Bill Text: IL HJRCA0056 | 2009-2010 | 96th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Proposes to amend the Legislature Article of the Illinois Constitution concerning redistricting. Contains provisions relating to division of Senators into 3 groups for assignment of terms, Representative Districts being decoupled from Legislative Districts, appointment of a Temporary Redistricting Advisory Commission, criteria for redistricting plans, approval of plans by Senate and House resolutions, appointment of Special Masters, and other matters. Effective upon being declared adopted.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 8-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2010-05-02 - Tabled Pursuant to Rule 46 [HJRCA0056 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2009-HJRCA0056-Introduced.html
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1 | HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
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2 | CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
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3 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||||||||||||||||
4 | NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | ||||||||||||||||||||
5 | SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that there shall be submitted to the | ||||||||||||||||||||
6 | electors of the State for adoption or rejection at the general | ||||||||||||||||||||
7 | election next occurring at least 6 months after the adoption of | ||||||||||||||||||||
8 | this resolution a proposition to amend Sections 2 and 3 of | ||||||||||||||||||||
9 | Article IV of the Illinois Constitution as follows:
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10 | ARTICLE IV
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11 | THE LEGISLATURE
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12 | (ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 2)
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13 | SECTION 2. LEGISLATIVE COMPOSITION
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14 | (a) One Senator shall be elected from each Legislative | ||||||||||||||||||||
15 | District.
Immediately following each decennial redistricting, | ||||||||||||||||||||
16 | the General Assembly
by law shall divide the Legislative | ||||||||||||||||||||
17 | Districts as equally as possible
into three groups. Senators | ||||||||||||||||||||
18 | from one group shall be elected for terms of
four years, four | ||||||||||||||||||||
19 | years and two years; Senators from the second group,
for terms | ||||||||||||||||||||
20 | of four years, two years and four years; and Senators from the
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21 | third group, for terms of two years, four years and four years. | ||||||||||||||||||||
22 | The
Legislative Districts in each group shall be distributed | ||||||||||||||||||||
23 | substantially
equally over the State.
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1 | (b) Each Legislative District shall be divided into two | ||||||
2 | Representative
Districts. In 2012 1982 and every two years | ||||||
3 | thereafter one Representative shall
be elected from each | ||||||
4 | Representative District for a term of two years.
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5 | (c) To be eligible to serve as a member of the General | ||||||
6 | Assembly, a
person must be a United States citizen, at least 21 | ||||||
7 | years old, and for
the two years preceding his election or | ||||||
8 | appointment a resident of the
district which he is to | ||||||
9 | represent. In the general election following a
redistricting, a | ||||||
10 | candidate for the General Assembly may be elected from
any | ||||||
11 | district which contains a part of the district in which he | ||||||
12 | resided
at the time of the redistricting and reelected if a | ||||||
13 | resident of the new
district he represents for 18 months prior | ||||||
14 | to reelection.
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15 | (d) Within thirty days after a vacancy occurs, it shall be | ||||||
16 | filled by
appointment as provided by law. If the vacancy is in | ||||||
17 | a Senatorial office
with more than twenty-eight months | ||||||
18 | remaining in the term, the appointed
Senator shall serve until | ||||||
19 | the next general election, at which time a
Senator shall be | ||||||
20 | elected to serve for the remainder of the term. If the
vacancy | ||||||
21 | is in a Representative office or in any other Senatorial | ||||||
22 | office,
the appointment shall be for the remainder of the term. | ||||||
23 | An appointee to
fill a vacancy shall be a member of the same | ||||||
24 | political party as the
person he succeeds.
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25 | (e) No member of the General Assembly shall receive | ||||||
26 | compensation as
a public officer or employee from any other |
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1 | governmental entity for time
during which he is in attendance | ||||||
2 | as a member of the General Assembly.
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3 | No member of the General Assembly during the term for which | ||||||
4 | he was
elected or appointed shall be appointed to a public | ||||||
5 | office which shall
have been created or the compensation for | ||||||
6 | which shall have been
increased by the General Assembly during | ||||||
7 | that term.
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8 | (Source: Amendment adopted at general election November 4, | ||||||
9 | 1980.)
