103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2023 and 2024
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
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Introduced 3/30/2023, by Sen. Dan McConchie

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 2
ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 3

    Proposes to amend the Legislature Article of the Illinois Constitution. Removes the requirement for each Legislative District to be divided into 2 Representative Districts. Modifies provisions concerning legislative redistricting. Provides specified requirements for each Legislative District, Representative District, and Congressional District for redistricting purposes. Replaces the current method of legislative redistricting with a 17-member Commission, appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the most senior Supreme Court Justice of a different political party in accordance with specified criteria. Specifies requirements for the Commission concerning redistricting plans. Adds provisions concerning the membership of the Commission and budgetary matters related to the Commission. Provides the Supreme Court with original and exclusive jurisdiction over redistricting matters. Defines terms. Makes conforming and other changes. Effective upon being declared adopted and applicable to redistricting beginning in 2031 and to the election of General Assembly members beginning in 2032.


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1
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
2
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT

 
3    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL
4ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF
5REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING HEREIN, that there shall be
6submitted to the electors of the State for adoption or
7rejection at the general election next occurring at least 6
8months after the adoption of this resolution a proposition to
9amend Article IV of the Illinois Constitution by changing
10Sections 2 and 3 as follows:
 
11
ARTICLE IV
12
THE LEGISLATURE

13    (ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 2)
14SECTION 2. LEGISLATIVE COMPOSITION
15    (a) One Senator shall be elected from each Legislative
16District. Immediately following each decennial redistricting,
17the General Assembly by law shall divide the Legislative
18Districts as equally as possible into three groups. Senators
19from one group shall be elected for terms of four years, four
20years and two years; Senators from the second group, for terms
21of four years, two years and four years; and Senators from the
22third group, for terms of two years, four years and four years.
23The Legislative Districts in each group shall be distributed

 

 

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1substantially equally over the State.
2    (b) Each Legislative District shall be divided into two
3Representative Districts. In 1982 and every two years
4thereafter one Representative shall be elected from each
5Representative District for a term of two years.
6    (c) To be eligible to serve as a member of the General
7Assembly, a person must be a United States citizen, at least 21
8years old, and for the two years preceding his election or
9appointment a resident of the district which he is to
10represent. In the general election following a redistricting,
11a candidate for the General Assembly may be elected from any
12district which contains a part of the district in which he
13resided at the time of the redistricting and reelected if a
14resident of the new district he represents for 18 months prior
15to reelection.
16    (d) Within thirty days after a vacancy occurs, it shall be
17filled by appointment as provided by law. If the vacancy is in
18a Senatorial office with more than twenty-eight months
19remaining in the term, the appointed Senator shall serve until
20the next general election, at which time a Senator shall be
21elected to serve for the remainder of the term. If the vacancy
22is in a Representative office or in any other Senatorial
23office, the appointment shall be for the remainder of the
24term. An appointee to fill a vacancy shall be a member of the
25same political party as the person he succeeds.
26    (e) No member of the General Assembly shall receive

 

 

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1compensation as a public officer or employee from any other
2governmental entity for time during which he is in attendance
3as a member of the General Assembly.
4    No member of the General Assembly during the term for
5which he was elected or appointed shall be appointed to a
6public office which shall have been created or the
7compensation for which shall have been increased by the
8General Assembly during that term.
9(Source: Amendment adopted at general election November 4,
101980.)
 
