96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2009 and 2010
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
HC0026

 

Introduced 2/26/2009, by Rep. Mike Boland

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 1
ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 2
ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 3
ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 5
ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 6
ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 7
ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 8
ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 9
ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 10
ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 12
ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 14
ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 15 rep.
ILCON Art. V, Sec. 9
ILCON Art. V, Sec. 11
ILCON Art. VII, Sec. 6
ILCON Art. VIII, Sec. 3
ILCON Art. IX, Sec. 9
ILCON Art. XIII, Sec. 8
ILCON Art. XIV, Sec. 1
ILCON Art. XIV, Sec. 2
ILCON Art. XIV, Sec. 4

    Proposes to amend the Legislature Article of the Illinois Constitution. Changes the State's legislature to a unicameral General Assembly composed of 177 members. Provides that the members, beginning in 2012, are elected from single-member districts for staggered 4-year and 2-year terms. Provides for a Presiding Officer and a Minority Leader. Makes conforming changes in other Articles of the Illinois Constitution. Effective upon being declared adopted and applies beginning with the 97th General Assembly.


LRB096 03805 JAM 13837 e

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HC0026 LRB096 03805 JAM 13837 e

1
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
2
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT

 
3     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
4 NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
5 SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that there shall be submitted to the
6 electors of the State for adoption or rejection at the general
7 election next occurring at least 6 months after the adoption of
8 this resolution a proposition to amend the Illinois
9 Constitution by changing Sections 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10,
10 12, 14, and 15 of Article IV, Sections 9 and 11 of Article V,
11 Section 6 of Article VII, Section 3 of Article VIII, Section 9
12 of Article IX, Section 8 of Article XIII, and Sections 1, 2,
13 and 4 of Article XIV as follows:
 
 
14
ARTICLE IV
15
THE LEGISLATURE

 
16     (ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 1)
17 SECTION 1. LEGISLATURE - POWER AND STRUCTURE
18     The legislative power is vested in a General Assembly
19 consisting of 177 Lawmakers a Senate and a House of
20 Representatives, elected by the electors from 59 Legislative
21 Districts and 118 Representative Districts until 2012 and from

 

 

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1 177 Legislative Districts beginning in 2012.
2 (Source: Amendment adopted at general election November 4,
3 1980.)
 
4     (ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 2)
5 SECTION 2. LEGISLATIVE COMPOSITION
6     (a) Until 2012, one Lawmaker shall be elected from each of
7 59 Legislative Districts. Beginning in 2012, one Lawmaker One
8 Senator shall be elected from each of 177 Legislative Districts
9 District. Immediately following each decennial redistricting,
10 the General Assembly by law shall divide the Legislative
11 Districts as equally as possible into three groups. Lawmakers
12 Senators from one group shall be elected for terms of four
13 years, four years and two years; Lawmakers Senators from the
14 second group, for terms of four years, two years and four
15 years; and Lawmakers Senators from the third group, for terms
16 of two years, four years and four years. The Legislative
17 Districts in each group shall be distributed substantially
18 equally over the State.
19     (b) Until 2011, each Each Legislative District shall be
20 divided into two Representative Districts. In 2008 and 2010,
21 one Lawmaker 1982 and every two years thereafter one
22 Representative shall be elected from each Representative
23 District for a term of two years.
24     (c) To be eligible to serve as a member of the General

 

 

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

 

 

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1 public office which shall have been created or the compensation
2 for which shall have been increased by the General Assembly
3 during that term.
4 (Source: Amendment adopted at general election November 4,
5 1980.)
 