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10 | (ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 3)
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11 | SECTION 3. LEGISLATIVE REDISTRICTING
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12 | (a) On the second Tuesday in February in the year following | ||||||
13 | each Federal decennial census year, the President of the | ||||||
14 | Senate, the Minority Leader of the Senate, the Speaker of the | ||||||
15 | House, and the Minority Leader of the House may each, | ||||||
16 | considering the diversity of the State, appoint two members to | ||||||
17 | the Temporary Redistricting Advisory Commission. On or before | ||||||
18 | the second Tuesday in March, one additional member shall be | ||||||
19 | elected by a majority of the members appointed, and that member | ||||||
20 | shall serve as Chair. Members of the Temporary Redistricting | ||||||
21 | Advisory Commission shall not be eligible to be elected to the | ||||||
22 | General Assembly or appointed to any office that is subject to | ||||||
23 | confirmation by the Senate for ten years after completion of | ||||||
24 | service on the Temporary Redistricting Advisory Commission. No | ||||||
25 | person may serve as a member of the Temporary Redistricting |
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1 | Advisory Commission who is at the time of appointment, becomes | ||||||
2 | at any time during service, or who was at any time during the | ||||||
3 | preceding four years (i) a registered lobbyist in Illinois; | ||||||
4 | (ii) an employee or contractor of the State of Illinois; (iii) | ||||||
5 | an elected official of or a candidate for or appointed member | ||||||
6 | of any elected body of: the federal government, the State, a | ||||||
7 | unit of local government, a school district or a political | ||||||
8 | party; or (iv) an immediate family member of any of the | ||||||
9 | foregoing. As used in this Article IV, Section 3, "immediate | ||||||
10 | family member" is a person with whom the person has a bona fide | ||||||
11 | relationship established through close blood or legal kinship. | ||||||
12 | If any member of the Temporary Redistricting Advisory | ||||||
13 | Commission shall be unable to fulfill the duties required under | ||||||
14 | this Section, then the person who appointed said member, or | ||||||
15 | that person's successor, shall appoint a person to fill said | ||||||
16 | vacancy within five days of the occurrence of the vacancy. | ||||||
17 | A meeting of a majority of a quorum of the Temporary | ||||||
18 | Redistricting Advisory Commission shall be open to the public | ||||||
19 | with at least twenty-four hour notice. | ||||||
20 | The Temporary Redistricting Advisory Commission shall have | ||||||
21 | authority to hire independent private firms for any assistance. | ||||||
22 | The Commission shall conduct at least five public hearings on | ||||||
23 | separate days around five distinct geographic regions of the | ||||||
24 | State before voting on any redistricting plans, and at least | ||||||
25 | three of the hearings shall be after receipt of the data from | ||||||
26 | the United States Census Bureau. Within three days after |
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1 | receipt of the data from the United States Census Bureau, the | ||||||
2 | Commission shall make that data, together with redistricting | ||||||
3 | software, available to the public. | ||||||
4 | (b) The Commission shall approve any redistricting plans by | ||||||
5 | a majority vote of its members. | ||||||
6 | The Commission shall establish districts pursuant to a | ||||||
7 | mapping process using the following criteria as set forth in | ||||||
8 | the following order of priority: | ||||||
9 | (1) Districts shall comply with all Federal laws and | ||||||
10 | shall not be drawn with the intent or result of denying or | ||||||
11 | abridging the equal opportunity of racial or language | ||||||
12 | minorities to participate in the political process or to | ||||||
13 | diminish their ability to elect representatives of their | ||||||
14 | choice. | ||||||
15 | (2) Districts shall be contiguous. | ||||||
16 | (3) Districts shall be substantially equal in | ||||||
17 | population. | ||||||
18 | (4) Districts shall be compact. | ||||||
19 | (5) District boundaries shall, to the extent | ||||||
20 | practical, follow visible geographic features and | ||||||
21 | municipal boundaries. | ||||||
22 | (6) The plan shall not be drawn to purposefully or | ||||||
23 | significantly favor or discriminate against any political | ||||||
24 | party or group. | ||||||
25 | Party registration, voting history data and incumbency | ||||||
26 | shall not be considered in the mapping process, except to |
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1 | evaluate compliance with the criteria listed in subsections | ||||||
2 | (b)(1) and (b)(6). The Commission shall establish definitions | ||||||
3 | where applicable for each of the criteria listed in subsections | ||||||
4 | (b)(1)-(6). | ||||||
5 | A Representative District need not be entirely within a | ||||||
6 | single Legislative District. | ||||||
7 | After preliminary approval of the redistricting plans, the | ||||||
8 | Commission shall release the proposed plans to the public, | ||||||
9 | conduct at least three
public hearings around three distinct | ||||||
10 | geographic regions of the
State, and submit a report to the | ||||||
11 | General Assembly. At any time prior to the submission of a plan | ||||||
12 | under subsection (c), any member of the General Assembly or | ||||||
13 | general public may submit a plan to be considered by the | ||||||
14 | Commission and for public viewing. All documents submitted to | ||||||
15 | or plans considered by the Commission shall be made available | ||||||
