102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
SC0013

 

Introduced 1/14/2022, by Sen. Dan McConchie

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 2
ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 3

    Proposes to amend the Legislature Article of the Illinois Constitution. Removes the requirement for each Legislative District to be divided into 2 Representative Districts. Modifies provisions concerning legislative redistricting. Provides specified requirements for each Legislative District, Representative District, and Congressional District for redistricting purposes. Replaces the current method of legislative redistricting with a 17-member Commission, appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the most senior Supreme Court Justice of a different political party in accordance with specified criteria. Specifies requirements for the Commission concerning redistricting plans. Adds provisions concerning the membership of the Commission and budgetary matters related to the Commission. Provides the Supreme Court with original and exclusive jurisdiction over redistricting matters. Defines terms. Makes conforming and other changes. Effective upon being declared adopted and applicable to redistricting beginning in 2023 and to the election of General Assembly members beginning in 2024.


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SC0013LRB102 24270 RJF 33501 e

1
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
2
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT

 
3    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL
4ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF
5REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING HEREIN, that there shall be
6submitted to the electors of the State for adoption or
7rejection at the general election next occurring at least 6
8months after the adoption of this resolution a proposition to
9amend Article IV of the Illinois Constitution by changing
10Sections 2 and 3 as follows:
 
11
ARTICLE IV
12
THE LEGISLATURE

13    (ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 2)
14SECTION 2. LEGISLATIVE COMPOSITION
15    (a) One Senator shall be elected from each Legislative
16District. Immediately following each decennial redistricting,
17the General Assembly by law shall divide the Legislative
18Districts as equally as possible into three groups. Senators
19from one group shall be elected for terms of four years, four
20years and two years; Senators from the second group, for terms
21of four years, two years and four years; and Senators from the
22third group, for terms of two years, four years and four years.
23The Legislative Districts in each group shall be distributed

 

 

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1substantially equally over the State.
2    (b) Each Legislative District shall be divided into two
3Representative Districts. In 1982 and every two years
4thereafter one Representative shall be elected from each
5Representative District for a term of two years.
6    (c) To be eligible to serve as a member of the General
7Assembly, a person must be a United States citizen, at least 21
8years old, and for the two years preceding his election or
9appointment a resident of the district which he is to
10represent. In the general election following a redistricting,
11a candidate for the General Assembly may be elected from any
12district which contains a part of the district in which he
13resided at the time of the redistricting and reelected if a
14resident of the new district he represents for 18 months prior
15to reelection.
16    (d) Within thirty days after a vacancy occurs, it shall be
17filled by appointment as provided by law. If the vacancy is in
18a Senatorial office with more than twenty-eight months
19remaining in the term, the appointed Senator shall serve until
20the next general election, at which time a Senator shall be
21elected to serve for the remainder of the term. If the vacancy
22is in a Representative office or in any other Senatorial
23office, the appointment shall be for the remainder of the
24term. An appointee to fill a vacancy shall be a member of the
25same political party as the person he succeeds.
26    (e) No member of the General Assembly shall receive

 

 

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1compensation as a public officer or employee from any other
2governmental entity for time during which he is in attendance
3as a member of the General Assembly.
4    No member of the General Assembly during the term for
5which he was elected or appointed shall be appointed to a
6public office which shall have been created or the
7compensation for which shall have been increased by the
8General Assembly during that term.
9(Source: Amendment adopted at general election November 4,
101980.)
 
11    (ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 3)
12SECTION 3. LEGISLATIVE REDISTRICTING
13    (a) As used in this Section:
14    "Coalition districts" means districts in which more than
15one group of racial minorities or language minorities may form
16a coalition to elect the candidate of the coalition's choice.
17    "Consumer price index-u" means the index published by the
18Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of
19Labor or a successor agency that measures the average change
20in prices of goods and services purchased by all urban
21consumers, United States city average, all items, 1982-84=100.
22    "Crossover districts" means districts in which a racial
23minority or language minority constitutes less than a majority
24of the voting-age population, but where this minority, at
25least potentially, is large enough to elect the candidate of

 

 

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1its choice with help from voters who are members of the
2majority who cross over to support the minority's preferred
3candidate.
4    "Influence districts" means districts in which a racial
5minority or language minority can influence the outcome of an
6election even if its preferred candidate cannot be elected.
7    "Racial minorities or language minorities", in either the
8singular or the plural, means the same class of voters who are
9members of a race, color, or language minority group receiving
10protection under the federal Voting Rights Act.
11    (b) Each Legislative District, Representative District,
12and Congressional District shall, in the following order of
13priority:
14        (1) fully comply with the United States Constitution
15    and federal laws, such as the federal Voting Rights Act;
16        (2) be substantially equal in population;
17        (3) provide racial minorities and language minorities
18    with the equal opportunity to participate in the political
19    process and elect candidates of their choice;
20        (4) provide racial minorities and language minorities
21    who constitute less than a voting-age majority of a
22    Legislative District, Representative District, or
23    Congressional District with an opportunity to
24    substantially influence the outcome of an election through
25    the creation of crossover districts, coalition districts,
26    or influence districts;