6     (ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 3)
7 SECTION 3. LEGISLATIVE REDISTRICTING
8     (a) Legislative Districts shall be compact, contiguous and
9 substantially equal in population. Representative Districts
10 shall be compact, contiguous, and substantially equal in
11 population.
12     (b) In the year following each Federal decennial census
13 year, the General Assembly by law shall redistrict the
14 Legislative Districts and the Representative Districts.
15     If no redistricting plan becomes effective by June 30 of
16 that year, a Legislative Redistricting Commission shall be
17 constituted not later than July 10. The Commission shall
18 consist of eight members, no more than four of whom shall be
19 members of the same political party.
20     The Presiding Officer Speaker and Minority Leader of the
21 General Assembly House of Representatives shall each appoint to
22 the Commission two Lawmakers and two persons who are not
23 members one Representative and one person who is not a member
24 of the General Assembly. The President and Minority Leader of

 

 

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

 

 

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1 Assembly House and Senate, which shall be initiated in the name
2 of the People of the State by the Attorney General.
3 (Source: Amendment adopted at general election November 4,
4 1980.)
 
5     (ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 5)
6 SECTION 5. SESSIONS
7     (a) The General Assembly shall convene each year on the
8 second Wednesday of January. The General Assembly shall be a
9 continuous body during the period from the second Wednesday of
10 January in an odd-numbered year through the Tuesday immediately
11 preceding the second Wednesday of January in the next
12 odd-numbered year term for which members of the House of
13 Representatives are elected.
14     (b) The Governor may convene the General Assembly or the
15 Senate alone in special session by a proclamation stating the
16 purpose of the session; and only business encompassed by such
17 purpose, together with any impeachments or confirmation of
18 appointments shall be transacted. Special sessions of the
19 General Assembly may also be convened by joint proclamation of
20 the Presiding Officer of the General Assembly presiding
21 officers of both houses, issued as provided by law.
22     (c) Sessions of each house of the General Assembly and
23 meetings of committees, joint committees and legislative
24 commissions shall be open to the public. Sessions and committee

 

 

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1 and legislative commission meetings of a house may be closed to
2 the public if two-thirds of the members elected to the General
3 Assembly that house determine that the public interest so
4 requires; and meetings of joint committees and legislative
5 commissions may be so closed if two-thirds of the members
6 elected to each house so determine.
7 (Source: Illinois Constitution.)
 
8     (ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 6)
9 SECTION 6. ORGANIZATION
10     (a) A majority of the members elected to the General
11 Assembly each house constitutes a quorum.
12     (b) On the first day of the January session of the General
13 Assembly in odd-numbered years, the Secretary of State shall
14 convene the House of Representatives to elect from its
15 membership a Speaker of the House of Representatives as
16 presiding officer, and the Governor shall convene the General
17 Assembly Senate to elect from its membership a Presiding
18 Officer President of the Senate as presiding officer.
19     (c) For purposes of powers of appointment conferred by this
20 Constitution, the Minority Leader of the General Assembly
21 either house is a member of the numerically strongest political
22 party other than the party to which the Presiding Officer
23 Speaker or the President belongs, as the case may be.
24     (d) The General Assembly Each house shall determine the

 

 

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1 rules of its proceedings, judge the elections, returns and
2 qualifications of its members and choose its officers. No
3 member shall be expelled by the General Assembly either house,
4 except by a vote of two-thirds of the members elected to that
5 house. A member may be expelled only once for the same offense.
6 The General Assembly Each house may punish by imprisonment any
7 person, not a member, guilty of disrespect to the General
8 Assembly house by disorderly or contemptuous behavior in its
9 presence. Imprisonment shall not extend beyond twenty-four
10 hours at one time unless the person persists in disorderly or
11 contemptuous behavior.
12 (Source: Illinois Constitution.)
 
13     (ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 7)
14 SECTION 7. TRANSACTION OF BUSINESS
15     (a) Committees of the General Assembly each house, joint
16 committees of the two houses and legislative commissions shall
17 give reasonable public notice of meetings, including a
18 statement of subjects to be considered.
19     (b) The General Assembly Each house shall keep a journal of
20 its proceedings and a transcript of its debates. The journal
21 shall be published and the transcript shall be available to the
22 public.
23     (c) The General Assembly Either house or any committee
24 thereof as provided by law may compel by subpoena the

 

 

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1 attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of
2 books, records and papers.
3 (Source: Illinois Constitution.)
 