16 | to the public within a reasonable time period. | ||||||
17 | (c) After conducting the required public hearings, the | ||||||
18 | Commission shall approve by a majority vote a Representative | ||||||
19 | redistricting plan by third Monday in May, which the Chair of | ||||||
20 | the Commission shall deliver to the House of Representatives on | ||||||
21 | the third business day after approval. The House must take a | ||||||
22 | record vote to accept the plan by a House Resolution. The | ||||||
23 | Resolution is adopted if it receives the affirmative vote of at | ||||||
24 | least two-thirds of the members elected. | ||||||
25 | After conducting the required public hearings, the | ||||||
26 | Commission shall approve by a majority vote a Senate |
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1 | redistricting plan by the third Monday in May, which the Chair | ||||||
2 | of the Commission shall deliver to the Senate on the third | ||||||
3 | business day after approval. The Senate must take a record vote | ||||||
4 | to accept the plan by a Senate Resolution. The Resolution is | ||||||
5 | adopted if it receives the affirmative vote of at least | ||||||
6 | two-thirds of the members elected. | ||||||
7 | Redistricting plans may not be amended by either chamber. | ||||||
8 | An adopted redistricting resolution shall be filed with the | ||||||
9 | Secretary of State by the presiding officer of the chamber that | ||||||
10 | initiated the resolution. Each chamber shall have until the | ||||||
11 | first Monday in June to file a resolution with the Secretary of | ||||||
12 | State approving the redistricting plan. | ||||||
13 | (d) If a plan is not adopted by a chamber of the General | ||||||
14 | Assembly, the Commission shall approve an alternative | ||||||
15 | redistricting plan no later than third Monday in June, and the | ||||||
16 | Chair of the Commission shall deliver that plan to the | ||||||
17 | appropriate chamber of the General Assembly on the third | ||||||
18 | business day after approval. The appropriate chamber of the | ||||||
19 | General Assembly shall approve or reject that plan in the same | ||||||
20 | manner established by subsection (c). Each chamber shall have | ||||||
21 | until the first Monday in July to file a resolution with the | ||||||
22 | Secretary of State approving the alternative redistricting | ||||||
23 | plan. | ||||||
24 | (e) If a plan is not approved by a chamber of the General | ||||||
25 | Assembly by the first Monday in July, the Commission shall | ||||||
26 | approve by a majority one of the two previous plans submitted |
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1 | to the appropriate chamber of the General Assembly under | ||||||
2 | subsections (c) and (d). The Chair of the Commission shall file | ||||||
3 | the approved redistricting plan for the appropriate chamber | ||||||
4 | with the Secretary of State not later than the third Monday in | ||||||
5 | July. | ||||||
6 | (f) If at any time the Temporary Redistricting Advisory | ||||||
7 | Commission fails to meet one of the deadlines set forth herein, | ||||||
8 | the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and a Supreme Court | ||||||
9 | Judge chosen by the Judges of the Supreme Court who are not of | ||||||
10 | the political party of the Chief Justice shall within ten days | ||||||
11 | jointly appoint and certify to the Secretary of State one | ||||||
12 | person to act as Special Master to generate any maps not | ||||||
13 | previously approved. No person may serve as Special Master who | ||||||
14 | is not eligible to serve on the Temporary Redistricting | ||||||
15 | Advisory Commission. A person who serves as Special Master is | ||||||
16 | not eligible to be elected to the General Assembly or appointed | ||||||
17 | to any office that is subject to confirmation by the Senate for | ||||||
18 | ten years after completion of service as a Special Master. A | ||||||
19 | Special Master shall consider all redistricting plans | ||||||
20 | delivered by or submitted to the Temporary Redistricting | ||||||
21 | Advisory Commission, the Senate, or the House as applicable. | ||||||
22 | The Special Master shall have authority to hire independent | ||||||
23 | assistance, make available the data received from the United | ||||||
24 | States Census Bureau, together with redistricting software, to | ||||||
25 | the public within three days of receipt unless the Temporary | ||||||
26 | Redistricting Advisory Commission has already done so; shall |
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1 | conduct at least five public hearings on separate days around | ||||||
2 | five distinct geographic regions of the State after receipt of | ||||||
3 | the data from the United States Census Bureau and before | ||||||
4 | promulgating any preliminary redistricting plans, and shall | ||||||
5 | hold at least three public hearings on separate days around | ||||||
6 | three distinct geographic regions of the State after | ||||||
7 | promulgating any preliminary redistricting plans and before | ||||||
8 | finalizing any plan or plans. All documents submitted to or | ||||||
9 | utilized by the Special Master shall be made available to the | ||||||
10 | public within a reasonable amount of time. The Special Master | ||||||
11 | shall file a redistricting plan complying with the criteria set | ||||||
12 | forth in subsection 3(b) for the Legislative Districts and | ||||||
13 | Representative Districts, as applicable, with the Secretary of | ||||||
14 | State not later than September 30. | ||||||
15 | (a) Legislative Districts shall be compact, contiguous and
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16 | substantially equal in population. Representative Districts | ||||||
17 | shall be compact,
contiguous, and substantially equal in | ||||||
18 | population.
