101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
SC0004

 

Introduced 1/29/2019, by Sen. Julie A. Morrison - Dave Syverson

 

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 two 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 the following: a sixteen-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, shall adopt and file with the Secretary of State redistricting plans for Legislative, Representative, and Congressional Districts following a series of public hearings by August 1 of the year following a federal decennial census; permits the public to submit maps during the map drawing process for consideration by the Commission; and, if a redistricting plan is not adopted by August 1 of the year following a federal decennial census, then a seventeenth member shall be appointed to the Commission and redistricting plans shall be filed by September 1. Adds provisions concerning the membership of the Commission and budgetary matters related to the Commission. Effective upon being declared adopted and applicable to redistricting beginning in 2021 and to the election of General Assembly members beginning in 2022.


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SC0004LRB101 08028 RJF 53090 e

1
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
2
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT

 
3    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL
4ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
5CONCURRING 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 Article IV of the
9Illinois Constitution by changing Sections 2 and 3 as follows:
 
10
ARTICLE IV
11
THE LEGISLATURE

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

 

 

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

 

 

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1governmental entity for time during which he is in attendance
2as a member of the General Assembly.
3    No member of the General Assembly during the term for which
4he was elected or appointed shall be appointed to a public
5office which shall have been created or the compensation for
6which shall have been increased by the General Assembly during
7that term.
8(Source: Amendment adopted at general election November 4,
91980.)
 
10    (ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 3)
11SECTION 3. LEGISLATIVE REDISTRICTING
12    (a) As used in this Section, "consumer price index-u" means
13the index published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the
14United States Department of Labor or a successor agency that
15measures the average change in prices of goods and services
16purchased by all urban consumers, United States city average,
17all items, 1982-84=100.
18    (b) Each Legislative District, Representative District,
19and Congressional District shall, in the following order of
20priority:
21        (1) fully comply with the United States Constitution
22    and federal laws, such as the federal Voting Rights Act;
23        (2) be substantially equal in population;
24        (3) provide racial minorities and language minorities
25    with the equal opportunity to participate in the political

 

 

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1    process and elect candidates of their choice;
2        (4) provide racial minorities and language minorities
3    who constitute less than a voting-age majority of a
4    Legislative District, Representative District, or
5    Congressional District with an opportunity to
6    substantially influence the outcome of an election;
7        (5) be contiguous;
8        (6) be compact;
9        (7) respect, to the extent practical, geographic
10    integrity of units of local government;
11        (8) respect, to the extent practical, communities
12    sharing common social or economic interests; and
13        (9) not discriminate against or in favor of any
14    political party or individual.
15    (c) No later than December 30 of the year that each federal
16decennial census occurs, the Chief Justice and the most senior
17Supreme Court Justice who is not elected from the same
18political party as the Chief Justice shall select sixteen
19commissioners to form an Independent Redistricting Commission.
20The commissioners shall reflect the ethnic, gender, and racial
21demographics of Illinois, fourteen of the commissioners shall
22represent, in equal number, the two political parties whose
23gubernatorial candidates received the greatest number of votes
24in the last gubernatorial election and two of the commissioners
25shall represent neither of those parties. The two Justices
26responsible for selecting the sixteen commissioners shall

 

 

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1consider party identification and all campaign contributions
2in determining a potential commissioner's eligibility. There
3shall be at least two commissioners from each Judicial
4District.
5    (d) A person is ineligible to serve on the Commission if
6within the previous four calendar years the person or his or
7her spouse or immediate family member was appointed or elected
8to a position with the State, federal, or local government; is
9a State employee; is a lobbyist as defined by law; has an
10ownership interest in an entity with a State or federal
11contract; or is appointed or elected to serve a political
12party. A commissioner is ineligible for a period of ten years
13to serve in the General Assembly or to be appointed to a
14position subject to Senate confirmation. Commissioners must
15file financial disclosure statements and abide by any ethics
16requirements established by law.
17    (e) The Commission shall act in public meetings by the
18affirmative vote of ten commissioners. The Commission shall
19elect its chairperson and vice chairperson, who shall not be
20affiliated with the same political party. Each meeting of the
21Commission shall be open to the public and there must be public
22notice at least seven days before a meeting. All records of the
23Commission, including all communications to or from the
24Commission regarding the work of the Commission, shall be
25available for public inspection. The Commission shall adopt
26rules governing its procedures. The Commission shall be

