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90_SC0023
ILCON Art. VI, Sec. 8
ILCON Art. VI, Sec. 10
ILCON Art. VI, Sec. 11
ILCON Art. VI, Sec. 12
ILCON Art. VI, Sec. 12.5 new
Proposes to amend the Illinois Constitution to repeal
provisions concerning the office of Associate Judge.
Provides that Associate Judges in office on the effective
date of the amendment assume the office of Circuit Judge on
that date. Deletes provisions for election of Appellate and
Circuit Judges and provides for their appointment by the
Supreme Court. Provides for Judicial Nominating Commissions
to nominate persons for appointment as Appellate and Circuit
Judges. Makes other changes. Effective upon approval by the
electors.
LRB9005063DJcd
LRB9005063DJcd
1 SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
2 CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
3 RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETIETH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
4 OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
5 CONCURRING HEREIN, that there shall be submitted to the
6 electors of the State for adoption or rejection at the
7 general election next occurring at least 6 months after the
8 adoption of this resolution a proposition to repeal Section 8
9 of Article VI, amend Sections 10, 11, and 12 of Article VI,
10 and add Section 12.5 to Article VI of the Constitution to
11 read as follows:
12 ARTICLE VI
13 THE JUDICIARY
14 (ILCON Art. VI, Sec. 8)
15 SECTION 8. ASSOCIATE JUDGES
16 (Repealed). Each Circuit Court shall have such number of
17 Associate Judges as provided by law. Associate Judges shall
18 be appointed by the Circuit Judges in each circuit as the
19 Supreme Court shall provide by rule. In the First Judicial
20 District, unless otherwise provided by law, at least
21 one-fourth of the Associate Judges shall be appointed from,
22 and reside, outside Chicago. The Supreme Court shall provide
23 by rule for matters to be assigned to Associate Judges.
24 (Source: Illinois Constitution.)
25 (ILCON Art. VI, Sec. 10)
26 SECTION 10. TERMS OF OFFICE
27 The terms of office of Supreme and Appellate Court Judges
28 shall be ten years; and of Circuit Judges, six years; and of
29 Associate Judges, four years.
30 (Source: Illinois Constitution.)
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1 (ILCON Art. VI, Sec. 11)
2 SECTION 11. ELIGIBILITY FOR OFFICE
3 No person shall be eligible to be a Judge or Associate
4 Judge unless he or she is a United States citizen, a licensed
5 attorney-at-law of this State, and a resident of the district
6 or circuit unit which selects him or her. No change in the
7 boundaries of a unit shall affect the tenure in office of a
8 Judge or Associate Judge incumbent at the time of such
9 change.
10 (Source: Illinois Constitution.)
11 (ILCON Art. VI, Sec. 12)
12 SECTION 12. ELECTION AND RETENTION
13 (a) Supreme Court, Appellate and Circuit Judges shall be
14 nominated at primary elections or by petition and. Judges
15 shall be elected at general or judicial elections as the
16 General Assembly shall provide by law. A person eligible for
17 the office of Judge may cause his or her name to appear on
18 the ballot as a candidate for Judge at the primary and at the
19 general or judicial elections by submitting petitions. The
20 General Assembly shall prescribe by law the requirements for
21 petitions.
22 (a-5) Appellate and Circuit Judges shall be appointed by
23 the Supreme Court from nominees submitted by Judicial
24 Nominating Commissions in accordance with subsection (c-5) of
25 this Section.
26 (b) The office of a Judge shall be vacant upon his or
27 her death, resignation, retirement, removal, or upon the
28 conclusion of his or her term without retention in office.
29 Whenever an additional Appellate or Circuit Judge is
30 authorized by law, the office shall be filled in the manner
31 provided for filling a vacancy in that office.
32 (c) A vacancy occurring in the office of Supreme Court,
33 Appellate or Circuit Judge shall be filled as the General
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1 Assembly may provide by law. In the absence of a law,
2 vacancies may be filled by appointment by the Supreme Court.
3 A person appointed to fill a vacancy 60 or more days prior to
4 the next primary election to nominate Supreme Court Judges
5 shall serve until the vacancy is filled for a term at the
6 next general or judicial election. A person appointed to fill
7 a vacancy less than 60 days prior to the next primary
8 election to nominate Judges shall serve until the vacancy is
9 filled at the second general or judicial election following
10 such appointment.
