99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
HC0018

 

Introduced , by Rep. Scott Drury

 

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

    Proposes to amend the Legislature Article of the Illinois Constitution. Creates the Independent Redistricting Commission to adopt and file with the Secretary of State a redistricting plan for Legislature and Representative Districts. Provides for the selection of Commissioners and establishes the authority of a Special Commissioner to design a redistricting plan in the event that the Commission fails to properly adopt and file a redistricting plan.


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HC0018LRB099 07190 MGM 27283 e

1
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
2
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT

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

12    (ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 3)
13SECTION 3. LEGISLATIVE REDISTRICTING
14    (a) The Independent Redistricting Commission shall adopt
15and file with the Secretary of State a redistricting plan for
16Legislative Districts and Representative Districts by June 30
17of the year following each federal decennial census.
18Legislative Districts shall be contiguous and substantially
19equal in population. Representative Districts shall be
20contiguous and substantially equal in population. The
21redistricting plan shall comply with federal law. Subject to
22the foregoing, the Commission shall apply the following
23criteria: (1) the redistricting plan shall not dilute or

 

 

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1diminish the ability of a racial or language minority community
2to elect the candidates of its choice, including when voting in
3concert with other persons; (2) districts shall respect the
4geographic integrity of units of local government; (3)
5districts shall respect the geographic integrity of
6communities sharing common social and economic interests,
7which do not include relationships with political parties or
8candidates for office; and (4) the redistricting plan shall not
9either purposefully or significantly discriminate against or
10favor any political party or group. In designing the
11redistricting plan, the Commission shall consider party
12registration and voting history data only to assess compliance
13with the foregoing criteria, and shall not consider the
14residence of any person. The Commission shall hold at least one
15public hearing in each Judicial District before, and at least
16one public hearing in each Judicial District after, releasing
17the initial proposed redistricting plan. The Commission may not
18adopt a final redistricting plan unless the plan to be adopted
19without further amendment, and a report explaining its
20compliance with this Constitution and the criteria applicable,
21have been publicly noticed at least seven days before the final
22vote on the plan. An adopted redistricting plan shall have the
23force and effect of law and shall be published promptly by the
24Secretary of State. The State Board of Elections shall provide
25the Commission and the public with complete and accurate census
26information and technology sufficient to propose redistricting

 

 

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1plans. The Commission shall adopt rules governing its procedure
2and the implementation of this Section.
3    (b) The Commission shall act in public meetings by
4affirmative vote of six Commissioners, except that approval of
5any redistricting plan shall require the affirmative vote of at
6least seven Commissioners, including at least (1) two
7Commissioners from each political party whose candidate for
8Governor received the most and second-most votes cast in the
9last general election for Governor, and (2) two Commissioners
10not affiliated with either such political party. The Commission
11shall elect from its number a chairperson and vice chairperson,
12who shall not be affiliated with the same political party. Six
13Commissioners shall constitute a quorum. All meetings of the
14Commission attended by at least four Commissioners, except for
15meetings qualified under attorney-client privilege during
16pending litigation, shall be open to the public and publicly
17noticed at least two days prior to the meeting. All records of
18the Commission, including communications between Commissioners
19regarding the Commission's work, shall be open for public
20inspection, except for records qualified under attorney-client
21privilege. The Commission may retain assistance from counsel,
22technical staff, and other persons with relevant skills and
23shall be provided with adequate resources to complete its work.
24    (c) For the purpose of conducting the Commissioner
25selection process, an Applicant Review Panel comprised of three
26Reviewers shall be chosen in the following manner in the year

 

 

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1in which each federal decennial census occurs. Beginning no
2later than January 1 and ending no later than March 1 of the
3year in which the federal decennial census occurs, the Auditor
4General shall request and accept applications of individuals
5applying to serve as Reviewers. By March 31, the Auditor
6General shall appoint a Panel of three Reviewers, selected by
7random draw from eligible applicants. The Panel shall act in
8public meetings by affirmative vote of at least two Reviewers.
9All meetings of the Panel shall be open to the public and
10publicly noticed at least two days before the meeting. All
11records of the Panel, including applications to serve on the
12Panel or the Commission, shall be open for public inspection,
13except for private information about applicants for which there
14is no compelling public interest in disclosure. The Panel may
15retain assistance from counsel, technical staff, and other
16persons with relevant skills and shall be provided with
17adequate resources to complete its work.
18    (d) The 11-member Independent Redistricting Commission
19shall be chosen in the following manner in the year in which
20each federal decennial census occurs. Beginning no later than
21January 1 and ending no later than March 1 of the year in which
22the federal decennial census occurs, the Auditor General shall
23request and accept applications to serve as Commissioners. By
24May 31, the Applicant Review Panel shall select 100 eligible
25applicants based on their relevant analytical skills,
26impartiality, and ability to contribute to a fair redistricting

 

 

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1process, and shall ensure that such applicants reflect the
2demographic and geographic diversity of the State. The Speaker
3and Minority Leader of the House of Representatives and the
4President and Minority Leader of the Senate each may remove up
5to five of the applicants selected by the Panel. By June 30,
6the Panel shall conduct a random drawing from the remaining
7applicants in order to select seven Commissioners that
8individually and collectively satisfy the following
9requirements (with the random drawing to continue until seven
10qualified Commissioners are selected): (1) the seven
11Commissioners shall reside among the Judicial Districts in the
12same proportion as the number of judges elected therefrom under
13Section 3 of Article VI of this Constitution, (2) two
14Commissioners shall be affiliated with the political party
15whose candidate for Governor received the most votes cast in
16the last general election for Governor, two Commissioners shall
17be affiliated with the political party whose candidate for
18Governor received the second-most votes cast in such election,
19and the remaining three Commissioners shall not be affiliated
20with either such political party, and (3) no more than two
21Commissioners may be affiliated with the same political party.
22The Speaker and Minority Leader of the House of Representatives
23and the President and Minority Leader of the Senate each shall
24appoint one Commissioner from among the remaining applicants on
25the basis of the appointee's contribution to the demographic
26and geographic diversity of the Commission.