 

 

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1considered a public body subject to the Freedom of Information
2Act or a successor Act and the Open Meetings Act or a successor
3Act. Commissioners and staff may not communicate with or
4receive communications about redistricting matters from anyone
5outside of a public hearing.
6    (f) The Commission shall hold at least twenty public
7hearings throughout the State before adopting a redistricting
8plan, with a majority occurring before the Commission releases
9any proposed redistricting plan and at least ten public
10hearings must occur throughout the State after the release of
11any proposed redistricting plan.
12    The Commission must provide a meaningful opportunity for
13racial minorities and language minorities to participate in the
14public hearings, including, but not limited to, issuing notices
15in multiple languages and ensuring that translation services
16are available at all hearings at the Commission's expense or
17through partnership with outside organizations. These public
18hearings must be open to all members of the public and must be
19planned to encourage attendance and participation across the
20State, including the use of technology that allows for
21real-time, virtual participation and feedback during the
22hearings. When releasing a proposed redistricting plan, the
23Commission must also release population data, geographic data,
24election data, and any other data used to create the plan, when
25the Commission receives this information. The Commission must
26also provide terminals for members of the public to access the

 

 

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1data and associated software. During the map drawing process,
2any member of the public may submit maps for consideration to
3the Commission. Those submissions are public records that are
4open to comment.
5    The Commission may not adopt a redistricting plan until the
6Commission adopts and publishes a report explaining the plan's
7compliance with the United States Constitution and Illinois
8Constitution. Before the adoption of a redistricting plan, the
9Commission shall release to the public the final plan and its
10associated compliance report. The meeting to vote on adoption
11of a redistricting plan shall occur no sooner than thirty days
12after the release of the final plan and its associated
13compliance report. All proposed and adopted maps and any data
14used to develop these maps are public records. The Commission
15shall maintain a website or other similar electronic platform
16to disseminate information about the Commission, including
17records of its meetings and hearings, proposed redistricting
18plans, assessments and reports on plans, and to allow the
19public to view its meetings and hearings in both live and
20archived form. The website or electronic platform must allow
21the public to submit redistricting plans and comments on
22redistricting plans to the Commission for its consideration.
23    (g) The Commission shall adopt and file with the Secretary
24of State a redistricting plan for the Legislative Districts,
25Representative Districts, and Congressional Districts by
26August 1 of the year following the federal decennial census.

 

 

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1The Commission may adopt separate redistricting plans for the
2Legislative Districts, the Representative Districts, and the
3Congressional Districts.
4    (h) If the Commission fails to adopt and file a
5redistricting plan by August 1 of the year following a federal
6decennial census, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and
7the most senior Supreme Court Justice who is not elected from
8the same political party as the Chief Justice shall appoint, by
9August 8, a seventeenth member to the Commission. The
10seventeenth member of the Commission must not be affiliated
11with either major political party. The seventeen-member
12Commission shall adopt and file with the Secretary of State
13redistricting plans for the Legislative Districts,
14Representative Districts, and Congressional Districts by
15September 1 of the year following the federal decennial census.
16    (i) Members of the Commission shall be compensated at the
17rate of $37.50 for each hour the member is engaged in
18Commission business. For each succeeding Commission, the rate
19of compensation shall be adjusted in each year of the federal
20decennial census by the cumulative change in inflation based on
21the consumer price index-u or a successor metric. Members of
22the Commission are eligible for reimbursement of personal
23expenses incurred in connection with the duties performed
24pursuant to this act. A member's residence is deemed to be the
25member's post of duty for purposes of reimbursement of
26expenses.

