99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016
SB2254

 

Introduced 1/27/2016, by Sen. Napoleon Harris, III

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
10 ILCS 5/2A-1  from Ch. 46, par. 2A-1
10 ILCS 5/Art. 25.5 heading new
10 ILCS 5/25.5-5 new
10 ILCS 5/25.5-10 new
10 ILCS 5/25.5-15 new
10 ILCS 5/25.5-20 new
10 ILCS 5/25.5-25 new
10 ILCS 5/25.5-30 new
10 ILCS 5/25.5-40 new

    Amends the Election Code to provide for the recall of local elected officials. Effective immediately.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB2254LRB099 16472 MGM 40807 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 Section
52A-1 and adding Article 25.5 as follows:
 
6    (10 ILCS 5/2A-1)  (from Ch. 46, par. 2A-1)
7    (Text of Section WITH the changes made by P.A. 89-719,
8which has been held unconstitutional)
9    Sec. 2A-1. All Elections - Governed by this Code -
10Construction of Article 2A.
11    (a) No public question may be submitted to any voters in
12this State, nor may any person be nominated for public office
13or elected to public or political party office or removed from
14office in a recall election in this State except pursuant to
15this Code, notwithstanding the provisions of any other statute
16or municipal charter. However, this Code shall not apply to
17elections for officers or public questions of local school
18councils established pursuant to Chapter 34 of the School Code,
19soil and water conservation districts or drainage districts,
20except as specifically made applicable by another statute.
21    (b) All elections in this State shall be held in accordance
22with the consolidated schedule of elections established in
23Sections 2A-1.1 and 2A-1.2. No election may be held on any date

 

 

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1other than a date on which an election is scheduled under
2Section 2A-1.1, except special elections to fill congressional
3vacancies held pursuant to writs of election issued by the
4Governor, judicial elections to fill vacancies in the office of
5Supreme Court Judge held pursuant to writs of election issued
6by the Governor under subsection (a-5) of Section 2A-9,
7township referenda and votes of the town electors held at the
8annual town meeting, emergency referenda approved pursuant to
9Section 2A-1.4, special elections held between January 1, 1995
10and July 1, 1995 under Section 34-53 of the School Code, and
11city, village or incorporated town primary elections in
12even-numbered years expressly authorized in this Article to
13provide for annual partisan elections.
14    (c) At the respective elections established in Section
152A-1.1, candidates shall be elected to office, nominated for
16election thereto or placed on the ballot as otherwise required
17by this Code, and public questions may be submitted, as
18specified in Section 2A-1.2.
19    (d) If the requirements of Section 2A-1.2 conflict with any
20specific provision of Sections 2A-2 through 2A-54, as applied
21to any office or election, the requirements of Section 2A-1.2
22prevail, and shall be enforced by the State Board of Elections.
23    (e) In the event any court of competent jurisdiction
24declares an election void, the court may order another election
25without regard to the schedule of elections set forth in this
26Article.

 

 

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1(Source: P.A. 89-719, eff. 3-7-97.)
 
2    (Text of Section WITHOUT the changes made by P.A. 89-719,
3which has been held unconstitutional)
4    Sec. 2A-1. All Elections - Governed by this Code -
5Construction of Article 2A.
6    (a) No public question may be submitted to any voters in
7this State, nor may any person be nominated for public office
8or elected to public or political party office or removed from
9office in a recall election in this State except pursuant to
10this Code, notwithstanding the provisions of any other statute
11or municipal charter. However, this Code shall not apply to
12elections for officers or public questions of local school
13councils established pursuant to Chapter 34 of the School Code,
14soil and water conservation districts or drainage districts,
15except as specifically made applicable by another statute.
16    (b) All elections in this State shall be held in accordance
17with the consolidated schedule of elections established in
18Sections 2A-1.1 and 2A-1.2. No election may be held on any date
19other than a date on which an election is scheduled under
20Section 2A-1.1, except special elections to fill congressional
21vacancies held pursuant to writs of election issued by the
22Governor, township referenda and votes of the town electors
23held at the annual town meeting, emergency referenda approved
24pursuant to Section 2A-1.4, special elections held between
25January 1, 1995 and July 1, 1995 under Section 34-53 of the

 

 

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1School Code, and city, village or incorporated town primary
2elections in even-numbered years expressly authorized in this
3Article to provide for annual partisan elections.
4    (c) At the respective elections established in Section
52A-1.1, candidates shall be elected to office, nominated for
6election thereto or placed on the ballot as otherwise required
7by this Code, and public questions may be submitted, as
8specified in Section 2A-1.2.
9    (d) If the requirements of Section 2A-1.2 conflict with any
10specific provision of Sections 2A-2 through 2A-54, as applied
11to any office or election, the requirements of Section 2A-1.2
12prevail, and shall be enforced by the State Board of Elections.
13    (e) In the event any court of competent jurisdiction
14declares an election void, the court may order another election
15without regard to the schedule of elections set forth in this
16Article.
17(Source: P.A. 88-511.)
 
