the signature of each signer, his or her residence address shall be written or printed. The residence address required to be written or printed opposite each qualified elector's name shall include the street address or rural route number of the signer, as the case may be, as well as the signer's city, village, or town. The county or city, village, or town, and state of residence of the electors, however, may be printed on the petition forms when all of the electors signing the petition reside in the same county or city, village, or town, and state. Standard abbreviations may be used in writing the residence address, including street number, if any.

A signature shall not be valid unless the requirements of this Section are complied with and unless the date of signing is less than 120 days preceding the date of filing the petition.

At the bottom of each sheet shall be added the affidavit in the form specified in Section 25.5-15 signed by a qualified voter of the unit of local government entitled to vote for removal of the local elected official in which the signers of the sheet reside; certifying that the signatures on that sheet of the petition were signed in his or her presence; and either (i) indicating the dates on which that sheet was circulated, (ii) indicating the first and last dates on which that sheet was circulated, or (iii) certifying that none of the signatures on the sheet were signed more than 120 days preceding the last day for the filing of the petition; certifying that the signatures on the sheet are genuine; and certifying that to the best of his or her knowledge and belief the persons so signing were at the time of signing the petitions qualified voters of the unit of local government entitled to vote for the office held by the local elected official whose removal is being sought. This affidavit shall be sworn to before an officer who is qualified to administer oaths.

The petition, so verified, or a copy of the petition duly certified by the proper persons, shall be prima facie evidence that the signatures, statement of residence, and dates upon the petition are genuine and true and that the persons signing the petition are electors qualified to vote for the office subject to removal under this Article.

The person circulating the petition, or the candidate on whose behalf the petition is circulated, may strike any signature from the petition, if:

(i) the person striking the signature initials the petition at the place where the signature is struck; and

(ii) the person striking the signature signs a certification listing the page number and line number of each signature struck from the petition.

The certification shall be filed as a part of the petition.

The sheets, before being filed, shall be neatly fastened together in book form by placing the sheets in a pile and fastening them together at one edge in a secure and suitable manner, and the sheets shall then be numbered consecutively. The sheets shall not be fastened by pasting them together end to end, so as to form a continuous strip or roll. All petition sheets that are filed with the appropriate election official shall be the original sheets that have been signed by the voters and by the circulator of the sheet, and not photocopies or duplicates of those sheets.

The petitions, when filed, may not be withdrawn or added to, and no signature shall be revoked except by revocation filed in writing with the appropriate election official with whom the petition is required to be filed before the filing of the petition. Whoever forges the name of a signer upon any petition required by this Article is deemed guilty of a forgery and on conviction shall be punished accordingly.

(10 ILCS 5/25.5-25 new)

Sec. 25.5-25. Objections to petitions. The provisions of Sections 10-8 through 10-10.1 of the Election Code relating to objections to nominating petitions, hearing on objections, and judicial review, shall apply to and govern, insofar as may be practical, objections to petitions for the submission of questions of recall under this Article.

The electoral board to hear and pass on objections shall be the electoral board specified in Section 10-9 to have jurisdiction over objections to the nominating petitions of candidates for offices in which the question of recall is proposed to be submitted to the electors.

(10 ILCS 5/25.5-30 new)

Sec. 25.5-30. Election on the question. If no objections to a petition are filed within 5 business days after the petition is submitted to the appropriate election official, or if objections are filed and the electoral board specified in Section 25.5-25 rules the petition sufficient, then immediately after the expiration of this 5-day period, or immediately after the receipt by the appropriate election official with whom the petition was originally filed, or from the electoral board of the petition and the certified copy of the electoral board's ruling declaring the petition sufficient, as the case may be, the appropriate election official with whom the petition was originally filed shall submit the petition without delay to the election authority or election authorities within the election jurisdiction or election jurisdictions where the local elected official is subject to recall, and the election authority or election authorities shall order the election demanded in the petition to be held at the next regular election or municipal election 78 days after the filing of the petition. This election shall be conducted, returned, and the results declared in all respects the same as in other elections under the general election law.

If at the election on the question of removal at least a majority of those voting on the question vote in favor of removal, the local elected official is by operation of law removed from office and a vacancy exists in the office subject to removal. The vacancy shall be filled in the manner prescribed for filling vacancies in that office in other cases.

(10 ILCS 5/25.5-40 new)

Sec. 25.5-40. Prohibition against future election or appointment. A local elected official who has been removed from office, or who has resigned from office while removal proceedings were pending against that local elected official, shall not be appointed or elected to the same office within one year after the removal or resignation. Not more than one election for the recall of the same local elected official shall be held during the same term of office.

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