SC0055 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB093 19046 JAM 44781 e

93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2003 and 2004
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
SC0055

Introduced 2/9/2004, by Sen. Jeffrey M. Schoenberg

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

ILCON Art. VI, Sec. 12

ILCON Art. VI, Sec. 12.1 new

ILCON Art. VI, Sec. 12.2 new

Proposes to amend the Judiciary Article of the Illinois Constitution. Provides that Judges of the Circuit of Cook County may be retained in office by approval of Judicial Review Commissions or by approval of three-fifths of the voters at retention elections. Provides for appointment of the circuit-wide and subcircuit commissions. Effective upon being declared adopted.

A BILL FOR

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION

CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING HEREIN, that there shall be submitted to the electors of the State for adoption or rejection at the general election next occurring at least 6 months after the adoption of this resolution a proposition to amend Section 12 of and add Sections 12.1 and 12.2 to Article VI of the Illinois Constitution as follows:

ARTICLE VI

THE JUDICIARY

(ILCON Art. VI, Sec. 12)

SECTION 12. ELECTION AND RETENTION

(a) Supreme, Appellate and Circuit Judges shall be nominated at primary elections or by petition. Judges shall be elected at general or judicial elections as the General Assembly shall provide by law. A person eligible for the office of Judge may cause his name to appear on the ballot as a candidate for Judge at the primary and at the general or judicial elections by submitting petitions. The General Assembly shall prescribe by law the requirements for petitions.

(b) The office of a Judge shall be vacant upon his death, resignation, retirement, removal, or upon the conclusion of his term without retention in office. Whenever an additional Appellate or Circuit Judge is authorized by law, the office shall be filled in the manner provided for filling a vacancy in that office.

(c) A vacancy occurring in the office of Supreme, Appellate or Circuit Judge shall be filled as the General Assembly may provide by law. In the absence of a law, vacancies may be filled by appointment by the Supreme Court. A person appointed to fill a vacancy 60 or more days prior to the next primary election to nominate Judges shall serve until the vacancy is filled for a term at the next general or judicial election. A person appointed to fill a vacancy less than 60 days prior to the next primary election to nominate Judges shall serve until the vacancy is filled at the second general or judicial election following such appointment.

(d) Except as otherwise provided in this Article, not less than six months before the general election preceding the expiration of his term of office, a Supreme, Appellate or Circuit Judge who has been elected to that office may file in the office of the Secretary of State a declaration of candidacy to succeed himself. The Secretary of State, not less than 63 days before the election, shall certify the Judge's candidacy to the proper election officials. The names of Judges seeking retention shall be submitted to the electors, separately and without party designation, on the sole question whether each Judge shall be retained in office for another term. The retention elections shall be conducted at general elections in the appropriate Judicial District, for Supreme and Appellate Judges, and in the circuit for Circuit Judges. The affirmative vote of three-fifths of the electors voting on the question shall elect the Judge to the office for a term commencing on the first Monday in December following his election.

(e) A law reducing the number of Appellate or Circuit Judges shall be without prejudice to the right of the Judges affected to seek retention in office. A reduction shall become effective when a vacancy occurs in the affected unit.

(Source: Illinois Constitution.)

(ILCON Art. VI, Sec. 12.1 new)

SECTION 12. 1. RETENTION PROCEDURES FOR JUDGES IN THE CIRCUIT OF COOK COUNTY

(a) No later than the first Monday in December of the calendar year before the year in which a term of a Judge of the Circuit of Cook County expires pursuant to Section 10, he or she may file in the office of the Director of the Administrative Office of Illinois Courts a declaration of candidacy for retention in that office. Any Judge of the Circuit of Cook County who holds office subsequent to the effective date of this Constitutional Amendment shall be eligible for retention in the office to which he or she was appointed. No later than 11 months before the general election next preceding the expiration of the term of office of a Judge seeking retention, the Director of the Administrative Office of Illinois Courts shall notify the Chair of the appropriate Judicial Review Commission of the Judge's candidacy. The Chair shall then promptly convene the Commission.