18    (10 ILCS 5/Art. 25.5 heading new)
19
ARTICLE 25.5. RECALL OF LOCAL ELECTED OFFICIALS

 
20    (10 ILCS 5/25.5-5 new)
21    Sec. 25.5-5. Definitions. For the purposes of this
22Article:
23    "Appropriate election official" means the State Board of
24Elections in the case of recall of an official elected from a

 

 

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1district that is comprised of more than one county, or is
2partly in one county and partly in another county or counties;
3the county clerk in the case of recall of an official elected
4to a county office, trustee of a sanitary district, or member
5of a school district board; or the local election official in
6the case of recall of an official elected to a municipal or
7township office, other than a municipal or township office
8where the municipality's or township's boundaries are
9co-extensive with or are entirely within the jurisdiction of a
10municipal board of election commissioners, in which case the
11"appropriate election official" means the municipal board of
12election commissioners.
13    "Local elected official" means any official elected to an
14office of a unit of local government or a school district.
 
15    (10 ILCS 5/25.5-10 new)
16    Sec. 25.5-10. Removal of local elected official. Every
17incumbent local elected official who has been elected to an
18office that has a term of 2 years or more is subject to removal
19by the electors qualified to vote for that official. However, a
20local official who has less than 9 months remaining in his or
21her term may not be recalled under this Article.
 
22    (10 ILCS 5/25.5-15 new)
23    Sec. 25.5-15. Petition; form. A petition, signed by a
24number of electors equal in number to at least 15% of the total

 

 

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1votes cast for Governor in the preceding gubernatorial election
2in the unit of local government from which the removal of the
3local elected official is sought, shall be filed with the
4appropriate election official at least 61 days before the next
5regularly scheduled election under this Code and shall be
6certified within one day after receipt of the petition. The
7petition shall demand an election on the question of whether
8the named incumbent local elected official shall be removed
9from office with the election to be held at the next regularly
10scheduled election. A petition must be signed by the
11petitioning electors not more than 120 days after an affidavit
12has been filed with the appropriate election official providing
13notice of intent to circulate a petition to recall the local
14elected official. The affidavit may be filed no sooner than 3
15months after the beginning of the local elected official's term
16of office. The affidavit must be signed by the proponent of the
17recall petition and at least 4 elected officials who represent
18at least 25% the same electors who are represented by the local
19elected official for which recall is sought.
20    The petition shall be substantially in the following form:
21    "To the (appropriate election official):
22    We, the undersigned electors of (unit or district),
23entitled to vote for (name of person) demand an election on the
24question of removal from office of (name of person).
 
25    Name     House Number    Street    Date of

 

 

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1                if any                 Signing
2
3    ....    ............    .......    ......
4State of Illinois,   )  
5                    )  SS.
6County of (name)     )
7    I, (name of person), certify that I am a registered voter,
8that I reside at (address), in the county of (name) and State
9of Illinois, and that the signatures on this sheet were signed
10in my presence, and are genuine, and that to the best of my
11knowledge and belief, the persons so signing were at the time
12of signing the petitions qualified voters, entitled to vote for
13the office of (name of office), and that their respective
14residences are correctly stated, as above set forth.
15
...........................
16    Subscribed and sworn to before me this ......... day of
17........., 20 ...
18
...........................
19
(Official title)
   
20(Seal, if officer has one)"
 
21    (10 ILCS 5/25.5-20 new)
22    Sec. 25.5-20. Petition; requirements. The petition shall
23consist of sheets having the form specified in Section 25.5-15
24and shall be signed by qualified electors of the unit of local
25government entitled to vote for the office held by the local

 

 

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1elected official whose removal is sought, and opposite the
2signature of each signer, his or her residence address shall be
3written or printed. The residence address required to be
4written or printed opposite each qualified elector's name shall
5include the street address or rural route number of the signer,
6as the case may be, as well as the signer's city, village, or
7town. The county or city, village, or town, and state of
8residence of the electors, however, may be printed on the
9petition forms when all of the electors signing the petition
10reside in the same county or city, village, or town, and state.
11Standard abbreviations may be used in writing the residence
12address, including street number, if any.
13    A signature shall not be valid unless the requirements of
14this Section are complied with and unless the date of signing
15is less than 120 days preceding the date of filing the
16petition.
17    At the bottom of each sheet shall be added the affidavit in
18the form specified in Section 25.5-15 signed by a qualified
19voter of the unit of local government entitled to vote for
20removal of the local elected official in which the signers of
21the sheet reside; certifying that the signatures on that sheet
22of the petition were signed in his or her presence; and either
23(i) indicating the dates on which that sheet was circulated,
24(ii) indicating the first and last dates on which that sheet
25was circulated, or (iii) certifying that none of the signatures
26on the sheet were signed more than 120 days preceding the last

