State of Illinois
92nd General Assembly
Legislation

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92_HC0008

 
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 1                       HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
 2                      CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT

 3        RESOLVED,   BY   THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES  OF  THE
 4    NINETY-SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS,  THE
 5    SENATE  CONCURRING  HEREIN,  that there shall be submitted to
 6    the electors of the State for adoption or  rejection  at  the
 7    general  election  next occurring at least 6 months after the
 8    adoption of this resolution a proposition to  amend  Sections
 9    1, 2, and 3 of Article IV and Section 1 of Article XIV of the
10    Illinois Constitution as follows:

11                             ARTICLE IV
12                           THE LEGISLATURE

13         (ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 1)
14    SECTION 1. LEGISLATURE - POWER AND STRUCTURE
15        The  legislative  power  is  vested in a General Assembly
16    consisting of  a  Senate  and  a  House  of  Representatives,
17    elected  by  the  electors  from  59  Senatorial  Legislative
18    Districts and 119 118 Representative Districts.
19    (Source:  Amendment  adopted  at general election November 4,
20    1980.)

21         (ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 2)
22    SECTION 2. LEGISLATIVE COMPOSITION
23        (a)  One Senator shall be elected  from  each  Senatorial
24    Legislative  District.  Immediately  following each decennial
25    redistricting, the General Assembly by law shall  divide  the
26    Senatorial  Legislative Districts as equally as possible into
27    three groups. Senators from one group shall  be  elected  for
28    terms  of four years, four years and two years; Senators from
29    the second group, for terms of four years, two years and four
30    years; and Senators from the third group, for  terms  of  two
31    years,  four years and four years. The Senatorial Legislative
 
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 1    Districts in each group shall  be  distributed  substantially
 2    equally over the State.
 3        (b)  Each  Legislative District shall be divided into two
 4    Representative  Districts.  In  1982  and  every  two   years
 5    thereafter  One  Representative  shall  be  elected from each
 6    Representative District for a term of two years.
 7        (c)  To be eligible to serve as a member of  the  General
 8    Assembly,  a person must be a United States citizen, at least
 9    21 years old, and for the two years preceding his election or
10    appointment a  resident  of  the  district  which  he  is  to
11    represent. In the general election following a redistricting,
12    a  candidate for the General Assembly may be elected from any
13    district which contains a part of the district  in  which  he
14    resided  at  the time of the redistricting and reelected if a
15    resident of the new district  he  represents  for  18  months
16    prior to reelection.
17        (d)  Within  thirty days after a vacancy occurs, it shall
18    be filled by appointment as provided by law. If  the  vacancy
19    is  in a Senatorial office with more than twenty-eight months
20    remaining in the term,  the  appointed  Senator  shall  serve
21    until  the  next  general  election,  at which time a Senator
22    shall be elected to serve for the remainder of the  term.  If
23    the  vacancy  is  in  a Representative office or in any other
24    Senatorial office, the appointment shall be for the remainder
25    of the term. An appointee to fill a vacancy shall be a member
26    of the same political party as the person he succeeds.
27        (e)  No member of  the  General  Assembly  shall  receive
28    compensation  as  a public officer or employee from any other
29    governmental entity for time during which he is in attendance
30    as a member of the General Assembly.
31        No member of the General Assembly  during  the  term  for
32    which  he  was  elected  or appointed shall be appointed to a
33    public  office  which  shall  have  been   created   or   the
34    compensation  for  which  shall  have  been  increased by the
 
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 1    General Assembly during that term.
 2    (Source: Amendment adopted at general  election  November  4,
 3    1980.)

