101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
SC0018

 

Introduced 2/13/2020, by Sen. Melinda Bush and Dale A. Righter

 

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 2021 and to the election of General Assembly members beginning in 2022.


LRB101 20591 RJF 70220 e

 

SC0018LRB101 20591 RJF 70220 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.

 

 

SC0018- 2 -LRB101 20591 RJF 70220 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

 

 

SC0018- 3 -LRB101 20591 RJF 70220 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) As used in this Section:
13    "Coalition districts" means districts in which more than
14one group of racial minorities or language minorities may form
15a coalition to elect the candidate of the coalition's choice.
16    "Consumer price index-u" means the index published by the
17Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of
18Labor or a successor agency that measures the average change in
19prices of goods and services purchased by all urban consumers,
20United States city average, all items, 1982-84=100.
21    "Crossover districts" means districts in which a racial
22minority or language minority constitutes less than a majority
23of the voting-age population, but where this minority, at least
24potentially, is large enough to elect the candidate of its
25choice with help from voters who are members of the majority

 

 

SC0018- 4 -LRB101 20591 RJF 70220 e

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

 

 

SC0018- 5 -LRB101 20591 RJF 70220 e

1        (7) respect, to the extent practical, geographic
2    integrity of units of local government;
3        (8) respect, to the extent practical, communities
4    sharing common social or economic interests; and
5        (9) not discriminate against or in favor of any
6    political party or individual.
7    (c) No later than March 1 of the year that follows the
8federal decennial census, the Chief Justice and the most senior
9Supreme Court Justice who is not elected from the same
10political party as the Chief Justice shall select 17
11commissioners to form an Independent Redistricting Commission.
12The commissioners shall reflect the ethnic, gender, and racial
13demographics of Illinois to reflect the demographic data
14provided by the decennial census, each commissioner shall be a
15voter who has been continuously affiliated in Illinois with the
16same political party or unaffiliated with a political party and
17who has not changed political party affiliation for 5 or more
18years immediately preceding the date of his or her appointment.
19Fourteen of the commissioners shall represent, in equal number,
20the two political parties whose gubernatorial candidates
21received the greatest number of votes in the last gubernatorial
22election and 3 of the commissioners must represent neither of
23those parties. No more than one commissioner shall be from the
24same Congressional District. If the total number of
25Congressional Districts equal less than 17, then at-large
26commissioners will be appointed to fill vacancies, and no more

 

 

SC0018- 6 -LRB101 20591 RJF 70220 e

1than 2 commissioners shall be from the same Congressional
2District. The 2 Justices responsible for selecting the 17
3commissioners shall consider party identification and all
4campaign contributions in determining a potential
5commissioner'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 contract;
22    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

 

 

SC0018- 7 -LRB101 20591 RJF 70220 e

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 one
8of 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 either
12of 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 commission
23and to the extent possible, to keep the geographic and racial
24demographics of the commission the same as it was prior to the
25vacancy.
26    (i) The Commission shall act in public meetings by the

 

 

SC0018- 8 -LRB101 20591 RJF 70220 e

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 offense
19to provide the Secretary of State with a report that includes
20the last known place of residence prior to incarceration of
21each inmate, except an inmate whose last known place of
22residence is outside of Illinois. The Secretary of State shall
23deliver such report to the Commission by December 30 of that
24same year. For purposes of reapportionment and redistricting,
25the Commission shall count each incarcerated person as residing
26at his or her last known place of residence, rather than at the

 

 

SC0018- 9 -LRB101 20591 RJF 70220 e

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

 

 

SC0018- 10 -LRB101 20591 RJF 70220 e

1open to comment.
2    The Commission may not adopt a redistricting plan until the
3Commission adopts and publishes a report explaining the plan's
4compliance with the United States Constitution and Illinois
5Constitution. Before the adoption of a redistricting plan, the
6Commission shall release to the public the final plan and its
7associated compliance report. The meeting to vote on adoption
8of a redistricting plan shall occur no sooner than 30 days
9after the release of the final plan and its associated
10compliance report. All proposed and adopted maps and any data
11used to develop these maps are public records. The Commission
12shall maintain a website or other similar electronic platform
13to disseminate information about the Commission, including
14records of its meetings and hearings, proposed redistricting
15plans, assessments and reports on plans, and to allow the
16public to view its meetings and hearings in both live and
17archived form. The website or electronic platform must allow
18the public to submit redistricting plans and comments on
19redistricting plans to the Commission for its consideration.
20    (l) The Commission shall adopt and file with the Secretary
21of State a redistricting plan for the Legislative Districts,
22Representative Districts, and Congressional Districts by
23September 1 of the year following the federal decennial census.
24The Commission may adopt separate redistricting plans for the
25Legislative Districts, the Representative Districts, and the
26Congressional Districts.

