Bill Text: IL HJRCA0015 | 2013-2014 | 98th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Proposes to amend the Judiciary Article of the Illinois Constitution. Provides that, whenever a vacancy occurs in the office of Supreme, Appellate, or Circuit Judge by death, resignation, retirement, removal, or upon the conclusion of the judge's term without retention in office, the Governor shall fill that vacancy by appointing one of 3 qualified persons who are nominated by a nonpartisan judicial commission. Creates separate nonpartisan judicial commissions for the Supreme Court, for each Judicial District, and for each Judicial Circuit. Sets forth the membership of the commissions. Effective upon being declared adopted in accordance with Section 7 of the Illinois Constitutional Amendment Act.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-05-03 - Tabled Pursuant to Rule 46 [HJRCA0015 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2013-HJRCA0015-Introduced.html

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98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2013 and 2014 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT HC0015 Introduced , by Rep. Dwight Kay SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
ILCON Art. VI, Sec. 7
ILCON Art. VI, Sec. 11
ILCON Art. VI, Sec. 12
Proposes to amend the Judiciary Article of the Illinois Constitution. Provides that, whenever a vacancy occurs in the office of Supreme, Appellate, or Circuit Judge by death, resignation, retirement, removal, or upon the conclusion of the judge's term without retention in office, the Governor shall fill that vacancy by appointing one of 3 qualified persons who are nominated by a nonpartisan judicial commission. Creates separate nonpartisan judicial commissions for the Supreme Court, for each Judicial District, and for each Judicial Circuit. Sets forth the membership of the commissions. Effective upon being declared adopted in accordance with Section 7 of the Illinois Constitutional Amendment Act.
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HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that there shall be submitted to the
electors of the State for adoption or rejection at the general
election next occurring at least 6 months after the adoption of
this resolution a proposition to amend Sections 7, 11, and 12
of Article VI of the Illinois Constitution as follows:
ARTICLE VI
THE JUDICIARY
(ILCON Art. VI, Sec. 7)
SECTION 7. JUDICIAL CIRCUITS
(a) The State shall be divided into Judicial Circuits
consisting of one or more counties. The First Judicial District
shall constitute a Judicial Circuit. The Judicial Circuits
within the other Judicial Districts shall be as provided by
law. Circuits composed of more than one county shall be compact
and of contiguous counties. The General Assembly by law may
provide for the division of a circuit for the purpose of
selection of Circuit Judges and for the selection of Circuit
Judges from the circuit at large.
(b) Each Judicial Circuit shall have one Circuit Court with

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such number of Circuit Judges as provided by law. Unless
otherwise provided by law, there shall be at least one Circuit
Judge from each county. In the First Judicial District, unless
otherwise provided by law, Cook County, Chicago, and the area
outside Chicago shall be separate units for the selection of
Circuit Judges, with at least twelve chosen at large from the
area outside Chicago and at least thirty-six chosen at large
from Chicago.
(c) Circuit Judges in each circuit shall select by secret
ballot a Chief Judge from their number to serve at their
pleasure. Subject to the authority of the Supreme Court, the
Chief Judge shall have general administrative authority over
his court, including authority to provide for divisions,
general or specialized, and for appropriate times and places of
holding court.
(Source: Illinois Constitution.)
(ILCON Art. VI, Sec. 11)
SECTION 11. ELIGIBILITY FOR OFFICE
No person shall be eligible to be a Judge or Associate
Judge unless he is a United States citizen, a licensed
attorney-at-law of this State, and a resident of the unit from
which he is selected which selects him. No change in the
boundaries of a unit shall affect the tenure in office of a
Judge or Associate Judge incumbent at the time of such change.
(Source: Illinois Constitution.)

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(ILCON Art. VI, Sec. 12)
SECTION 12. SELECTION ELECTION AND RETENTION
(a) Supreme, Appellate and Circuit Judges shall be
nominated as provided in this Section. at primary elections or
by petition. Judges shall be elected at general or judicial
elections as the General Assembly shall provide by law. A
person eligible for the office of Judge may cause his name to
appear on the ballot as a candidate for Judge at the primary
and at the general or judicial elections by submitting
petitions. The General Assembly shall prescribe by law the
requirements for petitions.
(b) The office of a Judge shall be vacant upon his death,
resignation, retirement, removal, or upon the conclusion of his
term without retention in office. Whenever an additional
Appellate or Circuit Judge is authorized by law, the office
shall be filled in the manner provided for filling a vacancy in
that office.
(c) Nonpartisan judicial commissions whose duty it shall be
to nominate and submit to the Governor names of persons for
appointment as provided in subsection (c-5) are hereby
established and shall be organized on the following basis: (i)
for vacancies in the office of Supreme Court Judge, there shall
be one such commission; (ii) for vacancies in the office
Appellate Court Judge, there shall be one such commission for
each Judicial District; and (iii) for vacancies in the office

