Public Act 102-0011
 
SB0642 EnrolledLRB102 11506 LNS 16840 b

    AN ACT concerning courts.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
Judicial Districts Act of 2021.
 
    Section 5. Legislative intent. The intent of this Act is
to redraw the Judicial Districts to meet the requirements of
the Illinois Constitution of 1970 by providing that outside of
the First District the State "shall be divided by law into four
Judicial Districts of substantially equal population, each of
which shall be compact and composed of contiguous counties."
    Section 2 of Article VI of the Illinois Constitution of
1970 divides the State into five Judicial Districts for the
selection of Supreme and Appellate Court Judges, with Cook
County comprising the First District and the remainder of the
State "divided by law into four Judicial Districts of
substantially equal population, each of which shall be compact
and composed of contiguous counties." Further, Section 7 of
Article VI provides that a Judicial Circuit must be located
within one Judicial District, and also provides the First
Judicial District is comprised of a judicial circuit and the
remainder provided by law, subject to the requirement that
Circuits composed of more than one county shall be compact and
of contiguous counties. The current Judicial District map was
enacted in 1963.
    The current Judicial Districts do not meet the
Constitution's requirement that four Districts other than the
First District be of "substantially equal population." Using
the American Community Survey data available at the time this
Act is enacted, the population of the current First District
is 5,198,212; Second District is 3,204,960; the Third District
is 1,782,863; the Fourth District is 1,299,747; and the Fifth
District is 1,284,757.
    Under this redistricting plan, the population, according
to the American Community Survey, of the Second District will
be 1,770,983; the Third District will be 1,950,349; the Fourth
District will be 2,011,316; and the Fifth District will be
1,839,679. A similar substantially equitable result occurs
using the 2010 U.S. Census data, the most recent decennial
census data available at the time of this Act, with the
population of the Second District being approximately
1,747,387; the Third District being 1,936,616; the Fourth
District being 2,069,660; and the Fifth District being
1,882,294. Because of the constitutional requirement that a
District be composed of whole counties, and given that actual
population changes on a day-to-day basis, the populations are
not and could never be exact, but the population of each of the
four Districts created by this Act is substantially equal.
    In addition to ensuring the population of the four
Districts are substantially equal, this Act complies with
Section 7 of Article VI of the Illinois Constitution of 1970,
which provides that the First Judicial District shall be
comprised of a Judicial Circuit, and the remaining Judicial
Circuits shall be provided by law, and Circuits comprised of
more than one county shall be compact and of contiguous
counties. To comply with Section 7 of Article VI and minimize
disruption to the administration of the Judicial Branch, this
Act avoids changing the compositions and boundaries of the
Judicial Circuits, while simultaneously creating substantially
equally populated, compact, and contiguous Judicial Districts.
    To further avoid any interruption to the administration of
the Judicial Branch, this Act does not require that the
Supreme Court change where the Appellate Courts currently
reside. By Supreme Court Rule, the Second District Appellate
Court currently sits in Elgin; the Third District Appellate
Court currently sits in Ottawa; the Fourth District Appellate
Court currently sits in Springfield; and the Fifth District
Appellate Court currently sits in Mt. Vernon. Under this Act,
the Supreme Court is not required to change where the
Appellate Courts sit as those cities remain in the Second,
Third, Fourth, and Fifth District respectively.
    To ensure continuity of service and compliance with the
Illinois Constitution of 1970, nothing in this Act is intended
to affect the tenure of any Appellate or Supreme Court Judge
elected or appointed prior to the effective date of this Act.
In accordance with the Constitution, no change in the
boundaries shall affect an incumbent judge's qualification for
office or right to run for retention. Incumbent judges have
the right to run for retention in the counties comprising the
District that elected the judge, or in the counties comprising
the new District where the judge resides, as the judge may
elect. As provided by the Constitution, upon a vacancy in an
elected Supreme or Appellate Court office, the Supreme Court
may fill the vacancy until the vacancy is filled in the next
general election in the counties comprising the District
created by this Act.
    Further, nothing in this Act is intended to alter or
impair the ability of the Supreme Court to fulfill its
obligations to ensure the proper administration of the
Judicial Branch. For example, it remains within the purview of
the Supreme Court to assign or reassign any judge to any court
or determine assignment of additional judges to the Appellate
Court. Section 1 of the Appellate Act provides that the
"Supreme Court may assign additional judges to service in the
Appellate Court from time to time as the business of the
Appellate Court requires." Currently the Supreme Court has
three judges on assignment to the Second District Appellate
Court, whereas one judge is on assignment to the Third,
Fourth, and Fifth Districts. Nothing in this Act seeks to
alter any judicial assignments.
    Finally, it is the intent of the General Assembly that any
appealable order, as defined by Supreme Court Rules, entered
prior to the effective date of this Act shall be subject to
judicial review by the Judicial District in effect on the date
the order was entered; however, the administrative and
supervisory authority of the courts remains within the purview
of the Supreme Court.
 