4     (ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 8)
5 SECTION 8. PASSAGE OF BILLS
6     (a) The enacting clause of the laws of this State shall be:
7 "Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
8 represented in the General Assembly."
9     (b) The General Assembly shall enact laws only by bill.
10 Bills may originate in either house, but may be amended or
11 rejected by the other.
12     (c) No bill shall become a law without the concurrence of a
13 majority of the members elected to each house. Final passage of
14 a bill shall be by record vote. At In the Senate at the request
15 of two members, and in the House at the request of seven five
16 members, a record vote may be taken on any other occasion. A
17 record vote is a vote by yeas and nays entered on the journal.
18     (d) A bill shall be read by title on three different days
19 in the General Assembly each house. A bill and each amendment
20 thereto shall be reproduced and placed on the desk of each
21 member before final passage.
22     Bills, except bills for appropriations and for the
23 codification, revision or rearrangement of laws, shall be
24 confined to one subject. Appropriation bills shall be limited

 

 

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1 to the subject of appropriations.
2     A bill expressly amending a law shall set forth completely
3 the sections amended.
4     The Presiding Officer Speaker of the House of
5 Representatives and the President of the Senate shall sign each
6 bill that passes the General Assembly both houses to certify
7 that the procedural requirements for passage have been met.
8 (Source: Illinois Constitution.)
 
9     (ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 9)
10 SECTION 9. VETO PROCEDURE
11     (a) Every bill passed by the General Assembly shall be
12 presented to the Governor within 30 calendar days after its
13 passage. The foregoing requirement shall be judicially
14 enforceable. If the Governor approves the bill, he or she shall
15 sign it and it shall become law.
16     (b) If the Governor does not approve the bill, he or she
17 shall veto it by returning it with his or her objections to the
18 General Assembly house in which it originated. Any bill not so
19 returned by the Governor within 60 calendar days after it is
20 presented to him or her shall become law. If recess or
21 adjournment of the General Assembly prevents the return of a
22 bill, the bill and the Governor's objections shall be filed
23 with the Secretary of State within such 60 calendar days. The
24 Secretary of State shall return the bill and objections to the

 

 

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1 General Assembly originating house promptly upon the next
2 meeting of the same General Assembly at which the bill can be
3 considered.
4     (c) When The house to which a bill is returned, the General
5 Assembly shall immediately enter the Governor's objections
6 upon its journal. If within 15 calendar days after such entry
7 the General Assembly that house by a record vote of
8 three-fifths of the members elected passes the bill, it shall
9 be delivered immediately to the second house. If within 15
10 calendar days after such delivery the second house by a record
11 vote of three-fifths of the members elected passes the bill, it
12 shall become law.
13     (d) The Governor may reduce or veto any item of
14 appropriations in a bill presented to him or her. Portions of a
15 bill not reduced or vetoed shall become law. An item vetoed
16 shall be returned to the General Assembly house in which it
17 originated and may become law in the same manner as a vetoed
18 bill. An item reduced in amount shall be returned to the
19 General Assembly house in which it originated and may be
20 restored to its original amount in the same manner as a vetoed
21 bill except that the required record vote shall be a majority
22 of the members elected to each house. If a reduced item is not
23 so restored, it shall become law in the reduced amount.
24     (e) The Governor may return a bill together with specific
25 recommendations for change to the General Assembly house in
26 which it originated. The bill shall be considered in the same

 

 

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1 manner as a vetoed bill but the specific recommendations may be
2 accepted by a record vote of a majority of the members elected
3 to each house. Such bill shall be presented again to the
4 Governor and if he or she certifies that such acceptance
5 conforms to his or her specific recommendations, the bill shall
6 become law. If the Governor he does not so certify, he or she
7 shall return it as a vetoed bill to the General Assembly house
8 in which it originated.
9 (Source: Illinois Constitution.)
 
10     (ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 10)
11 SECTION 10. EFFECTIVE DATE OF LAWS
12     The General Assembly shall provide by law for a uniform
13 effective date for laws passed prior to June 1 of a calendar
14 year. The General Assembly may provide for a different
15 effective date in any law passed prior to June 1. A bill passed
16 after May 31 shall not become effective prior to June 1 of the
17 next calendar year unless the General Assembly by the vote of
18 three-fifths of the members elected to each house provides for
19 an earlier effective date.
20 (Source: Amendment adopted at general election November 8,
21 1994.)
 