 

 

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1day for the filing of the petition; certifying that the
2signatures on the sheet are genuine; and certifying that to the
3best of his or her knowledge and belief the persons so signing
4were at the time of signing the petitions qualified voters of
5the unit of local government entitled to vote for the office
6held by the local elected official whose removal is being
7sought. This affidavit shall be sworn to before an officer who
8is qualified to administer oaths.
9    The petition, so verified, or a copy of the petition duly
10certified by the proper persons, shall be prima facie evidence
11that the signatures, statement of residence, and dates upon the
12petition are genuine and true and that the persons signing the
13petition are electors qualified to vote for the office subject
14to removal under this Article.
15    The person circulating the petition, or the candidate on
16whose behalf the petition is circulated, may strike any
17signature from the petition, if:
18        (i) the person striking the signature initials the
19    petition at the place where the signature is struck; and
20        (ii) the person striking the signature signs a
21    certification listing the page number and line number of
22    each signature struck from the petition.
23    The certification shall be filed as a part of the petition.
24    The sheets, before being filed, shall be neatly fastened
25together in book form by placing the sheets in a pile and
26fastening them together at one edge in a secure and suitable

 

 

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1manner, and the sheets shall then be numbered consecutively.
2The sheets shall not be fastened by pasting them together end
3to end, so as to form a continuous strip or roll. All petition
4sheets that are filed with the appropriate election official
5shall be the original sheets that have been signed by the
6voters and by the circulator of the sheet, and not photocopies
7or duplicates of those sheets.
8    The petitions, when filed, may not be withdrawn or added
9to, and no signature shall be revoked except by revocation
10filed in writing with the appropriate election official with
11whom the petition is required to be filed before the filing of
12the petition. Whoever forges the name of a signer upon any
13petition required by this Article is deemed guilty of a forgery
14and on conviction shall be punished accordingly.
 
15    (10 ILCS 5/25.5-25 new)
16    Sec. 25.5-25. Objections to petitions. The provisions of
17Sections 10-8 through 10-10.1 of the Election Code relating to
18objections to nominating petitions, hearing on objections, and
19judicial review, shall apply to and govern, insofar as may be
20practical, objections to petitions for the submission of
21questions of recall under this Article.
22    The electoral board to hear and pass on objections shall be
23the electoral board specified in Section 10-9 to have
24jurisdiction over objections to the nominating petitions of
25candidates for offices in which the question of recall is

 

 

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1proposed to be submitted to the electors.
 
2    (10 ILCS 5/25.5-30 new)
3    Sec. 25.5-30. Election on the question. If no objections
4to a petition are filed within 5 business days after the
5petition is submitted to the appropriate election official, or
6if objections are filed and the electoral board specified in
7Section 25.5-25 rules the petition sufficient, then
8immediately after the expiration of this 5-day period, or
9immediately after the receipt by the appropriate election
10official with whom the petition was originally filed, or from
11the electoral board of the petition and the certified copy of
12the electoral board's ruling declaring the petition
13sufficient, as the case may be, the appropriate election
14official with whom the petition was originally filed shall
15submit the petition without delay to the election authority or
16election authorities within the election jurisdiction or
17election jurisdictions where the local elected official is
18subject to recall, and the election authority or election
19authorities shall order the election demanded in the petition
20to be held at the next regular election or municipal election
2178 days after the filing of the petition. This election shall
22be conducted, returned, and the results declared in all
23respects the same as in other elections under the general
24election law.
25    If at the election on the question of removal at least a

 

 

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1majority of those voting on the question vote in favor of
2removal, the local elected official is by operation of law
3removed from office and a vacancy exists in the office subject
4to removal. The vacancy shall be filled in the manner
5prescribed for filling vacancies in that office in other cases.
 
6    (10 ILCS 5/25.5-40 new)
7    Sec. 25.5-40. Prohibition against future election or
8appointment. A local elected official who has been removed from
9office, or who has resigned from office while removal
10proceedings were pending against that local elected official,
11shall not be appointed or elected to the same office within one
12year after the removal or resignation. Not more than one
13election for the recall of the same local elected official
14shall be held during the same term of office.
 
15    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
16becoming law.