 4         (ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 3)
 5    SECTION 3. LEGISLATIVE REDISTRICTING
 6        (a)  Senatorial  Legislative  Districts shall be compact,
 7    contiguous   and   substantially   equal    in    population.
 8    Representative  Districts  shall  be compact, contiguous, and
 9    substantially equal in population.  A Representative District
10    need not be entirely within a single Senatorial District.
11        (b)  By April 15  of  the  year  following  each  Federal
12    decennial  census  year,  the  State Board of Elections, by a
13    record vote of a majority of  the  total  number  of  members
14    authorized  by  law  as provided in Section 5 of Article III,
15    shall designate a  computer  program  for  redistricting  the
16    Senate   and   House   of   Representatives  that  meets  the
17    requirements of this Section.  The designation shall  include
18    detailed specifications of the computer program.
19        Any  computer  program  designated  by the State Board of
20    Elections under  this  Section  shall  embody  the  following
21    standards  and  criteria,  as  defined by Common Law, in this
22    order of priority:
23             (1)  contiguity;
24             (2)  substantial equality of population;
25             (3)  compactness;
26             (4)  minimization of the number  of  districts  that
27        cross county or municipal boundaries; and
28             (5)  a fair reflection of minority voting strength.
29    Any  computer  program  designated  by  the  State  Board  of
30    Elections under this Section shall not consider the following
31    data:
32             (1)  residency of incumbent legislators;
33             (2)  political affiliations of registered voters;
 
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 1             (3)  previous election results; and
 2             (4)  demographic information not required to be used
 3        by  this  Section or by the United States Constitution or
 4        federal law.
 5    Except as specified in this  Section,  the  computer  program
 6    shall produce districts in a random manner.
 7        The  Senate,  by  resolution  adopted by a record vote of
 8    three-fifths of the members elected, may by June 15  of  that
 9    year designate a different computer program for redistricting
10    the  Senate.   The  House of Representatives, by a resolution
11    adopted by a record  vote  of  three-fifths  of  the  members
12    elected,  may  by  June 15 of that year designate a different
13    computer   program   for   redistricting   the    House    of
14    Representatives.
15        (c)  (b)  In  the  year  following each Federal decennial
16    census year, (i) the  Senate,  by  resolution  adopted  by  a
17    record  vote  of three-fifths of the members elected, General
18    Assembly by law shall redistrict the  Senatorial  Legislative
19    Districts   and   (ii)   the  House  of  Representatives,  by
20    resolution adopted by a record vote of  three-fifths  of  the
21    members   elected,   shall   redistrict   the  Representative
22    Districts.  Each adopted redistricting  resolution  shall  be
23    filed with the Secretary of State by the presiding officer of
24    the house that adopted the resolution.
25        (d)  If  a  Senatorial  or  Representative  redistricting
26    resolution  is  not  adopted and effective by June 15 of that
27    year, the State Board of Elections, as soon thereafter as  is
28    practicable,  shall  produce  a  Senatorial or Representative
29    redistricting plan, or both as the case may be,  through  the
30    use  of  the  computer  program  designated  by  the affected
31    chamber, if it made a designation under  subsection  (b),  or
32    else  through  the  use of the computer program designated by
33    the State Board of  Elections  under  that  subsection.   The
34    State  Board  of  Elections shall file the redistricting plan
 
