102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
HB3828

 

Introduced 2/22/2021, by Rep. Kelly M. Cassidy

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
10 ILCS 5/25-6  from Ch. 46, par. 25-6

    Amends the Election Code. Provides the procedure for filling a vacancy of a Senator or Representative in the General Assembly. Provides that within 3 days after a vacancy, the committee for that legislative or representative district shall create a uniform application for candidates seeking appointment and determine the date, time, and location at which the committee shall make the appointment (allowing for at least 7 days of public notice). Provides that applications received within 2 days before the appointment shall be made publicly available. Provides that candidates shall be granted an opportunity to present their credentials publicly and take questions from the committeepersons. Provides for a proxy for a committeeperson that is ineligible to vote for an appointment. Effective immediately.


LRB102 17062 SMS 22490 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB3828LRB102 17062 SMS 22490 b

1    AN ACT concerning elections.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Election Code is amended by changing
5Section 25-6 as follows:
 
6    (10 ILCS 5/25-6)  (from Ch. 46, par. 25-6)
7    Sec. 25-6. (a) When a vacancy occurs in the office of State
8Senator or Representative in the General Assembly, the vacancy
9shall be filled within 30 days by appointment of the
10legislative or representative committee of that legislative or
11representative district of the political party of which the
12incumbent was a candidate at the time of his election, as
13provided in subsection (a-5). The appointee shall be a member
14of the same political party as the person he succeeds was at
15the time of his election, and shall be otherwise eligible to
16serve as a member of the General Assembly.
17    (a-5) Within 3 days after a vacancy occurring in the
18office of State Senator or Representative in the General
19Assembly, the legislative or representative committee of that
20legislative or representative district shall convene to: (i)
21create a uniform application for all candidates seeking
22appointment to the vacated office; and (ii) determine the
23date, time, and location at which the committee shall make its

 

 

HB3828- 2 -LRB102 17062 SMS 22490 b

1appointment, provided the date selected allows for at least 7
2days of public notice before the appointment will occur. The
3uniform application shall be made publicly available by all
4committeepersons of the legislative or representative
5district. Applications received within 2 days before the
6appointment shall be made publicly available on the website of
7the committeeperson holding the majority of the votes pursuant
8to subsection (d). If 2 or more committeepersons hold the
9majority of votes or in making appointments in legislative or
10representative districts comprising only one county or part of
11a county other than a county containing 2,000,000 or more
12inhabitants, all such committeepersons shall be responsible
13for making applications received within 2 days before the
14appointment publicly available. On the day selected by the
15committee for appointment, all candidates seeking appointment
16shall be granted an opportunity to present their credentials
17publicly to all in attendance and take questions from
18committeepersons.
19    (a-10) If a committeeperson is ineligible to cast his or
20her vote pursuant to subsection (d-5), because he or she is
21also the former holder of the office now vacant, the
22legislative or representative committee on which the former
23officeholder serves as a committeeperson shall meet to elect a
24proxy member to vote for the ineligible committeeperson. The
25proxy shall be entitled to the same number of votes to which
26the ineligible committeeperson would have otherwise been

 

 

HB3828- 3 -LRB102 17062 SMS 22490 b

1entitled.
2    (b) When a vacancy occurs in the office of a legislator
3elected other than as a candidate of a political party, the
4vacancy shall be filled within 30 days of such occurrence by
5appointment of the Governor. The appointee shall not be a
6member of a political party, and shall be otherwise eligible
7to serve as a member of the General Assembly. Provided,
8however, the appropriate body of the General Assembly may, by
9resolution, allow a legislator elected other than as a
10candidate of a political party to affiliate with a political
11party for his term of office in the General Assembly. A vacancy
12occurring in the office of any such legislator who affiliates
13with a political party pursuant to resolution shall be filled
14within 30 days of such occurrence by appointment of the
15appropriate legislative or representative committee of that
16legislative or representative district of the political party
17with which the legislator so affiliates. The appointee shall
18be a member of the political party with which the incumbent
19affiliated.
20    (c) For purposes of this Section, a person is a member of a
21political party for 23 months after (i) signing a candidate
22petition, as to the political party whose nomination is
23sought; (ii) signing a statement of candidacy, as to the
24political party where nomination or election is sought; (iii)
25signing a Petition of Political Party Formation, as to the
26proposed political party; (iv) applying for and receiving a

 

 

HB3828- 4 -LRB102 17062 SMS 22490 b

1primary ballot, as to the political party whose ballot is
2received; or (v) becoming a candidate for election to or
3accepting appointment to the office of ward, township,
4precinct or state central committeeperson.
5    (d) In making appointments under this Section, except as
6provided in subsection (d-5), each committeeperson of the
7appropriate legislative or representative committee shall be
8entitled to one vote for each vote that was received, in that
9portion of the legislative or representative district which he
10represents on the committee, by the Senator or Representative
11whose seat is vacant at the general election at which that
12legislator was elected to the seat which has been vacated and a
13majority of the total number of votes received in such
14election by the Senator or Representative whose seat is vacant
15is required for the appointment of his successor; provided,
16however, that in making appointments in legislative or
17representative districts comprising only one county or part of
18a county other than a county containing 2,000,000 or more
19inhabitants, each committeeperson shall be entitled to cast
20only one vote.
21    (d-5) A State Senator or Representative who is also a
22committeeperson, elected pursuant to subsection (b) of Section
237-8, is prohibited from participating in the appointment of
24his or her successor. If the vacancy in the office of State
25Senator or Representative is to be filled by the legislative
26or representative committee on which the former officeholder

 

 

HB3828- 5 -LRB102 17062 SMS 22490 b

1serves as a committeeperson, he or she shall not participate
2in the selection process or cast any votes for a candidate. Any
3votes he or she would have voted pursuant to subsection (d)
4shall be voted by the proxy member elected by the other
5committeepersons of the legislative or representative
6committee, pursuant to subsection (a-10).
7    (e) Appointments made under this Section shall be in
8writing and shall be signed by members of the legislative or
9representative committee whose total votes are sufficient to
10make the appointments or by the Governor, as the case may be.
11Such appointments shall be filed with the Secretary of State
12and with the Clerk of the House of Representatives or the
13Secretary of the Senate, whichever is appropriate.
14    (f) An appointment made under this Section shall be for
15the remainder of the term, except that, if the appointment is
16to fill a vacancy in the office of State Senator and the
17vacancy occurs with more than 28 months remaining in the term,
18the term of the appointment shall expire at the time of the
19next general election at which time a Senator shall be elected
20for a new term commencing on the determination of the results
21of the election and ending on the second Wednesday of January
22in the second odd-numbered year next occurring. Whenever a
23Senator has been appointed to fill a vacancy and was
24thereafter elected to that office, the term of service under
25the authority of the election shall be considered a new term of
26service, separate from the term of service rendered under the

 

 

HB3828- 6 -LRB102 17062 SMS 22490 b

1authority of the appointment.
2(Source: P.A. 100-1027, eff. 1-1-19.)
 
3    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
4becoming law.