 

 

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1    (e) To be eligible to serve as a Reviewer, a person must
2have education and experience in the examination and assessment
3of personnel, records, systems, or procedures for 10 years
4preceding his or her application, must have demonstrated
5understanding of and adherence to standards of ethical conduct,
6and must not have been affiliated with any political party
7within the three years preceding appointment. To be eligible to
8serve as a Commissioner, Special Commissioner for
9Redistricting, or Reviewer, a person must (1) be a resident and
10registered voter of the State for the four years preceding
11appointment, (2) within the three years preceding appointment,
12must not have been the holder of, or a candidate for, any
13public office in the State, an employee or officer of the State
14or a unit of local government or a political party, registered
15as a lobbyist anywhere in the United States, or party to a
16contract to provide goods or services to the State or a
17principal, officer, or executive employee of such a contractor,
18and (3) within the three years preceding appointment, must not
19have resided with any person described in clause (2) of this
20subsection. For 10 years after service as a Commissioner or
21Special Commissioner, a person is ineligible to serve as a
22Senator, Representative, officer of the Executive Branch,
23judge, or associate judge of the State or an officer or
24employee of the State whose appointment is subject to
25confirmation by the Senate. A vacancy on the Commission or
26Panel shall be filled within five days by an eligible applicant

 

 

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1in the manner in which the office was previously filled; with
2respect to the Commission, the replacement Commissioner shall
3be drawn where possible from the remaining applicants
4previously selected by the Panel.
5    (f) If the Commission fails to adopt and file with the
6Secretary of State a redistricting plan by June 30 of the year
7following a federal decennial census, the Chief Justice of the
8Supreme Court and the most senior justice of the Supreme Court
9who is not affiliated with the same political party as the
10Chief Justice shall appoint jointly by July 31 a Special
11Commissioner for Redistricting. The Special Commissioner shall
12design and file with the Secretary of State by August 31 a
13redistricting plan satisfying the requirements and criteria
14set forth in subsection (a) and a report explaining its
15compliance with this Constitution and the criteria applicable.
16The Special Commissioner shall hold at least one public hearing
17in the State before releasing his or her initial proposed
18redistricting plan and at least one public hearing in a
19different location in the State after releasing his or her
20initial proposed redistricting plan and before filing the final
21redistricting plan with the Secretary of State. The
22redistricting plan shall have the force and effect of law and
23shall be published promptly by the Secretary of State.
24    (g) The Supreme Court shall have original jurisdiction in
25cases relating to matters under this Section. The Commission
26shall have exclusive authority and shall be provided by the

 

 

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1General Assembly adequate resources to defend any
2redistricting plan adopted by the Commission.
3    (a) Legislative Districts shall be compact, contiguous and
4substantially equal in population. Representative Districts
5shall be compact, contiguous, and substantially equal in
6population.
7    (b) In the year following each Federal decennial census
8year, the General Assembly by law shall redistrict the
9Legislative Districts and the Representative Districts.
10    If no redistricting plan becomes effective by June 30 of
11that year, a Legislative Redistricting Commission shall be
12constituted not later than July 10. The Commission shall
13consist of eight members, no more than four of whom shall be
14members of the same political party.
15    The Speaker and Minority Leader of the House of
16Representatives shall each appoint to the Commission one
17Representative and one person who is not a member of the
18General Assembly. The President and Minority Leader of the
19Senate shall each appoint to the Commission one Senator and one
20person who is not a member of the General Assembly.
21    The members shall be certified to the Secretary of State by
22the appointing authorities. A vacancy on the Commission shall
23be filled within five days by the authority that made the
24original appointment. A Chairman and Vice Chairman shall be
25chosen by a majority of all members of the Commission.
26    Not later than August 10, the Commission shall file with

 

 

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1the Secretary of State a redistricting plan approved by at
2least five members.
3    If the Commission fails to file an approved redistricting
4plan, the Supreme Court shall submit the names of two persons,
5not of the same political party, to the Secretary of State not
6later than September 1.
7    Not later than September 5, the Secretary of State publicly
8shall draw by random selection the name of one of the two
9persons to serve as the ninth member of the Commission.
10    Not later than October 5, the Commission shall file with
11the Secretary of State a redistricting plan approved by at
12least five members.
13    An approved redistricting plan filed with the Secretary of
14State shall be presumed valid, shall have the force and effect
15of law and shall be published promptly by the Secretary of
16State.
17    The Supreme Court shall have original and exclusive
18jurisdiction over actions concerning redistricting the House
19and Senate, which shall be initiated in the name of the People
20of the State by the Attorney General.
21(Source: Amendment adopted at general election November 4,
221980.)
 
23
SCHEDULE
24    This Constitutional Amendment takes effect upon being
25declared adopted in accordance with Section 7 of the Illinois

 

 

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1Constitutional Amendment Act.