Public Act 0597 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HB4226 Enrolled LRB103 33243 LNS 63052 b

Public Act 103-0597

AN ACT concerning courts.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Circuit Courts Act is amended by changing Section 2f as follows:

(705 ILCS 35/2f) (from Ch. 37, par. 72.2f)

Sec. 2f. Circuit of Cook County.

(a) Until December 2, 2024, the Circuit of Cook County shall be divided into 15 units to be known as subcircuits. On and after December 2, 2024, the Circuit of Cook County is divided into 20 subcircuits as drawn by the General Assembly. The subcircuits shall be compact, contiguous, and substantially equal in population. Beginning in 2031, the General Assembly shall, in the year following each federal decennial census, redraw the boundaries of the subcircuits to reflect the results of the most recent federal decennial census.

In accordance with subsection (d), a resident judgeship assigned to a subcircuit shall continue to be assigned to that subcircuit. Any vacancy in a resident judgeship existing on or occurring after the effective date of a law redrawing the boundaries of the subcircuits shall be filled by a resident of the redrawn subcircuit.

(b) The 165 resident judges to be elected from the Circuit of Cook County shall be determined under paragraph (4) of subsection (a) of Section 2 of the Judicial Vacancies Act.

(c) For resident judgeships to be filled by election on or before the 2022 general election, the Supreme Court shall allot (i) the additional resident judgeships provided by paragraph (4) of subsection (a) of Section 2 of the Judicial Vacancies Act and (ii) all vacancies in resident judgeships existing on or occurring on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1990, with respect to the other resident judgeships of the Circuit of Cook County, for election from the various subcircuits until there are 11 resident judges to be elected from each of the 15 subcircuits (for a total of 165). A resident judgeship authorized before the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1990 that became vacant and was filled by appointment by the Supreme Court before that effective date shall be filled by election at the general election in November of 1992 from the unit of the Circuit of Cook County within Chicago or the unit of that Circuit outside Chicago, as the case may be, in which the vacancy occurred.

(d) As soon as practicable after the subcircuits are created by law, the Supreme Court shall determine by lot a numerical order for the 15 subcircuits. That numerical order shall be the basis for the order in which resident judgeships are assigned to the subcircuits. After the first round of assignments, the second and all later rounds shall be based on the same numerical order. Once a resident judgeship is assigned to a subcircuit, it shall continue to be assigned to that subcircuit for all purposes; provided that a resident judge elected from a subcircuit seeking retention shall run for retention at large in the circuit in accordance with Article VI, Section 12(d) of the Illinois Constitution. No elected judge of the Circuit of Cook County serving on January 7, 2022 shall be required to change his or her residency in order to continue serving in office or to seek retention in office as resident judgeships are allotted by the Supreme Court in accordance with this Section.

(d-5) For resident judgeships to be filled by election on or after the 2024 general election, a vacancy of a resident judgeship to be elected from a subcircuit shall be allotted by the Supreme Court to the subcircuit created under the Judicial Circuits Districting Act of 2022 that numerically corresponds to the subcircuit from which the resident judgeship was previously allotted. For any resident judgeship to be elected from a subcircuit that was not previously allotted to a subcircuit, vacancies shall be allotted in numerical order to subcircuits created under the Judicial Circuits Districting Act of 2022 which numerically correspond to subcircuits that had less than 11 resident judges on January 7, 2022 until there are 11 resident judges to be elected from each of the respective subcircuits. Vacancies in associate judgeships authorized under Section 2(a) of the Associate Judges Act occurring or after June 1, 2023 shall be converted to resident circuit judgeships and shall be allotted in numerical order to subcircuits Any vacancies in formerly associate judgeships converted to resident circuit judgeships in the Circuit of Cook County occurring on or after June 1, 2023 shall be allotted in numerical order to Judicial Subcircuits 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20, until there are 11 resident judges to be elected from each of those subcircuits (for a total of 55). Beginning with the 2024 election cycle, the The maximum number of formerly associate judgeship vacancies which shall be judgeships converted to resident circuit judgeships to which may be allotted to Judicial Subcircuits 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20 in an election cycle shall be 10 resident circuit 2 judgeships, with each subcircuit allotted no more than 2 resident circuit judgeships per election cycle. Any additional associate judgeship vacancies in excess of the maximum number per election cycle shall not be converted to resident circuit judgeships and shall be filled according to Supreme Court Rule 39 until such time that a vacancy in the associate judgeship occurs. A vacancy occurs when an associate judge dies, resigns, retires, is removed, or is not reappointed upon the expiration of his or her term; a vacancy does not occur at the expiration of a term if the associate judge is reappointed. As used in this subsection, "election cycle" means the period that begins on the day following the last day to certify judicial vacancies for election at the next general election and ends on the last day to certify judicial vacancies for election at the next general election, as provided in Section 25-3 of the Election Code subcircuit.

(e) A resident judge elected from a subcircuit shall continue to reside in that subcircuit as long as he or she holds that office. A resident judge elected from a subcircuit after January 1, 2008, must retain residency as a registered voter in the subcircuit to run for retention from the circuit at large thereafter.

(Source: P.A. 101-477, eff. 6-1-20; 102-668, eff. 11-15-21; 102-693, eff. 1-7-22; 102-1126, eff. 2-10-23.)