11    (ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 3)
12SECTION 3. LEGISLATIVE REDISTRICTING
13    (a) As used in this Section:
14    "Coalition districts" means districts in which more than
15one group of racial minorities or language minorities may form
16a coalition to elect the candidate of the coalition's choice.
17    "Crossover districts" means districts in which a racial
18minority or language minority constitutes less than a majority
19of the voting-age population, but where this minority, at
20least potentially, is large enough to elect the candidate of
21its choice with help from voters who are members of the
22majority who cross over to support the minority's preferred
23candidate.
24    "Influence districts" means districts in which a racial
25minority or language minority can influence the outcome of an

 

 

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1election even if its preferred candidate cannot be elected.
2    "Racial minorities or language minorities", in either the
3singular or the plural, means the same class of voters who are
4members of a race, color, or language minority group receiving
5protection under the federal Voting Rights Act.
6    (b) Each Legislative District, Representative District,
7and Congressional District shall, in the following order of
8priority:
9        (1) fully comply with the United States Constitution
10    and federal laws, such as the federal Voting Rights Act;
11        (2) be substantially equal in population;
12        (3) provide racial minorities and language minorities
13    with the equal opportunity to participate in the political
14    process and elect candidates of their choice;
15        (4) provide racial minorities and language minorities
16    who constitute less than a voting-age majority of a
17    Legislative District, Representative District, or
18    Congressional District with an opportunity to
19    substantially influence the outcome of an election through
20    the creation of crossover districts, coalition districts,
21    or influence districts;
22        (5) be contiguous;
23        (6) be compact;
24        (7) respect, to the extent practical, geographic
25    integrity of units of local government;
26        (8) respect, to the extent practical, communities

 

 

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1    sharing common social or economic interests; and
2        (9) not discriminate against or in favor of any
3    political party or individual.
4    (c) No later than March 1 of 2031, the Chief Justice and
5the most senior Supreme Court Justice who is not elected from
6the same political party as the Chief Justice shall select 17
7commissioners to form an Independent Redistricting Commission.
8The Commission formed in 2031 shall redraw each Legislative
9District, Representative District, and Congressional District
10for 2032. Thereafter, redistricting shall occur every year
11following the federal decennial census.
12    The commissioners shall reflect the ethnic, gender, and
13racial demographics of Illinois to reflect the demographic
14data provided by the decennial census, each commissioner shall
15be a voter who has been continuously affiliated in Illinois
16with the same political party or unaffiliated with a political
17party and who has not changed political party affiliation for
185 or more years immediately preceding the date of his or her
19appointment. Fourteen of the commissioners shall represent, in
20equal number, the two political parties whose gubernatorial
21candidates received the greatest number of votes in the last
22gubernatorial election and 3 of the commissioners must
23represent neither of those parties. No more than one
24commissioner shall be from the same Congressional District. If
25the total number of Congressional Districts equal less than
2617, then at-large commissioners will be appointed to fill

 

 

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1vacancies, and no more than 2 commissioners shall be from the
2same Congressional District. The 2 Justices responsible for
3selecting the 17 commissioners shall consider party
4identification and all campaign contributions in determining a
5potential commissioner's eligibility.
6    (d) A person is ineligible to serve on the Commission if
7within the previous 5 calendar years the person or his or her
8spouse or immediate family member, including his or her
9parents, children, step-children, or siblings, is or has been:
10        (1) appointed or elected to a position with the State,
11    federal, or local government;
12        (2) a candidate for State, federal or local office;
13        (3) a paid consultant or employee of a State, federal,
14    or local elected official or political candidate, of a
15    federal, State, or local political candidate's campaign,
16    or of a political action committee or any other
17    electioneering entity;
18        (4) a State, federal, or local lobbyist as defined by
19    law;
20        (5) an individual with an ownership interest in an
21    entity with a State, federal, or local government
22    contract; or
23        (6) appointed or elected to serve a State, federal, or
24    local political party.
25    (e) A commissioner is ineligible for a period of 10 years
26to serve in the General Assembly or to be appointed to a

 

 

