104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
SB3088
 
Introduced 1/29/2026, by Sen. Ram Villivalam
 
SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
10 ILCS 5/11-4.1  from Ch. 46, par. 11-4.1
    Amends the Election Code. Provides that, before submitting a request to a school district for use of a school building as a polling place, the county board or board of election commissioners shall evaluate all other suitable alternatives before choosing a school as a polling place.


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A BILL FOR
 
SB3088LRB104 20267 SPS 33718 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 11-4.1 as follows:
 
6    (10 ILCS 5/11-4.1)  (from Ch. 46, par. 11-4.1)
7    Sec. 11-4.1. (a) In appointing polling places under this 
8Article, the county board or board of election commissioners 
9shall, insofar as they are convenient and available, use 
10schools and other public buildings as polling places.
11    (a-5) Before submitting a request to a school district for 
12use of a school building as a polling place, the county board 
13or board of election commissioners shall evaluate all other 
14suitable alternatives before choosing a school as a polling 
15place.
16    (b) Upon request of the county board or board of election 
17commissioners, the proper agency of government (including 
18school districts and units of local government) shall make a 
19public building under its control available for use as a 
20polling place on an election day and for a reasonably 
21necessary time before and after election day, without charge. 
22If the county board or board of election commissioners chooses 
23a school to be a polling place, then the school district must 
 
 
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1make the school available for use as a polling place. However, 
2for the day of the election, a school district is encouraged to 
3(i) close the school or (ii) hold a teachers institute on that 
4day with students not in attendance.
5    (c) A government agency which makes a public building 
6under its control available for use as a polling place shall 
7(i) ensure the portion of the building to be used as the 
8polling place is accessible to voters with disabilities and 
9elderly voters and (ii) allow the election authority to 
10administer the election as authorized under this Code.
11    (d) If a qualified elector's precinct polling place is a 
12school and the elector will be unable to enter that polling 
13place without violating Section 11-9.3 of the Criminal Code of 
142012 because the elector is a child sex offender as defined in 
15Section 11-9.3 of the Criminal Code of 2012, that elector may 
16vote by a vote by mail ballot in accordance with Article 19 of 
17this Code or may vote early in accordance with Article 19A of 
18this Code.
19(Source: P.A. 98-773, eff. 7-18-14; 98-1171, eff. 6-1-15; 
2099-143, eff. 7-27-15.)