(b) No later than 195 days before the general election to be held in that calendar year, each Judicial Review Commission shall issue a notice to the public and shall make all reasonable efforts to publicize the notice. The notice shall provide that any individual or organization shall have until at least 165 days before the general election in which to submit written comments about the performance of and capacity to continue serving of any Judge being considered for retention by the particular Judicial Review Commission. The Judicial Review Commission's notice to the public shall list the names and then current assignments of all Judges being considered by it for retention and shall provide an address to which written comments may be sent. All written comments shall be made public by the Director of the Administrative Office of Illinois Courts at the same time that the evaluations of the Judges and the Judicial Review Commission's written report on each Judge are made public pursuant to subsection (d), except that written comments shall not be made public if the commenter so requests.

(c) If by concurrence of not less than three-fifths of its members the Judicial Review Commission finds the candidate to be qualified to serve another term, the candidate shall be deemed retained in office for a full term commencing on the first Monday in December of that calendar year. The Judicial Review Commission shall investigate the qualifications of all Judges seeking retention and, in particular, shall evaluate each Judge's character, background, temperament, professional aptitude, experience, intellect, integrity, sense of compassion, and commitment to equal justice under law.

All Judges shall be considered for retention by the Judicial Review Commission free from discrimination on the basis of race, color, creed, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, disability (so long as the Judge can perform the essential functions of a Judge), political party, or political affiliation. Not less than 150 days before the general election to be held in that calendar year, the Judicial Review Commission shall submit to each candidate its finding as to whether the candidate is qualified or not qualified to serve another term. The Judicial Review Commission's finding shall include a written statement evaluating the candidate's performance in office during the term that is expiring and shall comment upon its assessment of the candidate's performance under all of the criteria set forth in this subsection.

(d) Not less than 135 days before the election, the Judicial Review Commission shall submit to the Director of the Administrative Office of Illinois Courts a list stating by name: (i) which candidates it has found qualified to serve another term; (ii) which candidates it has found not qualified to serve another term; and (iii) which candidates have withdrawn their candidacy by written notification to the Judicial Review Commission. At the same time that the Judicial Review Commission tenders its list to the Director of the Administrative Office of Illinois Courts, the Judicial Review Commission shall also make its list public. In addition, the Judicial Review Commission shall make public its written evaluations, which it previously submitted to all of the candidates who sought retention, except for those candidates who withdrew their retention candidacies no later than 135 days before the general election.

(e) A Judge found not qualified for retention by a Judicial Review Commission shall have the right to stand for retention by the electorate at the general election. The Judge shall file in the office of the Secretary of State, not less than 135 days before the election, a declaration of candidacy for retention by the electorate. Not less than 115 days before the general election, the Secretary of State shall certify the Judge's candidacy to the proper election officials. At the election, the name of each Judge who has timely filed a declaration of candidacy for retention by the electorate shall be submitted to the electorate, separately and without party designation, on the sole question of retention in office for another term. Retention elections shall be conducted at the same time as general elections. The affirmative vote of three-fifths of the electors voting on the question of retention shall be necessary to retain a Judge in that office for a full term commencing on the first Monday in December following the election.

(f) A Judge eligible to file a declaration of candidacy for retention who (i) fails to do so by the first Monday in December of the calendar year before the expiration of his or her then current term or (ii) declares his or her candidacy for retention and subsequently withdraws that candidacy pursuant to subsection (d) or fails of retention shall vacate the office on the first Monday in December following the general election held in that calendar year, whether or not a successor shall yet have been elected and qualified. If an incumbent Judge does not timely file a declaration of candidacy for retention or withdraws as a candidate 135 days or more before the next general election, the election of a successor, if any, shall proceed in the manner provided in Section 12.

(g) An authorized reduction in the number of Judges in the Circuit of Cook County shall be without prejudice to the right of Judges in office at the time of the reduction to seek retention in accordance with this Section. The reduction shall become effective when a vacancy occurs in the Circuit of Cook County.

(ILCON Art. VI, Sec. 12.2 new)

SECTION 12. 2. JUDICIAL REVIEW COMMISSIONS

(a) In the Circuit of Cook County, a Judicial Review Commission shall be created to determine qualifications for retention of Circuit Judges. A separate Judicial Review Commission shall be created for each subcircuit of the Circuit of Cook County to review the performance in office of any Judge in the Circuit of Cook County who was originally elected by subcircuit rather than on an at-large basis.

