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Public Act 102-0011
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| SB0642 Enrolled | LRB102 11506 LNS 16840 b |
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AN ACT concerning courts.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the |
Judicial Districts Act of 2021.
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Section 5. Legislative intent. The intent of this Act is |
to redraw the Judicial Districts to meet the requirements of |
the Illinois Constitution of 1970 by providing that outside of |
the First District the State "shall be divided by law into four |
Judicial Districts of substantially equal population, each of |
which shall be compact and composed of contiguous counties." |
Section 2 of Article VI of the Illinois Constitution of |
1970 divides the State into five Judicial Districts for the |
selection of Supreme and Appellate Court Judges, with Cook |
County comprising the First District and the remainder of the |
State "divided by law into four Judicial Districts of |
substantially equal population, each of which shall be compact |
and composed of contiguous counties." Further, Section 7 of |
Article VI provides that a Judicial Circuit must be located |
within one Judicial District, and also provides the First |
Judicial District is comprised of a judicial circuit and the |
remainder provided by law, subject to the requirement that |
Circuits composed of more than one county shall be compact and |
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of contiguous counties.
The current Judicial District map was |
enacted in 1963. |
The current Judicial Districts do not meet the |
Constitution's requirement that four Districts other than the |
First District be of "substantially equal population." Using |
the American Community Survey data available at the time this |
Act is enacted, the population of the current First District |
is 5,198,212; Second District is 3,204,960; the Third District |
is 1,782,863; the Fourth District is 1,299,747; and the Fifth |
District is 1,284,757. |
Under this redistricting plan, the population, according |
to the American Community Survey, of the Second District will |
be 1,770,983; the Third District will be 1,950,349; the Fourth |
District will be 2,011,316; and the Fifth District will be |
1,839,679. A similar substantially equitable result occurs |
using the 2010 U.S. Census data, the most recent decennial |
census data available at the time of this Act, with the |
population of the Second District being approximately |
1,747,387; the Third District being 1,936,616; the Fourth |
District being 2,069,660; and the Fifth District being |
1,882,294. Because of the constitutional requirement that a |
District be composed of whole counties, and given that actual |
population changes on a day-to-day basis, the populations are |
not and could never be exact, but the population of each of the |
four Districts created by this Act is substantially equal. |
In addition to ensuring the population of the four |
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Districts are substantially equal, this Act complies with |
Section 7 of Article VI of the Illinois Constitution of 1970, |
which provides that the First Judicial District shall be |
comprised of a Judicial Circuit, and the remaining Judicial |
Circuits shall be provided by law, and Circuits comprised of |
more than one county shall be compact and of contiguous |
counties. To comply with Section 7 of Article VI and minimize |
disruption to the administration of the Judicial Branch, this |
Act avoids changing the compositions and boundaries of the |
Judicial Circuits, while simultaneously creating substantially |
equally populated, compact, and contiguous Judicial Districts. |
To further avoid any interruption to the administration of |
the Judicial Branch, this Act does not require that the |
Supreme Court change where the Appellate Courts currently |
reside. By Supreme Court Rule, the Second District Appellate |
Court currently sits in Elgin; the Third District Appellate |
Court currently sits in Ottawa; the Fourth District Appellate |
Court currently sits in Springfield; and the Fifth District |
Appellate Court currently sits in Mt. Vernon. Under this Act, |
the Supreme Court is not required to change where the |
Appellate Courts sit as those cities remain in the Second, |
Third, Fourth, and Fifth District respectively. |
To ensure continuity of service and compliance with the |
Illinois Constitution of 1970, nothing in this Act is intended |
to affect the tenure of any Appellate or Supreme Court Judge |
elected or appointed prior to the effective date of this Act. |
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In accordance with the Constitution, no change in the |
boundaries shall affect an incumbent judge's qualification for |
office or right to run for retention. Incumbent judges have |
the right to run for retention in the counties comprising the |
District that elected the judge, or in the counties comprising |
the new District where the judge resides, as the judge may |
elect. As provided by the Constitution, upon a vacancy in an |
elected Supreme or Appellate Court office, the Supreme Court |
may fill the vacancy until the vacancy is filled in the next |
general election in the counties comprising the District |
created by this Act. |
Further, nothing in this Act is intended to alter or |
impair the ability of the Supreme Court to fulfill its |
obligations to ensure the proper administration of the |
Judicial Branch. For example, it remains within the purview of |
the Supreme Court to assign or reassign any judge to any court |
or determine assignment of additional judges to the Appellate |
Court. Section 1 of the Appellate Act provides that the |
"Supreme Court may assign additional judges to service in the |
Appellate Court from time to time as the business of the |
Appellate Court requires." Currently the Supreme Court has |
three judges on assignment to the Second District Appellate |
Court, whereas one judge is on assignment to the Third, |
Fourth, and Fifth Districts. Nothing in this Act seeks to |
alter any judicial assignments. |
Finally, it is the intent of the General Assembly that any |
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appealable order, as defined by Supreme Court Rules, entered |
prior to the effective date of this Act shall be subject to |
judicial review by the Judicial District in effect on the date |
the order was entered; however, the administrative and |
supervisory authority of the courts remains within the purview |
of the Supreme Court.