 

 

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1    (j) Within the first thirty days after the selection of the
2Independent Redistricting Commission, the Governor shall
3include in the budget submitted under Section 2 of Article VIII
4to the General Assembly amounts of funding for the Commission
5and the Secretary of State that are sufficient to meet the
6estimated expenses of each of those officers or entities in
7implementing the redistricting process required by this
8Section for a three-year period, including, but not limited to,
9adequate funding for a statewide outreach program to solicit
10broad public participation in the redistricting process. The
11Governor shall also make adequate office space available for
12the operation of the Commission. The Legislature shall make the
13necessary appropriation in a budget implementation Act, and the
14appropriation shall be available during the entire 3-year
15appropriation shall be available during the entire three-year
16period. The appropriation made shall be equal to the greater of
17$3,000,000 or the amount expended in accordance with this
18subsection in the immediately preceding redistricting process,
19as each amount is adjusted by the cumulative change in
20inflation based on the consumer price index-u or a successor
21metric, since the date of the immediately preceding
22appropriation made in accordance with this subsection. The
23Legislature may make additional appropriations in any year that
24it determines that the Commission requires additional funding
25in order to fulfill its duties. The Commission, with fiscal
26oversight from the Comptroller or its successor, shall have

 

 

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1procurement and contracting authority and may hire staff and
2consultants, for the purposes of this Section, including legal
3representation.
4    (k) A redistricting plan filed with the Secretary of State
5shall be presumed valid and shall be published promptly by the
6Secretary of State.
7    (l) The Supreme Court shall have original and exclusive
8jurisdiction over actions concerning the redistricting of the
9Congressional, Legislative, and Representative Districts,
10which shall be initiated in the name of the People of the State
11by the Attorney General. Each person who resides or is
12domiciled in the State, or whose executive office or principal
13place of business is located in the State, may bring an action
14in court of competent jurisdiction to obtain any of the relief
15available.
16    (a) Legislative Districts shall be compact, contiguous and
17substantially equal in population. Representative Districts
18shall be compact, contiguous, and substantially equal in
19population.
20    (b) In the year following each Federal decennial census
21year, the General Assembly by law shall redistrict the
22Legislative Districts and the Representative Districts.
23    If no redistricting plan becomes effective by June 30 of
24that year, a Legislative Redistricting Commission shall be
25constituted not later than July 10. The Commission shall
26consist of eight members, no more than four of whom shall be

 

 

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1members of the same political party.
2    The Speaker and Minority Leader of the House of
3Representatives shall each appoint to the Commission one
4Representative and one person who is not a member of the
5General Assembly. The President and Minority Leader of the
6Senate shall each appoint to the Commission one Senator and one
7person who is not a member of the General Assembly.
8    The members shall be certified to the Secretary of State by
9the appointing authorities. A vacancy on the Commission shall
10be filled within five days by the authority that made the
11original appointment. A Chairman and Vice Chairman shall be
12chosen by a majority of all members of the Commission.
13    Not later than August 10, the Commission shall file with
14the Secretary of State a redistricting plan approved by at
15least five members.
16    If the Commission fails to file an approved redistricting
17plan, the Supreme Court shall submit the names of two persons,
18not of the same political party, to the Secretary of State not
19later than September 1.
20    Not later than September 5, the Secretary of State publicly
21shall draw by random selection the name of one of the two
22persons to serve as the ninth member of the Commission.
23    Not later than October 5, the Commission shall file with
24the Secretary of State a redistricting plan approved by at
25least five members.
26    An approved redistricting plan filed with the Secretary of

 

 

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1State shall be presumed valid, shall have the force and effect
2of law and shall be published promptly by the Secretary of
3State.
4    The Supreme Court shall have original and exclusive
5jurisdiction over actions concerning redistricting the House
6and Senate, which shall be initiated in the name of the People
7of the State by the Attorney General.
8(Source: Amendment adopted at general election November 4,
91980.)
 
10
SCHEDULE
11    This Constitutional Amendment takes effect upon being
12declared adopted in accordance with Section of the Illinois
13Constitutional Amendment Act and applies to redistricting
14beginning in 2021 and to the election of General Assembly
15members beginning in 2022.