22     (ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 12)

 

 

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1 SECTION 12. LEGISLATIVE IMMUNITY
2     Except in cases of treason, felony or breach of peace, a
3 member shall be privileged from arrest going to, during, and
4 returning from sessions of the General Assembly. A member shall
5 not be held to answer before any other tribunal for any speech
6 or debate, written or oral, in the General Assembly either
7 house. These immunities shall apply to committee and
8 legislative commission proceedings.
9 (Source: Illinois Constitution.)
 
10     (ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 14)
11 SECTION 14. IMPEACHMENT
12     The General Assembly House of Representatives has the sole
13 power to conduct legislative investigations to determine the
14 existence of cause for impeachment and, by the vote of a
15 majority of the members elected, to impeach Executive and
16 Judicial officers. Impeachments shall be tried by the General
17 Assembly Senate. When sitting for that purpose, Lawmakers
18 Senators shall be upon oath, or affirmation, to do justice
19 according to law. If the Governor is tried, the Chief Justice
20 of the Supreme Court shall preside. No person shall be
21 convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of the
22 Lawmakers Senators elected. Judgment shall not extend beyond
23 removal from office and disqualification to hold any public
24 office of this State. An impeached officer, whether convicted

 

 

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1 or acquitted, shall be liable to prosecution, trial, judgment
2 and punishment according to law.
3 (Source: Illinois Constitution.)
 
4     (ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 15 rep.)
5 SECTION 15. ADJOURNMENT (REPEALED)
6     (a) When the General Assembly is in session, neither house
7 without the consent of the other shall adjourn for more than
8 three days or to a place other than where the two houses are
9 sitting.
10     (b) If either house certifies that a disagreement exists
11 between the houses as to the time for adjourning a session, the
12 Governor may adjourn the General Assembly to a time not later
13 than the first day of the next annual session.
14 (Source: Illinois Constitution.)
 
 
15
ARTICLE V
16
THE EXECUTIVE

17     (ILCON Art. V, Sec. 9)
18 SECTION 9. GOVERNOR - APPOINTING POWER
19     (a) The Governor shall nominate and, by and with the advice
20 and consent of the General Assembly Senate, a majority of the
21 members elected concurring by record vote, shall appoint all

 

 

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1 officers whose election or appointment is not otherwise
2 provided for. Any nomination not acted upon by the General
3 Assembly Senate within 60 session days after the receipt
4 thereof shall be deemed to have received the advice and consent
5 of the General Assembly Senate. The General Assembly shall have
6 no power to elect or appoint officers of the Executive Branch.
7     (b) If, during a recess of the General Assembly Senate,
8 there is a vacancy in an office filled by appointment by the
9 Governor by and with the advice and consent of the General
10 Assembly Senate, the Governor shall make a temporary
11 appointment until the next meeting of the General Assembly
12 Senate, when he or she shall make a nomination to fill such
13 office.
14     (c) No person rejected by the General Assembly Senate for
15 an office shall, except at the General Assembly's Senate's
16 request, be nominated again for that office at the same session
17 or be appointed to that office during a recess of that General
18 Assembly Senate.
19 (Source: Illinois Constitution.)
 
20     (ILCON Art. V, Sec. 11)
21 SECTION 11. GOVERNOR - AGENCY REORGANIZATION
22     The Governor, by Executive Order, may reassign functions
23 among or reorganize executive agencies which are directly
24 responsible to him or her. If such a reassignment or

 

 

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1 reorganization would contravene a statute, the Executive Order
2 shall be delivered to the General Assembly. If the General
3 Assembly is in annual session and if the Executive Order is
4 delivered on or before April 1, the General Assembly shall
5 consider the Executive Order at that annual session. If the
6 General Assembly is not in annual session or if the Executive
7 Order is delivered after April 1, the General Assembly shall
8 consider the Executive Order at its next annual session, in
9 which case the Executive Order shall be deemed to have been
10 delivered on the first day of that annual session. Such an
11 Executive Order shall not become effective if, within 60
12 calendar days after its delivery to the General Assembly, the
13 General Assembly either house disapproves the Executive Order
14 by the record vote of a majority of the members elected. An
15 Executive Order not so disapproved shall become effective by
16 its terms but not less than 60 calendar days after its delivery
17 to the General Assembly.
18 (Source: Illinois Constitution.)
 