11 (c-5) As soon as a vacancy occurs in the office of
12 Appellate or Circuit Judge, or if such a vacancy will occur
13 within 6 months by a day certain, the Administrative Director
14 of the Illinois Courts shall promptly notify the chairperson
15 of the appropriate Judicial Nominating Commission, who shall
16 immediately convene the Commission and give notice to the
17 public.
18 Within 60 days after receiving the notice of a vacancy,
19 the Judicial Nominating Commission shall submit to the
20 Supreme Court a list of 3 nominees who, by their character,
21 background, temperament, professional aptitude, experience,
22 and commitment to justice are deemed by the Commission to be
23 best qualified to fill the vacancy. The Commission shall
24 also give due consideration to diversity of representation on
25 the bench. The Commission shall submit the nominees' names
26 in alphabetical order. The selection of Judges for
27 appointment by the Supreme Court shall be from among those
28 persons best qualified to hold judicial office in this State.
29 All such qualified persons have the right to be considered
30 for selection by a Judicial Nominating Commission free from
31 discrimination on the basis of race, color, creed, national
32 ancestry, or sex. The Commission may not include on a list a
33 nominee who is on another list then pending before the
34 Supreme Court. The function of a list of nominees shall
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1 terminate upon the making of the required appointment from
2 the list.
3 Immediately upon receiving a list of nominees from a
4 Judicial Nominating Commission, the Supreme Court shall make
5 the list public. Not fewer than 28 nor more than 56 days
6 after receiving a list, the Supreme Court shall appoint from
7 the list a person to fill the vacancy. If the Supreme Court
8 does not make an appointment within 56 days, the Commission
9 shall immediately submit the list to the Governor, who shall
10 make the appointment from the list within 28 days after
11 receiving the list.
12 A person appointed to fill a vacancy pursuant to this
13 subsection shall serve an initial term equal to the term
14 specified in Section 10.
15 (d) Not less than six months before the general election
16 preceding the expiration of his or her term of office, a
17 Supreme, Appellate or Circuit Judge who has been elected or
18 appointed to that office may file in the office of the
19 Secretary of State a declaration of candidacy to succeed
20 himself or herself. The Secretary of State, not less than 63
21 days before the election, shall certify the Judge's candidacy
22 to the proper election officials. The names of Judges seeking
23 retention shall be submitted to the electors, separately and
24 without party designation, on the sole question whether each
25 Judge shall be retained in office for another term. The
26 retention elections shall be conducted at general elections
27 in the appropriate Judicial District, for Supreme and
28 Appellate Judges, and in the circuit for Circuit Judges. The
29 affirmative vote of 50% three-fifths of the electors voting
30 on the question shall elect the Judge to the office for a
31 term commencing on the first Monday in December following his
32 or her election for retention.
33 (e) A law reducing the number of Appellate or Circuit
34 Judges shall be without prejudice to the right of the Judges
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1 affected to seek retention in office. A reduction shall
2 become effective when a vacancy occurs in the affected unit.
3 (f) The office of Associate Judge is abolished, and all
4 Associate Judges in office on the effective date of this
5 amendment shall on that date assume the office of Circuit
6 Judge. In order to end the terms of those Judges, the
7 Administrative Director of the Illinois Courts, as soon as
8 possible after the effective date of this amendment, shall by
9 lot divide those Judges into 3 groups that are as equal in
10 number as possible. The terms of the Judges in the first
11 group shall end on the first Monday in December after the
12 next general election following the adoption of this
13 amendment and every 6 years thereafter. The terms of the
14 Judges in the second group shall end on the first Monday in
15 December after the second general election following the
16 adoption of this amendment and every 6 years thereafter. The
17 terms of the Judges in the third group shall expire on the
18 first Monday in December after the third general election
19 following the adoption of this amendment and every 6 years
20 thereafter.
21 The Judges described in this subsection may be retained
22 in the same manner as other Circuit Judges.
23 (Source: Illinois Constitution.)
