99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
HC0058

 

Introduced , by Rep. Jack D. Franks

 

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

    Proposes to amend the Legislature Article of the Illinois Constitution. Provides that the boundaries of Legislative and Representative districts may be separate. Requires that both types of districts, in addition to being compact, contiguous, and substantially equal in population, must reflect minority voting strengths, promote competition, and consider political boundaries. Replaces the current method of redistricting of the Senate and House of Representatives with the following: an 8-member Independent Redistricting Commission, appointed by the Chief Justice and the most senior Justice of the Supreme Court who is not affiliated with the same political party as the Chief Justice, shall hold at least 15 public hearings throughout the State before adopting any redistricting plan; requires the Commission to adopt a report explaining the compliance of the proposed redistricting plan with the U.S. and Illinois Constitutions; and provides for the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the most senior Justice of the Supreme Court who is not affiliated with the same political party as the Chief Justice to appoint a ninth member to the Commission, if the Commission fails to adopt and file a redistricting plan by the required date. Specifies the schedule for redistricting activities. Effective upon being declared adopted and applicable to redistricting beginning in 2021 and to the election of General Assembly members beginning in 2022.


LRB099 21449 JWD 47536 e

 

HC0058LRB099 21449 JWD 47536 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 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.

 

 

HC0058- 2 -LRB099 21449 JWD 47536 e

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

 

 

HC0058- 3 -LRB099 21449 JWD 47536 e

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) Legislative Districts and Representative Districts
13shall each, in order of priority, be substantially equal in
14population; provide racial minorities and language minorities
15with the equal opportunity to participate in the political
16process and elect candidates of their choice; provide racial
17minorities and language minorities who constitute less than a
18voting-age majority of a District with an opportunity to
19substantially influence the outcome of an election; be
20contiguous; be compact; respect, to the extent practical,
21geographic integrity of units of local government; respect, to
22the extent practical, communities sharing common social or
23economic interests; and not discriminate against or in favor of
24any political party or individual.
25    (b) No later than June 30 of the year in which each Federal

 

 

HC0058- 4 -LRB099 21449 JWD 47536 e

1decennial census occurs, the Chief Justice and the most senior
2Justice of the Supreme Court who is not affiliated with the
3same political party as the Chief Justice shall select eight
4commissioners to an Independent Redistricting Commission.
5Commissioners must reflect the ethnic, gender, and racial
6demographics of Illinois, and there must be at least one
7commissioner from each Judicial District.
8    (c) A person is ineligible to serve on the Commission if
9within the previous four calendar years the person or his or
10her spouse was appointed or elected to a position with the
11State or local government, a State employee, a lobbyist as
12defined by law, a person with an ownership interest in an
13entity with a state contract, or appointed or elected to serve
14a political party. A commissioner is ineligible for a period of
15ten years to serve in the General Assembly or to be appointed
16to a position subject to Senate confirmation. Commissioners
17must file financial disclosure statements and abide by any
18ethics requirements established by law.
19    (d) The Commission shall act in public meetings by
20affirmative vote of five commissioners. The Commission shall
21elect its chairperson and vice chairperson, who shall not be
22affiliated with the same political party. All meetings of the
23Commission shall be open to the public and publicly noticed at
24least two days prior to the meeting. All records of the
25Commission, including all communications to or from the
26Commission regarding the work of the Commission, shall be

 

 

HC0058- 5 -LRB099 21449 JWD 47536 e

1available for public inspection. The Commission shall adopt
2rules governing its procedures.
3    (e) The Commission shall hold at least fifteen public
4hearings throughout the State before adopting any
5redistricting plan, with a majority occurring before the
6Commission releases any proposed redistricting plan. The
7Commission may not adopt a redistricting plan until the
8Commission adopts a report explaining its compliance with the
9United States and Illinois Constitutions.
10    (f) The Commission shall adopt and file with the Secretary
11of State a redistricting plan for the Legislative Districts and
12Representative Districts by June 30 of the year following the
13Federal decennial census. The Commission may adopt separate
14redistricting plans for the Legislative Districts and the
15Representative Districts.
16    (g) If the Commission fails to adopt and file a
17redistricting plan by July 1 of the year following a Federal
18decennial census, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and
19the most senior Justice of the Supreme Court who is not
20affiliated with the same political party as the Chief Justice
21shall appoint a ninth member to the Commission. The nine-member
22Commission shall adopt and file with the Secretary of State a
23redistricting plan for the Legislative Districts and
24Representative Districts by August 1 of the year following the
25Federal decennial census.
26    (h) A redistricting plan filed with the Secretary of State

 

 

HC0058- 6 -LRB099 21449 JWD 47536 e

1shall be presumed valid and shall be published promptly by the
2Secretary of State.
3    (i) The Supreme Court shall have original and exclusive
4jurisdiction over actions concerning redistricting the House
5and Senate, which shall be initiated in the name of the People
6of the State by the Attorney General.
7    (a) Legislative Districts shall be compact, contiguous and
8substantially equal in population. Representative Districts
9shall be compact, contiguous, and substantially equal in
10population.
11    (b) In the year following each Federal decennial census
12year, the General Assembly by law shall redistrict the
13Legislative Districts and the Representative Districts.
14    If no redistricting plan becomes effective by June 30 of
15that year, a Legislative Redistricting Commission shall be
16constituted not later than July 10. The Commission shall
17consist of eight members, no more than four of whom shall be
18members of the same political party.
19    The Speaker and Minority Leader of the House of
20Representatives shall each appoint to the Commission one
21Representative and one person who is not a member of the
22General Assembly. The President and Minority Leader of the
23Senate shall each appoint to the Commission one Senator and one
24person who is not a member of the General Assembly.
25    The members shall be certified to the Secretary of State by
26the appointing authorities. A vacancy on the Commission shall

 

 

HC0058- 7 -LRB099 21449 JWD 47536 e

1be filled within five days by the authority that made the
2original appointment. A Chairman and Vice Chairman shall be
3chosen by a majority of all members of the Commission.
4    Not later than August 10, the Commission shall file with
5the Secretary of State a redistricting plan approved by at
6least five members.
7    If the Commission fails to file an approved redistricting
8plan, the Supreme Court shall submit the names of two persons,
9not of the same political party, to the Secretary of State not
10later than September 1.
11    Not later than September 5, the Secretary of State publicly
12shall draw by random selection the name of one of the two
13persons to serve as the ninth member of the Commission.
14    Not later than October 5, the Commission shall file with
15the Secretary of State a redistricting plan approved by at
16least five members.
17    An approved redistricting plan filed with the Secretary of
18State shall be presumed valid, shall have the force and effect
19of law and shall be published promptly by the Secretary of
20State.
21    The Supreme Court shall have original and exclusive
22jurisdiction over actions concerning redistricting the House
23and Senate, which shall be initiated in the name of the People
24of the State by the Attorney General.
25(Source: Amendment adopted at general election November 4,
261980.)
 

 

 

HC0058- 8 -LRB099 21449 JWD 47536 e

1
SCHEDULE
2    This Constitutional Amendment takes effect upon being
3declared adopted in accordance with Section 7 of the Illinois
4Constitutional Amendment Act and applies to redistricting
5beginning in 2021 and to the election of General Assembly
6members beginning in 2022.