 
19
ARTICLE VII
20
LOCAL GOVERNMENT

 
21     (ILCON Art. VII, Sec. 6)
22 SECTION 6. POWERS OF HOME RULE UNITS

 

 

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1     (a) A County which has a chief executive officer elected by
2 the electors of the county and any municipality which has a
3 population of more than 25,000 are home rule units. Other
4 municipalities may elect by referendum to become home rule
5 units. Except as limited by this Section, a home rule unit may
6 exercise any power and perform any function pertaining to its
7 government and affairs including, but not limited to, the power
8 to regulate for the protection of the public health, safety,
9 morals and welfare; to license; to tax; and to incur debt.
10     (b) A home rule unit by referendum may elect not to be a
11 home rule unit.
12     (c) If a home rule county ordinance conflicts with an
13 ordinance of a municipality, the municipal ordinance shall
14 prevail within its jurisdiction.
15     (d) A home rule unit does not have the power (1) to incur
16 debt payable from ad valorem property tax receipts maturing
17 more than 40 years from the time it is incurred or (2) to
18 define and provide for the punishment of a felony.
19     (e) A home rule unit shall have only the power that the
20 General Assembly may provide by law (1) to punish by
21 imprisonment for more than six months or (2) to license for
22 revenue or impose taxes upon or measured by income or earnings
23 or upon occupations.
24     (f) A home rule unit shall have the power subject to
25 approval by referendum to adopt, alter or repeal a form of
26 government provided by law, except that the form of government

 

 

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1 of Cook County shall be subject to the provisions of Section 3
2 of this Article. A home rule municipality shall have the power
3 to provide for its officers, their manner of selection and
4 terms of office only as approved by referendum or as otherwise
5 authorized by law. A home rule county shall have the power to
6 provide for its officers, their manner of selection and terms
7 of office in the manner set forth in Section 4 of this Article.
8     (g) The General Assembly by a law approved by the vote of
9 three-fifths of the members elected to each house may deny or
10 limit the power to tax and any other power or function of a
11 home rule unit not exercised or performed by the State other
12 than a power or function specified in subsection (l) of this
13 section.
14     (h) The General Assembly may provide specifically by law
15 for the exclusive exercise by the State of any power or
16 function of a home rule unit other than a taxing power or a
17 power or function specified in subsection (l) of this Section.
18     (i) Home rule units may exercise and perform concurrently
19 with the State any power or function of a home rule unit to the
20 extent that the General Assembly by law does not specifically
21 limit the concurrent exercise or specifically declare the
22 State's exercise to be exclusive.
23     (j) The General Assembly may limit by law the amount of
24 debt which home rule counties may incur and may limit by law
25 approved by three-fifths of the members elected to each house
26 the amount of debt, other than debt payable from ad valorem

 

 

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1 property tax receipts, which home rule municipalities may
2 incur.
3     (k) The General Assembly may limit by law the amount and
4 require referendum approval of debt to be incurred by home rule
5 municipalities, payable from ad valorem property tax receipts,
6 only in excess of the following percentages of the assessed
7 value of its taxable property: (1) if its population is 500,000
8 or more, an aggregate of three percent; (2) if its population
9 is more than 25,000 and less than 500,000, an aggregate of one
10 percent; and (3) if its population is 25,000 or less, an
11 aggregate of one-half percent. Indebtedness which is
12 outstanding on the effective date of this Constitution or which
13 is thereafter approved by referendum or assumed from another
14 unit of local government shall not be included in the foregoing
15 percentage amounts.
16     (l) The General Assembly may not deny or limit the power of
17 home rule units (1) to make local improvements by special
18 assessment and to exercise this power jointly with other
19 counties and municipalities, and other classes of units of
20 local government having that power on the effective date of
21 this Constitution unless that power is subsequently denied by
22 law to any such other units of local government or (2) to levy
23 or impose additional taxes upon areas within their boundaries
24 in the manner provided by law for the provision of special
25 services to those areas and for the payment of debt incurred in
26 order to provide those special services.

