Full Text of SB2254 99th General Assembly
SB2254 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
| | 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 | |
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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 |
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| 1 | | AN ACT concerning elections.
| 2 | | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | 3 | | represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 | | Section 5. The Election Code is amended by changing Section | 5 | | 2A-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, | 8 | | which has been
held unconstitutional)
| 9 | | Sec. 2A-1.
All Elections - Governed by this Code - | 10 | | Construction of
Article 2A.
| 11 | | (a) No public question may be submitted to any voters in | 12 | | this State, nor
may any person be nominated for public office | 13 | | or elected to public or
political party office or removed from | 14 | | office in a recall election in this State except pursuant to | 15 | | this Code,
notwithstanding the provisions of any other statute | 16 | | or municipal charter.
However, this Code shall not apply to | 17 | | elections for officers or public
questions of local school | 18 | | councils established pursuant to Chapter 34 of
the School Code, | 19 | | soil and water conservation districts or drainage
districts, | 20 | | except as specifically made applicable by another statute.
| 21 | | (b) All elections in this State shall be held in accordance | 22 | | with the
consolidated schedule of elections established in | 23 | | Sections 2A-1.1 and
2A-1.2. No election may be held on any date |
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| 1 | | other than a date on which
an election is scheduled under | 2 | | Section 2A-1.1, except special elections
to fill congressional | 3 | | vacancies held pursuant to writs of election
issued by the | 4 | | Governor, judicial elections to fill vacancies in the office of
| 5 | | Supreme Court Judge held pursuant to writs of election issued | 6 | | by the
Governor under subsection (a-5) of Section 2A-9, | 7 | | township referenda and votes
of the town electors
held at the | 8 | | annual town meeting, emergency referenda approved pursuant to
| 9 | | Section 2A-1.4, special elections held between January 1, 1995 | 10 | | and July 1,
1995 under Section 34-53 of the School Code, and | 11 | | city, village or
incorporated town primary elections in
| 12 | | even-numbered years expressly authorized in this Article to | 13 | | provide for
annual partisan elections.
| 14 | | (c) At the respective elections established in Section | 15 | | 2A-1.1,
candidates shall be elected to office, nominated for | 16 | | election thereto or
placed on the ballot as otherwise required | 17 | | by this Code, and public
questions may be submitted, as | 18 | | specified in Section 2A-1.2.
| 19 | | (d) If the requirements of Section 2A-1.2 conflict with any | 20 | | specific
provision of Sections 2A-2 through 2A-54, as applied | 21 | | to any office or
election, the requirements of Section 2A-1.2 | 22 | | prevail, and shall be
enforced by the State Board of Elections.
| 23 | | (e) In the event any court of competent jurisdiction | 24 | | declares an
election void, the court may order another election | 25 | | without regard to
the schedule of elections set forth in this | 26 | | Article.
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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, | 3 | | which has been
held unconstitutional)
| 4 | | Sec. 2A-1.
All Elections - Governed by this Code - | 5 | | Construction of
Article 2A.
| 6 | | (a) No public question may be submitted to any voters in | 7 | | this State, nor
may any person be nominated for public office | 8 | | or elected to public or
political party office or removed from | 9 | | office in a recall election in this State except pursuant to | 10 | | this Code,
notwithstanding the provisions of any other statute | 11 | | or municipal charter.
However, this Code shall not apply to | 12 | | elections for officers or public
questions of local school | 13 | | councils established pursuant to Chapter 34 of
the School Code, | 14 | | soil and water conservation districts or drainage
districts, | 15 | | except as specifically made applicable by another statute.
| 16 | | (b) All elections in this State shall be held in accordance | 17 | | with the
consolidated schedule of elections established in | 18 | | Sections 2A-1.1 and
2A-1.2. No election may be held on any date | 19 | | other than a date on which
an election is scheduled under | 20 | | Section 2A-1.1, except special elections
to fill congressional | 21 | | vacancies held pursuant to writs of election
issued by the | 22 | | Governor, township referenda and votes of the town electors
| 23 | | held at the annual town meeting, emergency referenda approved | 24 | | pursuant to
Section 2A-1.4, special elections held between | 25 | | January 1, 1995 and July 1,
1995 under Section 34-53 of the |
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| 1 | | School Code, and city, village or incorporated
town primary | 2 | | elections in even-numbered years expressly authorized in this
| 3 | | Article to provide for annual partisan elections.
| 4 | | (c) At the respective elections established in Section | 5 | | 2A-1.1,
candidates shall be elected to office, nominated for | 6 | | election thereto or
placed on the ballot as otherwise required | 7 | | by this Code, and public
questions may be submitted, as | 8 | | specified in Section 2A-1.2.