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1position subject to Senate confirmation.
2    (f) Commissioners must file financial disclosure
3statements and abide by any ethics requirements established by
4law.
5    (g) Each prospective applicant for commissioner shall
6attest under oath that they meet the qualifications set forth
7in this Section, and attest either that they affiliate with
8one of the 2 political parties whose gubernatorial candidates
9received the 2 greatest number of votes in the last
10gubernatorial election, and if so, identify the party with
11which they affiliate, or that they do not affiliate with
12either of the major parties.
13    (h) Any vacancy, whether created by removal, resignation,
14death, or absence, in the 17 commission positions shall be
15filled within the 30 days after the vacancy occurs, from the
16pool of applicants of the same political party as the vacating
17nominee that was remaining as of the end of the commissioner
18selection process. If none of those remaining applicants are
19available for service, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
20and the most senior Supreme Court Judge of a different
21political party shall fill the vacancy from a new application
22pool created to maintain the partisan balance of the
23commission and to the extent possible, to keep the geographic
24and racial demographics of the commission the same as it was
25prior to the vacancy.
26    (i) The Commission shall act in public meetings by the

 

 

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1affirmative vote of 11 commissioners. The Commission shall
2elect its chairperson and vice chairperson, who shall not be
3affiliated with the same political party. Each meeting of the
4Commission shall be open to the public and there must be public
5notice at least 7 days before a meeting. All records of the
6Commission, including all communications to or from the
7Commission regarding the work of the Commission, shall be
8available for public inspection. The Commission shall adopt
9rules governing its procedures. The Commission shall be
10considered a public body subject to the Freedom of Information
11Act or a successor Act and the Open Meetings Act or a successor
12Act.
13    (j) In each year in which the federal decennial census is
14taken but in which the United States Bureau of the Census
15allocates incarcerated persons as residents of correctional
16facilities, the Secretary of State shall request that each
17agency that operates a federal correctional facility in this
18State that incarcerates persons convicted of a criminal
19offense to provide the Secretary of State with a report that
20includes the last known place of residence prior to
21incarceration of each inmate, except an inmate whose last
22known place of residence is outside of Illinois. The Secretary
23of State shall deliver such report to the Commission by
24December 30 of that same year. For purposes of reapportionment
25and redistricting, the Commission shall count each
26incarcerated person as residing at his or her last known place

 

 

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1of residence, rather than at the institution of his or her
2incarceration.
3    (k) The Commission shall hold at least 20 public hearings
4throughout the State before adopting a redistricting plan,
5with a majority occurring before the Commission releases any
6proposed redistricting plan and at least 10 public hearings
7must occur throughout the State after the release of any
8proposed redistricting plan.
9    The Commission must provide a meaningful opportunity for
10racial minorities and language minorities to participate in
11the public hearings, including, but not limited to, issuing
12notices in multiple languages and ensuring that translation
13services are available at all hearings at the Commission's
14expense or through partnership with outside organizations.
15These public hearings must be open to all members of the public
16and must be planned to encourage attendance and participation
17across the State, including the use of technology that allows
18for real-time, virtual participation and feedback during the
19hearings. When releasing a proposed redistricting plan, the
20Commission must also release population data, geographic data,
21election data, and any other data used to create the plan, when
22the Commission receives this information. The Commission must
23also provide terminals for members of the public to access the
24data and associated software. During the map drawing process,
25any member of the public may submit maps for consideration to
26the Commission. The Commission must consider public input and

 

 

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1respond to it. Those submissions are public records that are
2open to comment.
3    The Commission may not adopt a redistricting plan until
4the Commission adopts and publishes a report explaining the
5plan's compliance with the United States Constitution and
6Illinois Constitution. Before the adoption of a redistricting
7plan, the Commission shall release to the public the final
8plan and its associated compliance report. The meeting to vote
9on adoption of a redistricting plan shall occur no sooner than
1030 days after the release of the final plan and its associated
11compliance report. All proposed and adopted maps and any data
12used to develop these maps are public records. The Commission
13shall maintain a website or other similar electronic platform
14to disseminate information about the Commission, including
15records of its meetings and hearings, proposed redistricting
16plans, assessments and reports on plans, and to allow the
17public to view its meetings and hearings in both live and
18archived form. The website or electronic platform must allow
19the public to submit redistricting plans and comments on
20redistricting plans to the Commission for its consideration.
21    (l) The Commission shall adopt and file with the Secretary
22of State a redistricting plan for the Legislative Districts,
23Representative Districts, and Congressional Districts by
24September 1 of 2031 and in every year following the federal
25decennial census thereafter. The Commission may adopt separate
26redistricting plans for the Legislative Districts, the