 

 

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1     (m) Powers and functions of home rule units shall be
2 construed liberally.
3 (Source: Illinois Constitution.)
 
 
4
ARTICLE VIII
5
FINANCE

 
6     (ILCON Art. VIII, Sec. 3)
7 SECTION 3. STATE AUDIT AND AUDITOR GENERAL
8     (a) The General Assembly shall provide by law for the audit
9 of the obligation, receipt and use of public funds of the
10 State. The General Assembly, by a vote of three-fifths of the
11 members elected to each house, shall appoint an Auditor General
12 and may remove him or her for cause by a similar vote. The
13 Auditor General shall serve for a term of ten years. His or her
14 compensation shall be established by law and shall not be
15 diminished, but may be increased, to take effect during his or
16 her term.
17     (b) The Auditor General shall conduct the audit of public
18 funds of the State. He or she shall make additional reports and
19 investigations as directed by the General Assembly. He or she
20 shall report his or her findings and recommendations to the
21 General Assembly and to the Governor.
22 (Source: Illinois Constitution.)
 
 

 

 

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1
ARTICLE IX
2
REVENUE

 
3     (ILCON Art. IX, Sec. 9)
4 SECTION 9. STATE DEBT
5     (a) No State debt shall be incurred except as provided in
6 this Section. For the purpose of this Section, "State debt"
7 means bonds or other evidences of indebtedness which are
8 secured by the full faith and credit of the State or are
9 required to be repaid, directly or indirectly, from tax revenue
10 and which are incurred by the State, any department, authority,
11 public corporation or quasi-public corporation of the State,
12 any State college or university, or any other public agency
13 created by the State, but not by units of local government, or
14 school districts.
15     (b) State debt for specific purposes may be incurred or the
16 payment of State or other debt guaranteed in such amounts as
17 may be provided either in a law passed by the vote of
18 three-fifths of the members elected to each house of the
19 General Assembly or in a law approved by a majority of the
20 electors voting on the question at the next general election
21 following passage. Any law providing for the incurring or
22 guaranteeing of debt shall set forth the specific purposes and

 

 

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1 the manner of repayment.
2     (c) State debt in anticipation of revenues to be collected
3 in a fiscal year may be incurred by law in an amount not
4 exceeding 5% of the State's appropriations for that fiscal
5 year. Such debt shall be retired from the revenues realized in
6 that fiscal year.
7     (d) State debt may be incurred by law in an amount not
8 exceeding 15% of the State's appropriations for that fiscal
9 year to meet deficits caused by emergencies or failures of
10 revenue. Such law shall provide that the debt be repaid within
11 one year of the date it is incurred.
12     (e) State debt may be incurred by law to refund outstanding
13 State debt if the refunding debt matures within the term of the
14 outstanding State debt.
15     (f) The State, departments, authorities, public
16 corporations and quasi-public corporations of the State, the
17 State colleges and universities and other public agencies
18 created by the State, may issue bonds or other evidences of
19 indebtedness which are not secured by the full faith and credit
20 or tax revenue of the State nor required to be repaid, directly
21 or indirectly, from tax revenue, for such purposes and in such
22 amounts as may be authorized by law.
23 (Source: Illinois Constitution.)
 
 
24
ARTICLE XIII

 

 

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1
GENERAL PROVISIONS

 
2     (ILCON Art. XIII, Sec. 8)
3 SECTION 8. BRANCH BANKING
4     Branch banking shall be authorized only by law approved by
5 three-fifths of the members voting on the question or a
6 majority of the members elected, whichever is greater, in each
7 house of the General Assembly.
8 (Source: Illinois Constitution.)
 