| 9 | | (d) If the requirements of Section 2A-1.2 conflict with any | 10 | | specific
provision of Sections 2A-2 through 2A-54, as applied | 11 | | to any office or
election, the requirements of Section 2A-1.2 | 12 | | prevail, and shall be
enforced by the State Board of Elections.
| 13 | | (e) In the event any court of competent jurisdiction | 14 | | declares an
election void, the court may order another election | 15 | | without regard to
the schedule of elections set forth in this | 16 | | Article.
| 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 | 22 | | Article:
| 23 | | "Appropriate election
official" means the State Board of | 24 | | Elections in the case of recall of an
official elected from a |
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| 1 | | district that is comprised of more than one county,
or is | 2 | | partly in one county and partly in another county or counties; | 3 | | the
county clerk in the case of recall of an official elected | 4 | | to a county
office, trustee of a sanitary district, or member | 5 | | of a school district board; or the local election official in
| 6 | | the case of recall of an official elected to a municipal or | 7 | | township office,
other than a municipal or township office | 8 | | where the municipality's or
township's boundaries are | 9 | | co-extensive with or are entirely within the
jurisdiction of a | 10 | | municipal board of election commissioners, in which case
the | 11 | | "appropriate election official" means the municipal board of | 12 | | election
commissioners.
| 13 | | "Local elected official" means any
official elected to an
| 14 | | office 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 | 17 | | incumbent
local elected official who has been elected to
an | 18 | | office that has a term of 2 years or more
is subject to removal
| 19 | | by the electors qualified to vote for that official.
However, a | 20 | | local official who has less than 9 months remaining in his or | 21 | | her 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 | 24 | | number of electors equal in number to at least 15% of the total |
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| 1 | | votes cast for Governor in the preceding gubernatorial election | 2 | | in the unit of local government
from which the removal of the | 3 | | local elected official is sought, shall be
filed with the | 4 | | appropriate
election official at least 61 days before the next | 5 | | regularly scheduled
election under this Code and shall be | 6 | | certified within one day after receipt
of the petition. The | 7 | | petition shall demand an election
on the question of whether | 8 | | the named incumbent local elected official shall be
removed | 9 | | from office with
the election to be held at the next regularly | 10 | | scheduled election. A petition must be signed by the | 11 | | petitioning electors not more than 120 days after an affidavit | 12 | | has been filed with the appropriate election official providing | 13 | | notice of intent to circulate a petition to recall the local | 14 | | elected official. The affidavit may be filed no sooner than 3 | 15 | | months after the beginning of the local elected official's term | 16 | | of office. The affidavit must be signed by the proponent of the | 17 | | recall petition and at least 4 elected officials who represent | 18 | | at least 25% the same electors who are represented by the local | 19 | | elected 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), | 23 | | entitled to vote
for (name of person) demand
an election on the | 24 | | question 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 | | .... ............ ....... ......
| 4 | | State of Illinois, )
| 5 | | ) SS.
| 6 | | County of (name) )
| 7 | | I, (name of person), certify that I am a registered voter, | 8 | | that I reside
at (address), in the county of (name)
and State | 9 | | of
Illinois, and that the signatures on this sheet were signed | 10 | | in my presence,
and are genuine, and that to the best of my | 11 | | knowledge and belief, the
persons so signing were at the time | 12 | | of signing the petitions qualified
voters, entitled to vote for | 13 | | the office of (name of office), and that
their respective | 14 | | residences 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 | 23 | | consist of
sheets having the form specified
in Section 25.5-15 | 24 | | and shall be signed by qualified electors of the unit of
local | 25 | | government entitled to vote for the office held by
the local |
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| 1 | | elected official whose
removal is sought, and opposite the | 2 | | signature of each signer, his or her
residence
address shall be | 3 | | written or printed. The residence address required to be
| 4 | | written or printed opposite each qualified elector's name shall | 5 | | include the
street address or rural route number of the signer, | 6 | | as the case may be, as
well as the signer's city, village, or | 7 | | town. The county or city,
village, or town, and state of | 8 | | residence of the electors, however, may be
printed on
the | 9 | | petition forms when all of the electors signing the petition | 10 | | reside in
the same county or city, village, or town, and state. | 11 | | Standard
abbreviations may be used in writing the residence | 12 | | address, including
street number, if any.
| 13 | | A signature shall not be valid unless the requirements of | 14 | | this Section
are complied with and unless the
date of signing | 15 | | is less than 120 days preceding the date of filing the
| 16 | | petition.