 

 

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1        (5) be contiguous;
2        (6) be compact;
3        (7) respect, to the extent practical, geographic
4    integrity of units of local government;
5        (8) respect, to the extent practical, communities
6    sharing common social or economic interests; and
7        (9) not discriminate against or in favor of any
8    political party or individual.
9    (c) No later than March 1 of 2023, the Chief Justice and
10the most senior Supreme Court Justice who is not elected from
11the same political party as the Chief Justice shall select 17
12commissioners to form an Independent Redistricting Commission.
13The Commission formed in 2023 shall redraw each Legislative
14District, Representative District, and Congressional District
15for 2024. Thereafter, redistricting shall occur every year
16following the federal decennial census.
17    The commissioners shall reflect the ethnic, gender, and
18racial demographics of Illinois to reflect the demographic
19data provided by the decennial census, each commissioner shall
20be a voter who has been continuously affiliated in Illinois
21with the same political party or unaffiliated with a political
22party and who has not changed political party affiliation for
235 or more years immediately preceding the date of his or her
24appointment. Fourteen of the commissioners shall represent, in
25equal number, the two political parties whose gubernatorial
26candidates received the greatest number of votes in the last

 

 

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1gubernatorial election and 3 of the commissioners must
2represent neither of those parties. No more than one
3commissioner shall be from the same Congressional District. If
4the total number of Congressional Districts equal less than
517, then at-large commissioners will be appointed to fill
6vacancies, and no more than 2 commissioners shall be from the
7same Congressional District. The 2 Justices responsible for
8selecting the 17 commissioners shall consider party
9identification and all campaign contributions in determining a
10potential commissioner's eligibility.
11    (d) A person is ineligible to serve on the Commission if
12within the previous 5 calendar years the person or his or her
13spouse or immediate family member, including his or her
14parents, children, step-children, or siblings, is or has been:
15        (1) appointed or elected to a position with the State,
16    federal, or local government;
17        (2) a candidate for State, federal or local office;
18        (3) a paid consultant or employee of a State, federal,
19    or local elected official or political candidate, of a
20    federal, State, or local political candidate's campaign,
21    or of a political action committee or any other
22    electioneering entity;
23        (4) a State, federal, or local lobbyist as defined by
24    law;
25        (5) an individual with an ownership interest in an
26    entity with a State, federal, or local government

 

 

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1    contract; or
2        (6) appointed or elected to serve a State, federal, or
3    local political party.
4    (e) A commissioner is ineligible for a period of 10 years
5to serve in the General Assembly or to be appointed to a
6position subject to Senate confirmation.
7    (f) Commissioners must file financial disclosure
8statements and abide by any ethics requirements established by
9law.
10    (g) Each prospective applicant for commissioner shall
11attest under oath that they meet the qualifications set forth
12in this Section, and attest either that they affiliate with
13one of the 2 political parties whose gubernatorial candidates
14received the 2 greatest number of votes in the last
15gubernatorial election, and if so, identify the party with
16which they affiliate, or that they do not affiliate with
17either of the major parties.
18    (h) Any vacancy, whether created by removal, resignation,
19death, or absence, in the 17 commission positions shall be
20filled within the 30 days after the vacancy occurs, from the
21pool of applicants of the same political party as the vacating
22nominee that was remaining as of the end of the commissioner
23selection process. If none of those remaining applicants are
24available for service, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court
25and the most senior Supreme Court Judge of a different
26political party shall fill the vacancy from a new application

 

 

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1pool created to maintain the partisan balance of the
2commission and to the extent possible, to keep the geographic
3and racial demographics of the commission the same as it was
4prior to the vacancy.
5    (i) The Commission shall act in public meetings by the
6affirmative vote of 11 commissioners. The Commission shall
7elect its chairperson and vice chairperson, who shall not be
8affiliated with the same political party. Each meeting of the
9Commission shall be open to the public and there must be public
10notice at least 7 days before a meeting. All records of the
11Commission, including all communications to or from the
12Commission regarding the work of the Commission, shall be
13available for public inspection. The Commission shall adopt
14rules governing its procedures. The Commission shall be
15considered a public body subject to the Freedom of Information
16Act or a successor Act and the Open Meetings Act or a successor
17Act.
18    (j) In each year in which the federal decennial census is
19taken but in which the United States Bureau of the Census
20allocates incarcerated persons as residents of correctional
21facilities, the Secretary of State shall request that each
22agency that operates a federal correctional facility in this
23State that incarcerates persons convicted of a criminal
24offense to provide the Secretary of State with a report that
25includes the last known place of residence prior to
26incarceration of each inmate, except an inmate whose last

 

 