 

 

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1Representative Districts, and the Congressional Districts.
2    (m) Members of the Commission shall be compensated as
3provided by law.
4    (n) Within the first 30 days after the selection of the
5Independent Redistricting Commission, the Governor shall
6include in the budget submitted under Section 2 of Article
7VIII to the General Assembly amounts of funding that are
8sufficient to meet the estimated expenses for the operation of
9the Commission. The Governor shall also make adequate office
10space available for the operation of the Commission. The
11General Assembly shall make the necessary appropriation in the
12State budget. The General Assembly may make additional
13appropriations in any year that it determines that the
14Commission requires additional funding in order to fulfill its
15duties. The Commission, with fiscal oversight from the
16Comptroller or its successor, shall have procurement and
17contracting authority and may hire staff and consultants, for
18the purposes of this Section, including legal representation.
19    (o) A redistricting plan filed with the Secretary of State
20shall be presumed valid and shall be published promptly by the
21Secretary of State.
22    (p) The Supreme Court shall have original and exclusive
23jurisdiction over actions concerning the redistricting of the
24Congressional, Legislative, and Representative Districts,
25which shall be initiated in the name of the People of the State
26by the Attorney General. Each person who resides or is

 

 

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1domiciled in the State, or whose executive office or principal
2place of business is located in the State, may bring an action
3in a court of competent jurisdiction to obtain any of the
4relief available.
5    (a) Legislative Districts shall be compact, contiguous and
6substantially equal in population. Representative Districts
7shall be compact, contiguous, and substantially equal in
8population.
9    (b) In the year following each Federal decennial census
10year, the General Assembly by law shall redistrict the
11Legislative Districts and the Representative Districts.
12    If no redistricting plan becomes effective by June 30 of
13that year, a Legislative Redistricting Commission shall be
14constituted not later than July 10. The Commission shall
15consist of eight members, no more than four of whom shall be
16members of the same political party.
17    The Speaker and Minority Leader of the House of
18Representatives shall each appoint to the Commission one
19Representative and one person who is not a member of the
20General Assembly. The President and Minority Leader of the
21Senate shall each appoint to the Commission one Senator and
22one person who is not a member of the General Assembly.
23    The members shall be certified to the Secretary of State
24by the appointing authorities. A vacancy on the Commission
25shall be filled within five days by the authority that made the
26original appointment. A Chairman and Vice Chairman shall be

 

 

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1chosen by a majority of all members of the Commission.
2    Not later than August 10, the Commission shall file with
3the Secretary of State a redistricting plan approved by at
4least five members.
5    If the Commission fails to file an approved redistricting
6plan, the Supreme Court shall submit the names of two persons,
7not of the same political party, to the Secretary of State not
8later than September 1.
9    Not later than September 5, the Secretary of State
10publicly shall draw by random selection the name of one of the
11two persons to serve as the ninth member of the Commission.
12    Not later than October 5, the Commission shall file with
13the Secretary of State a redistricting plan approved by at
14least five members.
15    An approved redistricting plan filed with the Secretary of
16State shall be presumed valid, shall have the force and effect
17of law and shall be published promptly by the Secretary of
18State.
19    The Supreme Court shall have original and exclusive
20jurisdiction over actions concerning redistricting the House
21and Senate, which shall be initiated in the name of the People
22of the State by the Attorney General.
23(Source: Amendment adopted at general election November 4,
241980.)
 
25
SCHEDULE

 

 

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1    This Constitutional Amendment takes effect upon being
2declared adopted in accordance with Section 7 of the Illinois
3Constitutional Amendment Act and applies to redistricting
4beginning in 2031 and to the election of General Assembly
5members beginning in 2032.