| 17 | | At the bottom of each sheet shall be added the affidavit in | 18 | | the form
specified in Section 25.5-15 signed by a qualified | 19 | | voter of the
unit of local government entitled to vote for | 20 | | removal
of the local elected official in which the
signers of | 21 | | the sheet reside; certifying that the signatures on that
sheet | 22 | | of 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 | 25 | | was circulated, or (iii)
certifying that none of the signatures | 26 | | on the sheet were signed more than
120 days preceding the last |
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| 1 | | day for the filing of the petition;
certifying that the | 2 | | signatures on the sheet are genuine; and certifying
that to the | 3 | | best of his or her knowledge and belief the persons so signing | 4 | | were
at
the time of signing the petitions qualified voters of | 5 | | the unit of local
government entitled to vote for the office | 6 | | held by the
local elected official whose removal is being | 7 | | sought.
This affidavit shall be sworn to before an
officer who
| 8 | | is qualified to administer oaths.
| 9 | | The petition, so verified, or a copy of the petition duly | 10 | | certified by the
proper
persons, shall be prima facie evidence | 11 | | that the signatures, statement of
residence, and dates upon the | 12 | | petition are genuine and true and that the
persons signing the | 13 | | petition are electors qualified to vote for the office
subject
| 14 | | to removal under this Article.
| 15 | | The person circulating the petition, or the candidate on | 16 | | whose behalf the
petition is circulated, may strike any | 17 | | signature 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 | 25 | | together in book
form by placing the sheets in a pile and | 26 | | fastening them together at one
edge in a secure and suitable |
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| 1 | | manner, and the sheets shall then be numbered
consecutively. | 2 | | The sheets shall not be fastened by pasting them together
end | 3 | | to end, so as to form a continuous strip or roll. All petition | 4 | | sheets
that are filed with the appropriate election official | 5 | | shall be the original sheets
that have been signed by the | 6 | | voters and by the circulator of the sheet, and not
photocopies | 7 | | or duplicates of those sheets.
| 8 | | The petitions, when filed, may not be withdrawn or added | 9 | | to, and no
signature shall be revoked except by revocation | 10 | | filed in writing with the
appropriate election official
with | 11 | | whom the petition is required to be filed before the filing of | 12 | | the
petition. Whoever forges the name of a signer upon any | 13 | | petition required
by this Article is deemed guilty of a forgery | 14 | | and 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 | 17 | | Sections
10-8 through 10-10.1 of the
Election Code relating to | 18 | | objections to nominating petitions, hearing on
objections, and | 19 | | judicial review, shall apply to and govern, insofar as may
be | 20 | | practical, objections to petitions for the submission of | 21 | | questions of
recall under this Article.
| 22 | | The electoral board to hear and pass on objections shall be | 23 | | the electoral
board specified in Section 10-9 to have | 24 | | jurisdiction over objections to the
nominating petitions of | 25 | | candidates for offices in which
the question of recall is |
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| 1 | | proposed 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 | 4 | | to a
petition are filed within 5 business
days after the | 5 | | petition is submitted to the appropriate election official,
or | 6 | | if objections are filed and the electoral
board specified in | 7 | | Section 25.5-25 rules the petition sufficient,
then | 8 | | immediately after the expiration of this 5-day period, or | 9 | | immediately
after the receipt by the appropriate election | 10 | | official
with whom the
petition was originally filed,
or from | 11 | | the electoral board of the petition and the certified copy of | 12 | | the electoral board's ruling declaring the petition | 13 | | sufficient, as the case
may be, the appropriate election | 14 | | official
with whom the petition was originally filed shall | 15 | | submit the petition without delay to
the election authority or | 16 | | election authorities within the election
jurisdiction or | 17 | | election jurisdictions where the local elected official is
| 18 | | subject to recall, and the election authority or election | 19 | | authorities
shall order the election demanded in the petition | 20 | | to be held at the next regular
election or municipal election | 21 | | 78 days after the filing of the petition.
This election shall | 22 | | be
conducted, returned, and the results declared in all | 23 | | respects the
same as in other elections under the general | 24 | | election law.
| 25 | | If at the election on the question of removal at least a |
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| 1 | | majority of those voting
on the question vote in favor of | 2 | | removal, the local elected official is by operation of law | 3 | | removed from office and a vacancy exists in the office
subject | 4 | | to removal.
The vacancy shall be filled in the manner | 5 | | prescribed 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 | 8 | | appointment. A
local elected official who has been removed from | 9 | | office,
or who has resigned from office while removal | 10 | | proceedings were pending
against that local elected official, | 11 | | shall not be appointed or elected to the same office
within one | 12 | | year after the removal or resignation. Not more than one
| 13 | | election for the recall of the same local elected official | 14 | | shall be held during
the same term of office.
| 15 | | Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon | 16 | | becoming law. |
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