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19 | (b) In the year following each Federal decennial census | ||||||
20 | year, the
General Assembly by law shall redistrict the | ||||||
21 | Legislative Districts and the
Representative Districts.
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22 | If no redistricting plan becomes effective by June 30 of | ||||||
23 | that year, a
Legislative Redistricting Commission shall be | ||||||
24 | constituted not later than
July 10. The Commission shall | ||||||
25 | consist of eight members, no more than
four of whom shall be | ||||||
26 | members of the same political party.
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1 | The Speaker and Minority Leader of the House of | ||||||
2 | Representatives shall
each appoint to the Commission one | ||||||
3 | Representative and one person who is
not a member of the | ||||||
4 | General Assembly. The President and Minority Leader
of the | ||||||
5 | Senate shall each appoint to the Commission one Senator and one
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6 | person who is not a member of the General Assembly.
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7 | The members shall be certified to the Secretary of State by | ||||||
8 | the
appointing authorities. A vacancy on the Commission shall | ||||||
9 | be filled
within five days by the authority that made the | ||||||
10 | original appointment. A
Chairman and Vice Chairman shall be | ||||||
11 | chosen by a majority of all members
of the Commission.
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12 | Not later than August 10, the Commission shall file with | ||||||
13 | the
Secretary of State a redistricting plan approved by at | ||||||
14 | least five
members.
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15 | If the Commission fails to file an approved redistricting | ||||||
16 | plan, the
Supreme Court shall submit the names of two persons, | ||||||
17 | not of the same
political party, to the Secretary of State not | ||||||
18 | later than September 1.
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19 | Not later than September 5, the Secretary of State publicly | ||||||
20 | shall
draw by random selection the name of one of the two | ||||||
21 | persons to serve as
the ninth member of the Commission.
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22 | Not later than October 5, the Commission shall file with | ||||||
23 | the
Secretary of State a redistricting plan approved by at | ||||||
24 | least five
members.
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25 | (g) A An approved redistricting resolution or | ||||||
26 | redistricting plan filed with the Secretary of State
shall be |
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1 | presumed valid, shall have the force and effect of law and
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2 | shall be published promptly by the Secretary of State.
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3 | The Supreme Court shall have original and exclusive | ||||||
4 | jurisdiction over
actions concerning redistricting the House | ||||||
5 | and Senate, which shall be
initiated in the name of the People | ||||||
6 | of the State by the Attorney
General.
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7 | (Source: Amendment adopted at general election November 4, | ||||||
8 | 1980.)
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9 | SCHEDULE
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10 | The State Board of Elections shall proceed, as soon as all | ||||||
11 | the returns are received but no later than 31 days after the | ||||||
12 | election, to canvass the votes given for and against this | ||||||
13 | Constitutional Amendment, as shown by the abstracts of votes | ||||||
14 | cast. If this Constitutional Amendment is approved by either | ||||||
15 | three-fifths of those voting on the question or a majority of | ||||||
16 | those voting in the election, then the State Board of Elections | ||||||
17 | shall declare the adoption of this Constitutional Amendment and | ||||||
18 | it shall, upon declaration of its adoption, take effect and | ||||||
19 | become a part of the Constitution of this State. This Schedule | ||||||
20 | supersedes and applies notwithstanding any statute to the | ||||||
21 | contrary, and no other requirements, including without | ||||||
22 | limitation proclamation of the results of the vote or notice by | ||||||
23 | publication, are necessary for its effectiveness. This | ||||||
24 | Constitutional Amendment applies to redistricting beginning in | ||||||
25 | 2011 for the election of members of the General Assembly |
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1 | beginning in 2012.
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