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1known place of residence is outside of Illinois. The Secretary
2of State shall deliver such report to the Commission by
3December 30 of that same year. For purposes of reapportionment
4and redistricting, the Commission shall count each
5incarcerated person as residing at his or her last known place
6of residence, rather than at the institution of his or her
7incarceration.
8    (k) The Commission shall hold at least 20 public hearings
9throughout the State before adopting a redistricting plan,
10with a majority occurring before the Commission releases any
11proposed redistricting plan and at least 10 public hearings
12must occur throughout the State after the release of any
13proposed redistricting plan.
14    The Commission must provide a meaningful opportunity for
15racial minorities and language minorities to participate in
16the public hearings, including, but not limited to, issuing
17notices in multiple languages and ensuring that translation
18services are available at all hearings at the Commission's
19expense or through partnership with outside organizations.
20These public hearings must be open to all members of the public
21and must be planned to encourage attendance and participation
22across the State, including the use of technology that allows
23for real-time, virtual participation and feedback during the
24hearings. When releasing a proposed redistricting plan, the
25Commission must also release population data, geographic data,
26election data, and any other data used to create the plan, when

 

 

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1the Commission receives this information. The Commission must
2also provide terminals for members of the public to access the
3data and associated software. During the map drawing process,
4any member of the public may submit maps for consideration to
5the Commission. The Commission must consider public input and
6respond to it. Those submissions are public records that are
7open to comment.
8    The Commission may not adopt a redistricting plan until
9the Commission adopts and publishes a report explaining the
10plan's compliance with the United States Constitution and
11Illinois Constitution. Before the adoption of a redistricting
12plan, the Commission shall release to the public the final
13plan and its associated compliance report. The meeting to vote
14on adoption of a redistricting plan shall occur no sooner than
1530 days after the release of the final plan and its associated
16compliance report. All proposed and adopted maps and any data
17used to develop these maps are public records. The Commission
18shall maintain a website or other similar electronic platform
19to disseminate information about the Commission, including
20records of its meetings and hearings, proposed redistricting
21plans, assessments and reports on plans, and to allow the
22public to view its meetings and hearings in both live and
23archived form. The website or electronic platform must allow
24the public to submit redistricting plans and comments on
25redistricting plans to the Commission for its consideration.
26    (l) The Commission shall adopt and file with the Secretary

 

 

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1of State a redistricting plan for the Legislative Districts,
2Representative Districts, and Congressional Districts by
3September 1 of 2023 and in every year following the federal
4decennial census thereafter. The Commission may adopt separate
5redistricting plans for the Legislative Districts, the
6Representative Districts, and the Congressional Districts.
7    (m) Members of the Commission shall be compensated as
8provided by law.
9    (n) Within the first 30 days after the selection of the
10Independent Redistricting Commission, the Governor shall
11include in the budget submitted under Section 2 of Article
12VIII to the General Assembly amounts of funding that are
13sufficient to meet the estimated expenses for the operation of
14the Commission. The Governor shall also make adequate office
15space available for the operation of the Commission. The
16General Assembly shall make the necessary appropriation in the
17State budget. The General Assembly may make additional
18appropriations in any year that it determines that the
19Commission requires additional funding in order to fulfill its
20duties. The Commission, with fiscal oversight from the
21Comptroller or its successor, shall have procurement and
22contracting authority and may hire staff and consultants, for
23the purposes of this Section, including legal representation.
24    (o) A redistricting plan filed with the Secretary of State
25shall be presumed valid and shall be published promptly by the
26Secretary of State.

 

 

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1    (p) The Supreme Court shall have original and exclusive
2jurisdiction over actions concerning the redistricting of the
3Congressional, Legislative, and Representative Districts,
4which shall be initiated in the name of the People of the State
5by the Attorney General. Each person who resides or is
6domiciled in the State, or whose executive office or principal
7place of business is located in the State, may bring an action
8in a court of competent jurisdiction to obtain any of the
9relief available.
10    (a) Legislative Districts shall be compact, contiguous and
11substantially equal in population. Representative Districts
12shall be compact, contiguous, and substantially equal in
13population.
14    (b) In the year following each Federal decennial census
15year, the General Assembly by law shall redistrict the
16Legislative Districts and the Representative Districts.
17    If no redistricting plan becomes effective by June 30 of
18that year, a Legislative Redistricting Commission shall be
19constituted not later than July 10. The Commission shall
20consist of eight members, no more than four of whom shall be
21members of the same political party.
22    The Speaker and Minority Leader of the House of
23Representatives shall each appoint to the Commission one
24Representative and one person who is not a member of the
25General Assembly. The President and Minority Leader of the
26Senate shall each appoint to the Commission one Senator and

 

 

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

 

 

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1of the State by the Attorney General.
2(Source: Amendment adopted at general election November 4,
31980.)
 
4
SCHEDULE
5    This Constitutional Amendment takes effect upon being
6declared adopted in accordance with Section 7 of the Illinois
7Constitutional Amendment Act and applies to redistricting
8beginning in 2023 and to the election of General Assembly
9members beginning in 2024.