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of Circuit Judge there shall be one such commission for each
Judicial Circuit. Each commission shall consist of 4 attorneys
and 4 non-attorneys. The 4 attorney members for the Supreme
Court judicial commission shall be selected by the attorneys
who are licensed to practice law in this State. The 4 attorney
members of each Appellate or Circuit Court judicial commission
shall be selected by the attorneys who are licensed to practice
law in this State and who reside within the appropriate
District or Circuit. The 4 non-attorney members of each
judicial commission shall be appointed as follows: one member
appointed by the President of the Senate; one member appointed
by the Minority Leader of the Senate; one member appointed by
the Speaker of the House of Representatives; and one member
appointed by the Minority Leader of the House of
Representatives. Vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired
term by the appointing authority. A person is not eligible to
serve on a commission if he or she (i) is a federal, State, or
local elected official and receives compensation for services
rendered as an elected official or (ii) holds any office or
official position in a political party. Service in the State
Militia or Armed Forces of the United States for a period of
time determined by Supreme Court rule does not disqualify a
person from service on a commission. Each member of a judicial
commission shall be subject to ethics and economic disclosure
requirements as provided by law. Members of judicial
commissions shall serve for terms of 6 years. No member may be

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appointed or reappointed to a judicial commission for a period
of 3 years after the expiration of his or her 6-year term. No
member may serve on more than one judicial commission at a
time. No member of a judicial commission may be appointed to
judicial office while serving on a commission or for a period
of 3 years after his or her term on the commission has ended.
Each commission shall select a chairperson from among its
members. The chairperson shall serve as chairperson for a term
of 3 years or until the expiration of his or her term of office
as a member, whichever occurs sooner. A commission may conduct
investigations, meetings, and hearings, and may employ staff
members as necessary to perform its duties. The members of any
commission established under this subsection shall receive no
salary or other compensation for their services, but they shall
be reimbursed for necessary expenses incurred while actually
engaged in the discharge of their official duties from moneys
appropriated for that purpose. All such commissions shall be
administered, and all elections provided for under this
subsection shall be held and regulated, under such rules as the
Supreme Court shall promulgate.
(c-5) Whenever a vacancy occurs in the office of Supreme,
Appellate, or Circuit Judge, the Administrative Director of the
Illinois Courts shall promptly notify the applicable
nonpartisan judicial commission established under subsection
(c) of this Section. Within 60 days after receiving that
notice, the commission shall submit to the Governor a list of 3

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nominees who are qualified for review by the commission.
Nominations shall be submitted to the Governor only upon
concurrence of not less than two-thirds of all members of the
commission. The list shall be in alphabetical order. The
Governor shall make the list public. Not less than 28 days nor
more than 56 days after receiving the list, the Governor shall
fill the vacancy by appointing one of the 3 nominees. If the
Governor fails to appoint any of the nominees within 56 days
after the list of nominees is submitted, the nonpartisan
judicial commission making the nomination shall appoint one of
the nominees to fill the vacancy. As used in this subsection,
"qualified for review by the commission" means that the
nominee, by his or her character, temperament, professional
aptitude, experience, and commitment to equal justice under the
law, is deemed by the commission to be well qualified to fit
the vacancy. All such qualified persons have the right to be
considered for selection by the commission free from
discrimination on the basis of race, color, creed, national
ancestry, or gender. A commission may not include on its list
of 3 nominees any person who is on another list submitted to
the Governor to fill a vacancy in the same judicial office. A
vacancy occurring in the office of Supreme, Appellate or
Circuit Judge shall be filled as the General Assembly may
provide by law. In the absence of a law, vacancies may be
filled by appointment by the Supreme Court. A person appointed
to fill a vacancy 60 or more days prior to the next primary

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election to nominate Judges shall serve until the vacancy is
filled for a term at the next general or judicial election. A
person appointed to fill a vacancy less than 60 days prior to
the next primary election to nominate Judges shall serve until
the vacancy is filled at the second general or judicial
election following such appointment.
(d) Not less than six months before the general election
preceding the expiration of his term of office, a Supreme,
Appellate or Circuit Judge who has been appointed or elected to
that office may file in the office of the Secretary of State a
declaration of candidacy to succeed himself. The Secretary of
State, not less than 63 days before the election, shall certify
the Judge's candidacy to the proper election officials. The
names of Judges seeking retention shall be submitted to the
electors, separately and without party designation, on the sole
question whether each Judge shall be retained in office for
another term. The retention elections shall be conducted at
general elections in the appropriate Judicial District, for
Supreme and Appellate Judges, and in the circuit for Circuit
Judges. The affirmative vote of three-fifths of the electors
voting on the question shall elect the Judge to the office for
a term commencing on the first Monday in December following his
election.
(e) A law reducing the number of Appellate or Circuit
Judges shall be without prejudice to the right of the Judges
affected to seek retention in office. A reduction shall become

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effective when a vacancy occurs in the affected unit.
(Source: Illinois Constitution.)
SCHEDULE
This Constitutional Amendment takes effect upon being
declared adopted in accordance with Section 7 of the Illinois
Constitutional Amendment Act.