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 1    with the Secretary of State.
 2        If no redistricting plan becomes effective by June 30  of
 3    that  year,  a  Legislative Redistricting Commission shall be
 4    constituted not later than  July  10.  The  Commission  shall
 5    consist  of eight members, no more than four of whom shall be
 6    members of the same political party. The Speaker and Minority
 7    Leader of the House of Representatives shall each appoint  to
 8    the Commission one Representative and one person who is not a
 9    member  of  the  General Assembly. The President and Minority
10    Leader of the Senate shall each appoint to the Commission one
11    Senator and one person who is not a  member  of  the  General
12    Assembly.  The members shall be certified to the Secretary of
13    State  by  the  appointing  authorities.  A  vacancy  on  the
14    Commission shall be filled within five days by the  authority
15    that  made  the  original  appointment.  A  Chairman and Vice
16    Chairman shall be chosen by a majority of all members of  the
17    Commission.  Not  later  than August 10, the Commission shall
18    file  with  the  Secretary  of  State  a  redistricting  plan
19    approved by at least five members.
20        If the Commission fails to file an approved redistricting
21    plan, the  Supreme  Court  shall  submit  the  names  of  two
22    persons, not of the same political party, to the Secretary of
23    State not later than September 1.
24        Not  later  than  September  5,  the  Secretary  of State
25    publicly shall draw by random selection the name  of  one  of
26    the  two  persons  to  serve  as  the  ninth  member  of  the
27    Commission.
28        Not  later than October 5, the Commission shall file with
29    the Secretary of State a redistricting plan  approved  by  at
30    least five members.
31        (e)  A   An   approved  redistricting  plan,  adopted  by
32    redistricting resolution or produced by the  State  Board  of
33    Elections, that is filed with the Secretary of State shall be
34    presumed  valid, shall have the same force and effect as a of
 
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 1    law, and shall be published  promptly  by  the  Secretary  of
 2    State.
 3        (f)  The  Supreme Court shall have original and exclusive
 4    jurisdiction over actions concerning redistricting the  House
 5    and  Senate,  which  shall  be  initiated  in the name of the
 6    People of the State by the Attorney General.
 7    (Source: Amendment adopted at general  election  November  4,
 8    1980.)

 9                             ARTICLE XIV
10                       CONSTITUTIONAL REVISION

11         (ILCON Art. XIV, Sec. 1)
12    SECTION 1.  CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION
13        (a)  Whenever three-fifths of the members elected to each
14    house  of  the  General  Assembly  so direct, the question of
15    whether a Constitutional Convention should be called shall be
16    submitted to  the  electors  at  the  general  election  next
17    occurring   at   least  six  months  after  such  legislative
18    direction.
19        (b)  If the question of whether a  Convention  should  be
20    called  is  not  submitted during any twenty-year period, the
21    Secretary of State shall submit such question at the  general
22    election in the twentieth year following the last submission.
23        (c)  The vote on whether to call a Convention shall be on
24    a  separate  ballot. A Convention shall be called if approved
25    by three-fifths of those voting on the question or a majority
26    of those voting in the election.
27        (d)  The  General  Assembly,  at  the  session  following
28    approval by the  electors,  by  law  shall  provide  for  the
29    Convention  and  for  the election of two delegates from each
30    Senatorial Legislative District; designate the time and place
31    of the Convention's first meeting which shall be within three
32    months after the election of delegates; fix and  provide  for
 
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 1    the  pay  of delegates and officers; and provide for expenses
 2    necessarily incurred by the Convention.
 3        (e)  To be eligible to be a delegate a person  must  meet
 4    the  same eligibility requirements as a member of the General
 5    Assembly. Vacancies shall be filled as provided by law.
 6        (f)  The Convention shall prepare  such  revision  of  or
 7    amendments  to  the  Constitution  as it deems necessary. Any
 8    proposed revision or amendments approved by a majority of the
 9    delegates elected shall be submitted to the electors in  such
10    manner   as   the   Convention  determines,  at  an  election
11    designated or called by the  Convention  occurring  not  less
12    than  two  nor  more  than  six months after the Convention's
13    adjournment. Any  revision  or  amendments  proposed  by  the
14    Convention  shall  be  published  with  explanations,  as the
15    Convention  provides,  at  least  one  month  preceding   the
16    election.
17        (g)  The  vote  on  the  proposed  revision or amendments
18    shall be on a  separate  ballot.  Any  proposed  revision  or
19    amendments   shall   become   effective,  as  the  Convention
20    provides, if approved by a majority of those  voting  on  the
21    question.
22    (Source: Illinois Constitution.)

23                              SCHEDULE
24        This Constitutional Amendment takes effect beginning with
25    redistricting  in 2011 and applies to the election of members
26    of the General Assembly in 2012 and thereafter.

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