 
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 direction.
18     (b) If the question of whether a Convention should be
19 called is not submitted during any twenty-year period, the
20 Secretary of State shall submit such question at the general

 

 

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1 election in the twentieth year following the last submission.
2     (c) The vote on whether to call a Convention shall be on a
3 separate ballot. A Convention shall be called if approved by
4 three-fifths of those voting on the question or a majority of
5 those voting in the election.
6     (d) The General Assembly, at the session following approval
7 by the electors, by law shall provide for the Convention and
8 for the election of two delegates from each Legislative
9 District; designate the time and place of the Convention's
10 first meeting which shall be within three months after the
11 election of delegates; fix and provide for the pay of delegates
12 and officers; and provide for expenses necessarily incurred by
13 the Convention.
14     (e) To be eligible to be a delegate a person must meet the
15 same eligibility requirements as a member of the General
16 Assembly. Vacancies shall be filled as provided by law.
17     (f) The Convention shall prepare such revision of or
18 amendments to the Constitution as it deems necessary. Any
19 proposed revision or amendments approved by a majority of the
20 delegates elected shall be submitted to the electors in such
21 manner as the Convention determines, at an election designated
22 or called by the Convention occurring not less than two nor
23 more than six months after the Convention's adjournment. Any
24 revision or amendments proposed by the Convention shall be
25 published with explanations, as the Convention provides, at
26 least one month preceding the election.

 

 

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1     (g) The vote on the proposed revision or amendments shall
2 be on a separate ballot. Any proposed revision or amendments
3 shall become effective, as the Convention provides, if approved
4 by a majority of those voting on the question.
5 (Source: Illinois Constitution.)
 
6     (ILCON Art. XIV, Sec. 2)
7 SECTION 2. AMENDMENTS BY GENERAL ASSEMBLY
8     (a) Amendments to this Constitution may be initiated in
9 either house of the General Assembly. Amendments shall be read
10 in full on three different days in the General Assembly each
11 house and reproduced before the vote is taken on final passage.
12 Amendments approved by the vote of three-fifths of the members
13 elected to each house shall be submitted to the electors at the
14 general election next occurring at least six months after such
15 legislative approval, unless withdrawn by a vote of a majority
16 of the members elected to each house.
17     (b) Amendments proposed by the General Assembly shall be
18 published with explanations, as provided by law, at least one
19 month preceding the vote thereon by the electors. The vote on
20 the proposed amendment or amendments shall be on a separate
21 ballot. A proposed amendment shall become effective as the
22 amendment provides if approved by either three-fifths of those
23 voting on the question or a majority of those voting in the
24 election.

 

 

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1     (c) The General Assembly shall not submit proposed
2 amendments to more than three Articles of the Constitution at
3 any one election. No amendment shall be proposed or submitted
4 under this Section from the time a Convention is called until
5 after the electors have voted on the revision or amendments, if
6 any, proposed by such Convention.
7 (Source: Illinois Constitution.)
 
8     (ILCON Art. XIV, Sec. 4)
9 SECTION 4. AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES
10     The affirmative vote of three-fifths of the members elected
11 to each house of the General Assembly shall be required to
12 request Congress to call a Federal Constitutional Convention,
13 to ratify a proposed amendment to the Constitution of the
14 United States, or to call a State Convention to ratify a
15 proposed amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
16 The General Assembly shall not take action on any proposed
17 amendment to the Constitution of the United States submitted
18 for ratification by legislatures unless a majority of the
19 members of the General Assembly shall have been elected after
20 the proposed amendment has been submitted for ratification. The
21 requirements of this Section shall govern to the extent that
22 they are not inconsistent with requirements established by the
23 United States.
24 (Source: Illinois Constitution.)
 

 

 

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1
SCHEDULE
2     This Constitutional Amendment takes effect upon being
3 declared adopted in accordance with Section 7 of the Illinois
4 Constitutional Amendment Act and applies beginning with the
5 97th General Assembly.