Section 10. The Associate Judges Act is amended by changing Section 2 as follows:

(705 ILCS 45/2) (from Ch. 37, par. 160.2)

Sec. 2. (a) The maximum number of associate judges authorized for each circuit is the greater of the applicable minimum number specified in this Section or one for each 35,000 or fraction thereof in population as determined by the last preceding Federal census, except for circuits with a population of more than 3,000,000 where the maximum number of associate judges is one for each 29,000 or fraction thereof in population as determined by the last preceding federal census, reduced in circuits of less than 200,000 inhabitants by the number of resident circuit judges elected in the circuit in excess of one per county, except that the maximum number of associate judges authorized for the 24th circuit shall be 3. In addition, in circuits of 1,000,000 or more inhabitants, there shall be one additional associate judge authorized for each municipal district of the circuit court. The number of associate judges to be appointed in each circuit, not to exceed the maximum authorized, shall be determined from time to time by the Circuit Court. The minimum number of associate judges authorized for any circuit consisting of a single county shall be 14, except that the minimum in the 22nd circuit shall be 8, the minimum in the 19th circuit on and after December 4, 2006 shall be 20, and the maximum number of associate judges in the 20th circuit on and after December 5, 2022 shall be 12. The minimum number of associate judges authorized for any circuit consisting of 2 counties with a combined population of at least 275,000 but less than 300,000 shall be 10. The minimum number of associate judges authorized for any circuit with a population of at least 303,000 but not more than 309,000 shall be 10. The minimum number of associate judges authorized for any circuit with a population of at least 329,000, but not more than 349,999 shall be 11. The minimum number of associate judges authorized for any circuit with a population of at least 173,000 shall be 5. The number of associate judges authorized for a circuit shall not be reduced as a result of the 2020 federal decennial census. As used in this Section, the term "resident circuit judge" has the meaning given it in the Judicial Vacancies Act.

(b) The maximum number of associate judges authorized under subsection (a) for a circuit with a population of more than 3,000,000 shall be reduced as provided in this subsection (b). For each vacancy that exists on or occurs on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1990, that maximum number shall be reduced by one until the total number of associate judges authorized under subsection (a) is reduced by 60. A vacancy exists or occurs when an associate judge dies, resigns, retires, is removed, or is not reappointed upon expiration of his or her term; a vacancy does not exist or occur at the expiration of a term if the associate judge is reappointed.

(b-5) The maximum number of associate judges authorized under subsection (a) for a circuit with a population of more than 3,000,000 shall be reduced as provided in this subsection (b-5). Vacancies in associate judgeships authorized under subsection (a) occurring on or after June 1, 2023 shall be converted to resident circuit judgeships and shall be allotted in numerical order to subcircuits 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20 Each associate judgeship vacancy that occurs on or after June 1, 2023 shall be converted to a resident circuit judgeship and allotted to a subcircuit pursuant to subsection (d-5) of Section 2f of the Circuit Courts Act, with each subcircuit allotted no more than a total of 11 resident circuit judgeships. Each election cycle, beginning with the 2024 election cycle, a maximum of 10 associate judgeship vacancies shall be converted to resident circuit judgeships pursuant to subsection (d-5) of Section 2f of the Circuit Courts Act and that maximum number shall be reduced by one until the total number of associate judges authorized under subsection (a) is reduced by 55. The maximum number of formerly associate judgeships which may be converted to resident circuit judgeships and which may be allotted to subcircuits 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20 in an election cycle shall be 10 2 judgeships with each per subcircuit being allotted no more than 2 resident circuit judgeships per election cycle. Any additional associate judgeship vacancies in excess of the maximum number per election cycle shall not be converted to resident circuit judgeships and shall be filled according to Supreme Court Rule 39 until such time that a vacancy in the associate judgeship occurs. A vacancy occurs when an associate judge dies, resigns, retires, is removed, or is not reappointed upon expiration of his or her term; a vacancy does not occur at the expiration of a term if the associate judge is reappointed. As used in this subsection, "election cycle" means the period that begins on the day following the last day to certify judicial vacancies for election at the next general election and ends on the last day to certify judicial vacancies for election at the next general election, as provided in Section 25-3 of the Election Code.

(c) The maximum number of associate judges authorized under subsection (a) for the 17th judicial circuit shall be reduced as provided in this subsection (c). Due to the vacancy that exists on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly in the associate judgeship that is converted into a resident judgeship under subsection (a-10) of Section 2f-6 of the Circuit Courts Act, the maximum number of judges authorized under subsection (a) of this Section shall be reduced by one. A vacancy exists or occurs when an associate judge dies, resigns, retires, is removed, or is not reappointed upon expiration of his or her term; a vacancy does not exist or occur at the expiration of a term if the associate judge is reappointed.

(d) The maximum number of associate judges authorized under subsection (a) for the 23rd judicial circuit shall be reduced as provided in this subsection (d). Due to the vacancy that exists on or after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 98th General Assembly in the associate judgeship that is converted into a resident judgeship under subsection (k) of Section 2f-10 of the Circuit Courts Act, the maximum number of judges authorized under subsection (a) of this Section shall be reduced by one.

(Source: P.A. 102-693, eff. 1-7-22; 102-1126, eff. 2-10-23.)

Section 15. The Court Reporters Act is amended by changing Section 7 as follows:

(705 ILCS 70/7) (from Ch. 37, par. 657)

Sec. 7. Proficiency tests. Each court reporter may be required by the chief judge to shall take a test to verify his or her proficiency within one year of employment. The test shall be prepared and administered by the employer representative in consultation with each of the other employer representatives pursuant to standards set by rules. A proficiency test passed prior to employment may be accepted by the chief judge as proof of proficiency.

(Source: P.A. 101-581, eff. 1-1-20.)

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.

Effective Date: 7/1/2024