24 (ILCON Art. VI, Sec. 12.5 new)
25 SECTION 12.5. JUDICIAL NOMINATING COMMISSIONS
26 (a) There shall be a Judicial Nominating Commission in
27 each Judicial District for the nomination of Judges for the
28 Appellate Court, in each Judicial Circuit for the nomination
29 of Judges for the Circuit Court, and in each Judicial
30 Subcircuit for the nomination of Judges for the Subcircuit
31 Courts.
32 (b) Each Judicial Nominating Commission shall consist of
33 11 members. Six of the members must be persons who are not
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1 licensed to practice as an attorney or counselor at law
2 within this State and are residents of the appropriate
3 District, Circuit, or Subcircuit ("non-lawyer members"). The
4 remaining 5 members must be persons who are licensed to
5 practice as an attorney or counselor at law within this State
6 and are residents of the appropriate District, Circuit, or
7 Subcircuit ("lawyer members").
8 (c) Three of the non-lawyer members of each Judicial
9 Nominating Commission shall be appointed by the Attorney
10 General. The remaining 3 non-lawyer members shall be
11 appointed by the officer first in the following order who is
12 not affiliated with the same political party as the Attorney
13 General: the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the
14 House of Representatives, and the Minority Leader of the
15 Senate.
16 (d) The lawyer members of each Judicial Nominating
17 Commission shall be selected in the manner provided by
18 Supreme Court Rule.
19 (e) Upon appointment of the initial non-lawyer members
20 of each Judicial Nominating Commission, the Attorney General
21 shall divide the appointees by lot into 3 groups as equal in
22 number as possible, with one of the Attorney General's
23 appointees in each group. The Attorney General shall by lot
24 designate the members in those groups to serve initial terms
25 of 2, 4, and 6 years respectively. The initial lawyer
26 members of each Judicial Nominating Commission shall also be
27 divided by lot into 3 groups as equal in number as possible,
28 and the members in those groups shall by lot be designated to
29 serve initial terms of 2, 4, and 6 years respectively, all in
30 the manner provided by Supreme Court Rule. Thereafter, the
31 terms of all Commission members shall be 6 years.
32 (f) A vacancy in the non-lawyer membership of a Judicial
33 Nominating Commission shall be filled for the remainder of
34 the unexpired term or for a full term, as the case may be, by
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1 the Attorney General (if the Attorney General is affiliated
2 with the same political party as the official who appointed
3 the member whose vacancy is to be filled) or by the other
4 officer specified in subsection (c) of this Section (if the
5 Attorney General is affiliated with a political party
6 different from that of the official who appointed the member
7 whose vacancy is to be filled). A vacancy at the end of a
8 term in the lawyer membership of a Judicial Nominating
9 Commission shall be filled in the manner provided by Supreme
10 Court Rule.
11 (g) The members of each Judicial Nominating Commission
12 shall select a Chairperson of the Commission. The
13 Chairperson shall serve for a term of 3 years unless his or
14 her remaining term as a member of the Commission expires
15 sooner.
16 (h) A person is not eligible to serve on a Judicial
17 Nominating Commission if he or she (i) holds any office under
18 the United States or this State, or any political
19 subdivision, municipal corporation, municipality, or unit of
20 local government of this State, and receives compensation for
21 services rendered in that office or (ii) holds any office or
22 official position in a political party. Compensation for
23 service in the State militia or the armed services of the
24 United States, for the period of time determined by Supreme
25 Court Rule, does not disqualify a person from serving on a
26 Judicial Nominating Commission under this subsection. A
27 member of a Judicial Nominating Commission may not be
28 appointed to judicial office while serving on the Commission
29 or for a period of 6 months thereafter.
30 (i) A person who has served a full term of 6 years as a
31 member of a Judicial Nominating Commission may not serve on a
32 Commission during the next 3 years following expiration of
33 that 6-year term. A person may not serve on more than one
34 Judicial Nominating Commission at the same time.
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1 (j) A Judicial Nominating Commission may conduct
2 investigations, meetings, and hearings, all of which may be
3 secret, and may employ staff members as necessary to perform
4 the Commission's duties. Judicial Nominating Commission
5 members may not receive any compensation for their services
6 on the Commission but shall be reimbursed for their necessary
7 expenses actually incurred in performing their duties. The
8 General Assembly shall appropriate funds to the Supreme Court
9 for that reimbursement and for all other administrative
10 expenses of the Judicial Nominating Commissions.
11 (k) A Judicial Nominating Commission shall submit
12 nominees for the office of Appellate or Circuit Judge to the
13 Supreme Court upon the concurrence of not less than
14 three-fifths of the members of the Commission voting on the
15 nominations.
16 (l) Lawyer and non-lawyer members of Judicial Nominating
17 Commissions are not subject to economic disclosure
18 requirements as provided by law.
19 SCHEDULE
20 This Constitutional Amendment takes effect upon approval
21 by the electors of this State.