 

 

SC0018- 11 -LRB101 20591 RJF 70220 e

1    (m) Members of the Commission shall be compensated at the
2rate of $37.50 for each hour the member is engaged in
3Commission business. For each succeeding Commission, the rate
4of compensation shall be adjusted in each year of the federal
5decennial census by the cumulative change in inflation based on
6the consumer price index-u or a successor metric. Members of
7the Commission are eligible for reimbursement of personal
8expenses incurred in connection with the duties performed
9pursuant to this Section. A member's residence is deemed to be
10the member's post of duty for purposes of reimbursement of
11expenses.
12    (n) Within the first 30 days after the selection of the
13Independent Redistricting Commission, the Governor shall
14include in the budget submitted under Section 2 of Article VIII
15to the General Assembly amounts of funding for the Commission
16and the Secretary of State that are sufficient to meet the
17estimated expenses of each of those officers or entities in
18implementing the redistricting process required by this
19Section for a 3-year period, including, but not limited to,
20adequate funding for a statewide outreach program to solicit
21broad public participation in the redistricting process. The
22Governor shall also make adequate office space available for
23the operation of the Commission. The General Assembly shall
24make the necessary appropriation in a Budget Implementation
25Act, and the appropriation shall be available during the entire
263-year period. The appropriation made shall be equal to the

 

 

SC0018- 12 -LRB101 20591 RJF 70220 e

1greater of $3,000,000 or the amount expended in accordance with
2this subsection (n) in the immediately preceding redistricting
3process, as each amount is adjusted by the cumulative change in
4inflation based on the consumer price index-u or a successor
5metric, since the date of the immediately preceding
6appropriation made in accordance with this subsection (n). The
7General Assembly may make additional appropriations in any year
8that it determines that the Commission requires additional
9funding in order to fulfill its duties. The Commission, with
10fiscal oversight from the Comptroller or its successor, shall
11have procurement and contracting authority and may hire staff
12and consultants, for the purposes of this Section, including
13legal representation.
14    (o) A redistricting plan filed with the Secretary of State
15shall be presumed valid and shall be published promptly by the
16Secretary of State.
17    (p) The Supreme Court shall have original and exclusive
18jurisdiction over actions concerning the redistricting of the
19Congressional, Legislative, and Representative Districts,
20which shall be initiated in the name of the People of the State
21by the Attorney General. Each person who resides or is
22domiciled in the State, or whose executive office or principal
23place of business is located in the State, may bring an action
24in a court of competent jurisdiction to obtain any of the
25relief available.
26    (a) Legislative Districts shall be compact, contiguous and

 

 

SC0018- 13 -LRB101 20591 RJF 70220 e

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

 

 

SC0018- 14 -LRB101 20591 RJF 70220 e

1plan, the Supreme Court shall submit the names of two persons,
2not of the same political party, to the Secretary of State not
3later than September 1.
4    Not later than September 5, the Secretary of State publicly
5shall draw by random selection the name of one of the two
6persons to serve as the ninth member of the Commission.
7    Not later than October 5, the Commission shall file with
8the Secretary of State a redistricting plan approved by at
9least five members.
10    An approved redistricting plan filed with the Secretary of
11State shall be presumed valid, shall have the force and effect
12of law and shall be published promptly by the Secretary of
13State.
14    The Supreme Court shall have original and exclusive
15jurisdiction over actions concerning redistricting the House
16and Senate, which shall be initiated in the name of the People
17of the State by the Attorney General.
18(Source: Amendment adopted at general election November 4,
191980.)
 
20
SCHEDULE
21    This Constitutional Amendment takes effect upon being
22declared adopted in accordance with Section of the Illinois
23Constitutional Amendment Act and applies to redistricting
24beginning in 2021 and to the election of General Assembly
25members beginning in 2022.