102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
SB2131

 

Introduced 2/26/2021, by Sen. Mike Simmons

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
10 ILCS 5/25-6  from Ch. 46, par. 25-6

    Amends the Election Code. Provides that when a vacancy occurs in the office of State Senator or State Representative in the General Assembly, the legislative or representative committee of that legislative or representative district that fills the vacancy shall provide members of the public within the district with notice of the vacancy and the replacement process. Provides that the committee shall also provide members of the public with notice of an impending vote to fill the vacancy within at least 6 days prior to such vote. Provides that any meeting held by a legislative or representative committee for purposes of filling a vacancy in the General Assembly shall be open to the public and subject to the requirements of the Open Meetings Act and shall also be recorded and broadcast by electronic means for public consumption. Provides requirements for appointments that may be filled by the Governor.


LRB102 17291 SMS 22771 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB2131LRB102 17291 SMS 22771 b

1    AN ACT concerning elections.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Election Code is amended by changing
5Section 25-6 as follows:
 
6    (10 ILCS 5/25-6)  (from Ch. 46, par. 25-6)
7    Sec. 25-6. (a) When a vacancy occurs in the office of State
8Senator or Representative in the General Assembly, the vacancy
9shall be filled within 30 days by appointment of the
10legislative or representative committee of that legislative or
11representative district of the political party of which the
12incumbent was a candidate at the time of his election. The
13appointee shall be a member of the same political party as the
14person he succeeds was at the time of his election, and shall
15be otherwise eligible to serve as a member of the General
16Assembly.
17    (b) When a vacancy occurs in the office of a legislator
18elected other than as a candidate of a political party, the
19vacancy shall be filled within 30 days of such occurrence by
20appointment of the Governor. The appointee shall not be a
21member of a political party, and shall be otherwise eligible
22to serve as a member of the General Assembly. Provided,
23however, the appropriate body of the General Assembly may, by

 

 

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1resolution, allow a legislator elected other than as a
2candidate of a political party to affiliate with a political
3party for his term of office in the General Assembly. A vacancy
4occurring in the office of any such legislator who affiliates
5with a political party pursuant to resolution shall be filled
6within 30 days of such occurrence by appointment of the
7appropriate legislative or representative committee of that
8legislative or representative district of the political party
9with which the legislator so affiliates. The appointee shall
10be a member of the political party with which the incumbent
11affiliated.
12    (c) For purposes of this Section, a person is a member of a
13political party for 23 months after (i) signing a candidate
14petition, as to the political party whose nomination is
15sought; (ii) signing a statement of candidacy, as to the
16political party where nomination or election is sought; (iii)
17signing a Petition of Political Party Formation, as to the
18proposed political party; (iv) applying for and receiving a
19primary ballot, as to the political party whose ballot is
20received; or (v) becoming a candidate for election to or
21accepting appointment to the office of ward, township,
22precinct or state central committeeperson.
23    (d) In making appointments under this Section, each
24committeeperson of the appropriate legislative or
25representative committee shall be entitled to one vote for
26each vote that was received, in that portion of the

 

 

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1legislative or representative district which he represents on
2the committee, by the Senator or Representative whose seat is
3vacant at the general election at which that legislator was
4elected to the seat which has been vacated and a majority of
5the total number of votes received in such election by the
6Senator or Representative whose seat is vacant is required for
7the appointment of his successor; provided, however, that in
8making appointments in legislative or representative districts
9comprising only one county or part of a county other than a
10county containing 2,000,000 or more inhabitants, each
11committeeperson shall be entitled to cast only one vote.
12    (e) Appointments made under this Section shall be in
13writing and shall be signed by members of the legislative or
14representative committee whose total votes are sufficient to
15make the appointments or by the Governor, as the case may be.
16Such appointments shall be filed with the Secretary of State
17and with the Clerk of the House of Representatives or the
18Secretary of the Senate, whichever is appropriate.
19    (f) An appointment made under this Section shall be for
20the remainder of the term, except that, if the appointment is
21to fill a vacancy in the office of State Senator and the
22vacancy occurs with more than 28 months remaining in the term,
23the term of the appointment shall expire at the time of the
24next general election at which time a Senator shall be elected
25for a new term commencing on the determination of the results
26of the election and ending on the second Wednesday of January

 

 

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1in the second odd-numbered year next occurring. Whenever a
2Senator has been appointed to fill a vacancy and was
3thereafter elected to that office, the term of service under
4the authority of the election shall be considered a new term of
5service, separate from the term of service rendered under the
6authority of the appointment.
7    (g) When a vacancy occurs in the office of State Senator or
8State Representative in the General Assembly, the legislative
9or representative committee of that legislative or
10representative district that fills the vacancy shall provide
11members of the public within the district with notice of the
12vacancy and the replacement process, including providing such
13notice on any website or social media account associated with
14the committee and contact information for the committee with
15which interested members of the public may apply for
16appointment. The committee shall also provide members of the
17public with notice of an impending vote to fill the vacancy
18within at least 6 days prior to such vote.
19    (h) Any meeting held by a legislative or representative
20committee for purposes of filling a vacancy in the General
21Assembly shall be open to the public and subject to the
22requirements of the Open Meetings Act and shall also be
23recorded and broadcast by electronic means for public
24consumption.
25    (i) For any vacancy in the office of State Senator or State
26Representative that may be filled through appointment by the

 

 

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1Governor, the Governor shall comply with the requirements of
2subsection (g) and (h) to the extent practicable in his or her
3appointment of such person.
4(Source: P.A. 100-1027, eff. 1-1-19.)