    Section 10. The First Judicial District consists of the
County of Cook.
 
    Section 15. Beginning on the effective date of this Act,
the Second Judicial District consists of the counties of
DeKalb, Kendall, Kane, Lake, and McHenry.
 
    Section 20. Beginning on the effective date of this Act,
the Third Judicial District consists of the counties of
Bureau, LaSalle, Grundy, Iroquois, Kankakee, DuPage and Will.
 
    Section 25. Beginning on the effective date of this Act,
the Fourth Judicial District consists of the counties of Jo
Daviess, Stephenson, Carroll, Ogle, Lee, Winnebago, Boone,
Mercer, Rock Island, Whiteside, Henry, Stark, Putnam,
Marshall, Peoria, Tazewell, Adams, Pike, Calhoun, Schuyler,
Brown, Cass, Mason, Menard, Morgan, Scott, Greene, Jersey,
Macoupin, Sangamon, Logan, McLean, Woodford, Livingston, Ford,
Henderson, Warren, Knox, Fulton, McDonough and Hancock.
 
    Section 30. Beginning on the effective date of this Act,
the Fifth Judicial District consists of the counties of
DeWitt, Macon, Piatt, Moultrie, Champaign, Douglas, Vermilion,
Edgar, Coles, Cumberland, Clark, Christian, Shelby,
Montgomery, Fayette, Effingham, Jasper, Clay, Marion, Clinton,
Bond, Madison, St. Clair, Washington, Monroe, Randolph, Perry,
Crawford, Richland, Lawrence, Wabash, Edwards, Wayne,
Jefferson, Franklin, Hamilton, White, Gallatin, Hardin,
Saline, Williamson, Jackson, Union, Johnson, Pope, Alexander,
Pulaski, and Massac.
 
    Section 35. Current Members of the Judiciary. Nothing in
this Act shall affect the tenure of any Appellate or Supreme
Court Judge serving on the effective date of this Act. No
Appellate or Supreme Court Judge serving on the effective date
of this Act shall be required to change his or her residency in
order to continue serving in office or to seek retention or
reappointment in office. Any Appellate or Supreme Court Judge
elected to that office prior to the effective date of this Act
who files to run for retention after the effective date of this
Act shall have the right to seek retention in the district the
Judge was elected from or seek retention in the district
created by this Act. The Secretary of State, not less than 63
days before the election, shall certify the Judge's candidacy
to the proper election officials.
 
    Section 40. Severability. To the extent that any provision
of this Act is found to be unconstitutional, that provision
alone shall be deemed of no force and effect and all other
provisions of this Act shall remain in full force and effect.
 
    Section 45. The Judicial Districts Act is amended by
changing Sections 2, 3, 4, and 5 as follows:
 
    (705 ILCS 20/2)  (from Ch. 37, par. 1.2)
    (This Act was repealed by P.A. 89-719, which has been held
unconstitutional)
    Sec. 2. Prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act
of the 102nd General Assembly, the The Second Judicial
District consists of the counties of Jo Daviess, Stephenson,
Carroll, Ogle, Lee, Winnebago, Boone, McHenry, Lake, DeKalb,
Kane, Kendall and DuPage.
(Source: Laws 1963, p. 929.)
 
    (705 ILCS 20/3)  (from Ch. 37, par. 1.3)
    (This Act was repealed by P.A. 89-719, which has been held
unconstitutional)
    Sec. 3. Prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act
of the 102nd General Assembly, the The Third Judicial District
consists of the counties of Mercer, Rock Island, Whiteside,
Henry, Bureau, LaSalle, Grundy, Stark, Putnam, Marshall,
Peoria, Tazewell, Will, Kankakee, Iroquois, Henderson, Warren,
Knox, Fulton, McDonough and Hancock.
(Source: Laws 1963, p. 929.)
 
    (705 ILCS 20/4)  (from Ch. 37, par. 1.4)
    (This Act was repealed by P.A. 89-719, which has been held
unconstitutional)
    Sec. 4. Prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act
of the 102nd General Assembly, the The Fourth Judicial
District consists of the counties of Adams, Pike, Calhoun,
Schuyler, Brown, Cass, Mason, Menard, Morgan, Scott, Greene,
Jersey, Macoupin, Sangamon, Logan, McLean, Woodford,
Livingston, Ford, DeWitt, Macon, Piatt, Moultrie, Champaign,
Douglas, Vermilion, Edgar, Coles, Cumberland and Clark.
(Source: Laws 1963, p. 929.)
 
    (705 ILCS 20/5)  (from Ch. 37, par. 1.5)
    (This Act was repealed by P.A. 89-719, which has been held
unconstitutional)
    Sec. 5. Prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act
of the 102nd General Assembly, the The Fifth Judicial District
consists of all the counties south of the Fourth Judicial
District.
(Source: Laws 1963, p. 929.)
 
    (705 ILCS 21/Act rep.)
    Section 50. The Judicial Redistricting Act of 1997 (which
has been held unconstitutional) is repealed.
 
    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.