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Section 10. The First Judicial District consists of the |
County of Cook.
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Section 15. Beginning on the effective date of this Act, |
the Second Judicial District consists of the counties of |
DeKalb, Kendall, Kane, Lake, and McHenry.
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Section 20. Beginning on the effective date of this Act, |
the Third Judicial District consists of the counties of |
Bureau, LaSalle, Grundy, Iroquois, Kankakee, DuPage and Will.
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Section 25. Beginning on the effective date of this Act, |
the Fourth Judicial District consists of the counties of Jo |
Daviess, Stephenson, Carroll, Ogle, Lee, Winnebago, Boone, |
Mercer, Rock Island, Whiteside, Henry, Stark, Putnam, |
Marshall, Peoria, Tazewell, Adams, Pike, Calhoun, Schuyler, |
Brown, Cass, Mason, Menard, Morgan, Scott, Greene, Jersey, |
Macoupin, Sangamon, Logan, McLean, Woodford, Livingston, Ford, |
Henderson, Warren, Knox, Fulton, McDonough and Hancock.
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Section 30. Beginning on the effective date of this Act, |
the Fifth Judicial District consists of the counties of |
DeWitt, Macon, Piatt, Moultrie, Champaign, Douglas, Vermilion, |
Edgar, Coles, Cumberland, Clark, Christian, Shelby, |
Montgomery, Fayette, Effingham, Jasper, Clay, Marion, Clinton, |
Bond, Madison, St. Clair, Washington, Monroe, Randolph, Perry, |
Crawford, Richland, Lawrence, Wabash, Edwards, Wayne, |
Jefferson, Franklin, Hamilton, White, Gallatin, Hardin, |
Saline, Williamson, Jackson, Union, Johnson, Pope, Alexander, |
Pulaski, and Massac.
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Section 35. Current Members of the Judiciary. Nothing in |
this Act shall affect the tenure of any Appellate or Supreme |
Court Judge serving on the effective date of this Act. No |
Appellate or Supreme Court Judge serving on the effective date |
of this Act shall be required to change his or her residency in |
order to continue serving in office or to seek retention or |
reappointment in office. Any Appellate or Supreme Court Judge |
elected to that office prior to the effective date of this Act |
who files to run for retention after the effective date of this |
Act shall have the right to seek retention in the district the |
Judge was elected from or seek retention in the district |
created by this Act. The Secretary of State, not less than 63 |
days before the election, shall certify the Judge's candidacy |
to the proper election officials.
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Section 40. Severability. To the extent that any provision |
of this Act is found to be unconstitutional, that provision |
alone shall be deemed of no force and effect and all other |
provisions of this Act shall remain in full force and effect.
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Section 45. The Judicial Districts Act is amended by |
changing Sections 2, 3, 4, and 5 as follows:
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(705 ILCS 20/2) (from Ch. 37, par. 1.2)
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(This Act was repealed by P.A. 89-719, which has been held |
unconstitutional)
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Sec. 2.
Prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act |
of the 102nd General Assembly, the The Second Judicial |
District consists of the counties of Jo
Daviess, Stephenson, |
Carroll, Ogle, Lee, Winnebago, Boone, McHenry, Lake,
DeKalb, |
Kane, Kendall and DuPage.
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(Source: Laws 1963, p. 929.)
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(705 ILCS 20/3) (from Ch. 37, par. 1.3)
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(This Act was repealed by P.A. 89-719, which has been held |
unconstitutional)
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Sec. 3.
Prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act |
of the 102nd General Assembly, the The Third Judicial District |
consists of the counties of Mercer,
Rock Island, Whiteside, |
Henry, Bureau, LaSalle, Grundy, Stark, Putnam,
Marshall, |
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Peoria, Tazewell, Will, Kankakee, Iroquois, Henderson, Warren,
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Knox, Fulton, McDonough and Hancock.
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(Source: Laws 1963, p. 929.)
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(705 ILCS 20/4) (from Ch. 37, par. 1.4)
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(This Act was repealed by P.A. 89-719, which has been held |
unconstitutional)
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Sec. 4.
Prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act |
of the 102nd General Assembly, the The Fourth Judicial |
District consists of the counties of Adams,
Pike, Calhoun, |
Schuyler, Brown, Cass, Mason, Menard, Morgan, Scott, Greene,
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Jersey, Macoupin, Sangamon, Logan, McLean, Woodford, |
Livingston, Ford,
DeWitt, Macon, Piatt, Moultrie, Champaign, |
Douglas, Vermilion, Edgar,
Coles, Cumberland and Clark.
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(Source: Laws 1963, p. 929.)
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(705 ILCS 20/5) (from Ch. 37, par. 1.5)
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(This Act was repealed by P.A. 89-719, which has been held |
unconstitutional)
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Sec. 5.
Prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act |
of the 102nd General Assembly, the The Fifth Judicial District |
consists of all the counties south of
the Fourth Judicial |
District.
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(Source: Laws 1963, p. 929.)
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(705 ILCS 21/Act rep.) |