(b) The circuit-wide Judicial Review Commission shall consist of 15 members, eight of whom are not lawyers and seven of whom are lawyers. Two of the non-lawyer members and four of the lawyer members, all of whom shall be residents of the Circuit of Cook County, shall be chosen from the Circuit of Cook County at large. Two non-lawyer members and one lawyer member shall be chosen from each of three subdistricts within the Circuit of Cook County and they shall be residents of the subdistrict from which they are chosen. The subdistricts shall be determined on the basis of population by the General Assembly in like manner to that provided for legislative redistricting in Section 3 of Article IV.

A separate Judicial Review Commission shall be created for each judicial subcircuit within the Circuit of Cook County. Each subcircuit Judicial Review Commission shall consist of 11 members, six of whom are not lawyers and five of whom are lawyers. Three of the non-lawyer members and three of the lawyer members shall be residents of the subcircuit in which they serve. The remaining members shall be residents of the Circuit of Cook County, but need not be residents of the subcircuit in which they serve.

(c) Half of the non-lawyer members of each Judicial Review Commission shall be appointed by the Attorney General and the other half by the State official or officer first in the order indicated who was elected to office and is not affiliated with the same political party as the Attorney General: the Secretary of State, the Comptroller, the Treasurer, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Minority Leader of the Senate; provided that two of the resident non-lawyer members and one of the resident lawyer members of each subcircuit Judicial Review Commission shall be appointed by the President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners and one resident non-lawyer member and two resident lawyer members of each subcircuit Judicial Review Commission shall be appointed by the member of the Cook County Board of Commissioners with the most seniority who is of another political party than the President of the Cook County Board of Commissioners.

(d) The lawyer members of each Judicial Review Commission, except the resident lawyer members of subcircuit Judicial Review Commissions, shall be selected by the Supreme Court pursuant to Supreme Court Rule. Not more than a simple majority of the lawyers appointed shall be primary electors of the same political party.

(e) The terms of all members of a Judicial Review Commission shall begin 11 months before the general election in each calendar year in which a general election is held and shall expire on the first Monday in November of the same calendar year. Appointments to a Judicial Review Commission may not be made earlier than 45 days before the term is to commence.

(f) A vacancy in the non-lawyer membership of a Judicial Review Commission shall be filled for an unexpired term or for a full term, as the case may be, by the Attorney General, if qualified by being affiliated with the same political party as the official or officer who had appointed the person whose vacancy is to be filled, or otherwise by the State official or officer who is so qualified and first in the order indicated in subsection (c). A vacancy in the lawyer membership of a Judicial Review Commission shall be filled for an unexpired term or for a full term, as the case way be, by the Supreme Court pursuant to Supreme Court Rule.

(g) The Chair of each Judicial Review Commission shall be elected by a majority vote of all of the members of the Commission. The term of a Chair shall be 11 months.

(h) Any person who holds any office under the United States, this State, or any political subdivision, municipal corporation, or unit of local government of this State and receives compensation for services rendered in that office, or who holds any office or official position in a political party, shall be ineligible to serve on a Judicial Review Commission. Compensation for services in the State militia or the armed services of the United States for a period of time as may be determined by Supreme Court Rule shall not be considered a disqualification. No member of a Judicial Review Commission may be appointed to judicial office while serving on the Commission or for a period of three years thereafter.

(i) Each Judicial Review Commission may conduct investigations, meetings, and hearings, all of which may be confidential, and employ staff members as may be necessary to perform its duties. Members of each Commission shall not receive any compensation for their services but shall be entitled to reimbursement for necessary expenses. The General Assembly shall appropriate funds for that reimbursement and for all other administrative expenses of the Judicial Review Commissions.

(j) All members of each Judicial Review Commission shall be subject to ethics and economic disclosure requirements as provided by law.

SCHEDULE

This Constitutional Amendment takes effect upon being declared adopted in accordance with Section 7 of the Illinois Constitutional Amendment Act.