State of Illinois
90th General Assembly
Legislation

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90_HB0640

      New Act
      10 ILCS 5/28-1            from Ch. 46, par. 28-1
          Creates  the  Gambling  Referendum  Act.    Requires   an
      advisory question to be submitted to the voters of the entire
      State  at the 1998 general election as to whether the General
      Assembly should expand legalized gambling in  Illinois.   The
      Act  is repealed January 1, 1999. Amends the Election Code to
      provide that the question submitted  to  the  voters  is  not
      subject  to  the  3 advisory referenda limitation.  Effective
      immediately.
                                                    LRB9001181DNccA
                                              LRB9001181DNccA
 1        AN ACT to submit a statewide  advisory  question  to  the
 2    voters  relating  to  riverboat  gambling,  and  to amend the
 3    Election Code.
 4        Be it enacted by the People of  the  State  of  Illinois,
 5    represented in the General Assembly:
 6        Section  1.  Short  title.   This Act may be cited as the
 7    Gambling Referendum Act.
 8        Section 5.  Advisory question.  There shall be  submitted
 9    to  the  voters  of  the  entire  State  at  the 1998 general
10    election an advisory question  that  shall  be  placed  on  a
11    separate ballot in the following form:
12        Should  the General Assembly expand legalized gambling in
13        the State of Illinois by either increasing the number  of
14        riverboat  casinos  or by authorizing additional forms of
15        gambling  such  as  land-based  casinos,  video   lottery
16        terminals, or slot machines?
17    The votes shall be recorded as "Yes" or "No".
18        Section 10.  Certification.  Not less than 67 days before
19    the 1998 general election, the State Board of Elections shall
20    certify  the  question specified in Section 5 to be submitted
21    to the voters of the entire State to  the  respective  county
22    clerks.   Not  less  than  61  days  before  the 1998 general
23    election, the county clerks shall certify the question to the
24    board of election commissioners, if any, in their  respective
25    counties.
26        Section 15.  This Act is repealed January 1, 1999.
27        Section  20.  The  Election  Code  is amended by changing
28    Section 28-1 as follows:
                            -2-               LRB9001181DNccA
 1        (10 ILCS 5/28-1) (from Ch. 46, par. 28-1)
 2        Sec. 28-1.  The initiation and submission of  all  public
 3    questions to be voted upon by the electors of the State or of
 4    any   political   subdivision  or  district  or  precinct  or
 5    combination of precincts shall be subject to  the  provisions
 6    of this Article.
 7        Questions  of  public  policy which have any legal effect
 8    shall be submitted to referendum  only  as  authorized  by  a
 9    statute  which  so  provides or by the Constitution. Advisory
10    questions of public policy shall be submitted  to  referendum
11    pursuant  to  Section  28-5 or pursuant to a statute which so
12    provides.
13        The method of  initiating  the  submission  of  a  public
14    question shall be as provided by the statute authorizing such
15    public question, or as provided by the Constitution.
16        All  public  questions  shall be initiated, submitted and
17    printed on the ballot in the form required by Section 16-7 of
18    this Act, except as may otherwise be specified in the statute
19    authorizing a public question.
20        Whenever a statute  provides  for  the  initiation  of  a
21    public  question by a petition of electors, the provisions of
22    such statute shall govern  with  respect  to  the  number  of
23    signatures  required,  the qualifications of persons entitled
24    to sign the petition,  the  contents  of  the  petition,  the
25    officer with whom the petition must be filed, and the form of
26    the  question  to  be  submitted.  If  such  statute does not
27    specify any  of  the  foregoing  petition  requirements,  the
28    corresponding  petition  requirements  of  Section 28-6 shall
29    govern such petition.
30        Irrespective of the method of initiation, not more than 3
31    public questions other than  (a)  back  door  referenda,  (b)
32    referenda to determine whether a disconnection may take place
33    where  a  city  coterminous  with  a township is proposing to
34    annex territory from an adjacent township  or  (c)  referenda
                            -3-               LRB9001181DNccA
 1    held  under  the  provisions  of  the  Property Tax Extension
 2    Limitation Law in the Property Tax Code may be  submitted  to
 3    referendum  with  respect  to  a political subdivision at the
 4    same election.
 5        If more than  3  propositions  are  timely  initiated  or
 6    certified  for  submission  at  an election with respect to a
 7    political subdivision, the first 3 validly initiated, by  the
 8    filing  of  a  petition or by the adoption of a resolution or
 9    ordinance of a political subdivision, as  the  case  may  be,
10    shall  be  printed  on  the  ballot  and  submitted  at  that
11    election.  However, except as expressly authorized by law not
12    more than one proposition to change the form of government of
13    a municipality pursuant to Article VII  of  the  Constitution
14    may  be  submitted  at  an  election.  If  more than one such
15    proposition is timely initiated or certified  for  submission
16    at  an  election  with  respect  to a municipality, the first
17    validly initiated shall be the one printed on the ballot  and
18    submitted at that election.
19        No  public question shall be submitted to the voters of a
20    political subdivision at any regularly scheduled election  at
21    which  such  voters  are  not scheduled to cast votes for any
22    candidates for nomination for, election to  or  retention  in
23    public  office,  except  that if, in any existing or proposed
24    political subdivision in which the  submission  of  a  public
25    question  at  a  regularly scheduled election is desired, the
26    voters of  only  a  portion  of  such  existing  or  proposed
27    political  subdivision  are  not  scheduled to cast votes for
28    nomination for, election to or retention in public office  at
29    such  election,  but the voters in one or more other portions
30    of  such  existing  or  proposed  political  subdivision  are
31    scheduled to cast votes for nomination for,  election  to  or
32    retention  in  public  office  at  such  election, the public
33    question shall be voted upon by all the qualified  voters  of
34    the  entire existing or proposed political subdivision at the
                            -4-               LRB9001181DNccA
 1    election.
 2        Not  more  than  3  advisory  public  questions  may   be
 3    submitted  to  the  voters  of  the entire state at a general
 4    election. If more  than  3  such  advisory  propositions  are
 5    initiated,  the first 3 timely and validly initiated shall be
 6    the questions printed on the ballot  and  submitted  at  that
 7    election;  provided  however,  that a question for a proposed
 8    amendment to Article  IV  of  the  Constitution  pursuant  to
 9    Section 3, Article XIV of the Constitution, or for a question
10    submitted  under  the Gambling Referendum Act or the Property
11    Tax  Cap  Referendum  Law,  shall  not  be  included  in  the
12    foregoing limitation.
13    (Source: P.A. 88-116; 89-510, eff. 7-11-96.)
14        Section 99.  Effective date.  This Act takes effect  upon
15    becoming law.

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