Bill Text: IL SB2254 | 2015-2016 | 99th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Amends the Election Code to provide for the recall of local elected officials. Effective immediately.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-05-13 - Rule 3-9(a) / Re-referred to Assignments [SB2254 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2015-SB2254-Introduced.html
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1 | AN ACT concerning elections.
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2 | Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
3 | represented in the General Assembly:
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4 | Section 5. The Election Code is amended by changing Section | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
5 | 2A-1 and
adding Article 25.5 as follows:
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6 | (10 ILCS 5/2A-1) (from Ch. 46, par. 2A-1)
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7 | (Text of Section WITH the changes made by P.A. 89-719, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
8 | which has been
held unconstitutional)
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9 | Sec. 2A-1.
All Elections - Governed by this Code - | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
10 | Construction of
Article 2A.
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11 | (a) No public question may be submitted to any voters in | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
12 | this State, nor
may any person be nominated for public office | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
13 | or elected to public or
political party office or removed from | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
14 | office in a recall election in this State except pursuant to | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
15 | this Code,
notwithstanding the provisions of any other statute | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
16 | or municipal charter.
However, this Code shall not apply to | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
17 | elections for officers or public
questions of local school | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
18 | councils established pursuant to Chapter 34 of
the School Code, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
19 | soil and water conservation districts or drainage
districts, | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
20 | except as specifically made applicable by another statute.
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21 | (b) All elections in this State shall be held in accordance | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
22 | with the
consolidated schedule of elections established in | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
23 | Sections 2A-1.1 and
2A-1.2. No election may be held on any date |
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1 | other than a date on which
an election is scheduled under | ||||||
2 | Section 2A-1.1, except special elections
to fill congressional | ||||||
3 | vacancies held pursuant to writs of election
issued by the | ||||||
4 | Governor, judicial elections to fill vacancies in the office of
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5 | Supreme Court Judge held pursuant to writs of election issued | ||||||
6 | by the
Governor under subsection (a-5) of Section 2A-9, | ||||||
7 | township referenda and votes
of the town electors
held at the | ||||||
8 | annual town meeting, emergency referenda approved pursuant to
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9 | Section 2A-1.4, special elections held between January 1, 1995 | ||||||
10 | and July 1,
1995 under Section 34-53 of the School Code, and | ||||||
11 | city, village or
incorporated town primary elections in
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12 | even-numbered years expressly authorized in this Article to | ||||||
13 | provide for
annual partisan elections.
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14 | (c) At the respective elections established in Section | ||||||
15 | 2A-1.1,
candidates shall be elected to office, nominated for | ||||||
16 | election thereto or
placed on the ballot as otherwise required | ||||||
17 | by this Code, and public
questions may be submitted, as | ||||||
18 | specified in Section 2A-1.2.
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19 | (d) If the requirements of Section 2A-1.2 conflict with any | ||||||
20 | specific
provision of Sections 2A-2 through 2A-54, as applied | ||||||
21 | to any office or
election, the requirements of Section 2A-1.2 | ||||||
22 | prevail, and shall be
enforced by the State Board of Elections.
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23 | (e) In the event any court of competent jurisdiction | ||||||
24 | declares an
election void, the court may order another election | ||||||
25 | without regard to
the schedule of elections set forth in this | ||||||
26 | Article.
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1 | (Source: P.A. 89-719, eff. 3-7-97 .)
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2 | (Text of Section WITHOUT the changes made by P.A. 89-719, | ||||||
3 | which has been
held unconstitutional)
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4 | Sec. 2A-1.
All Elections - Governed by this Code - | ||||||
5 | Construction of
Article 2A.
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6 | (a) No public question may be submitted to any voters in | ||||||
7 | this State, nor
may any person be nominated for public office | ||||||
8 | or elected to public or
political party office or removed from | ||||||
9 | office in a recall election in this State except pursuant to | ||||||
10 | this Code,
notwithstanding the provisions of any other statute | ||||||
11 | or municipal charter.
However, this Code shall not apply to | ||||||
12 | elections for officers or public
questions of local school | ||||||
13 | councils established pursuant to Chapter 34 of
the School Code, | ||||||
14 | soil and water conservation districts or drainage
districts, | ||||||
15 | except as specifically made applicable by another statute.
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16 | (b) All elections in this State shall be held in accordance | ||||||
17 | with the
consolidated schedule of elections established in | ||||||
18 | Sections 2A-1.1 and
2A-1.2. No election may be held on any date | ||||||
19 | other than a date on which
an election is scheduled under | ||||||
20 | Section 2A-1.1, except special elections
to fill congressional | ||||||
21 | vacancies held pursuant to writs of election
issued by the | ||||||
22 | Governor, township referenda and votes of the town electors
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23 | held at the annual town meeting, emergency referenda approved | ||||||
24 | pursuant to
Section 2A-1.4, special elections held between | ||||||
25 | January 1, 1995 and July 1,
1995 under Section 34-53 of the |
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1 | School Code, and city, village or incorporated
town primary | ||||||
2 | elections in even-numbered years expressly authorized in this
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3 | Article to provide for annual partisan elections.
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4 | (c) At the respective elections established in Section | ||||||
5 | 2A-1.1,
candidates shall be elected to office, nominated for | ||||||
6 | election thereto or
placed on the ballot as otherwise required | ||||||
7 | by this Code, and public
questions may be submitted, as | ||||||
8 | specified in Section 2A-1.2.
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9 | (d) If the requirements of Section 2A-1.2 conflict with any | ||||||
10 | specific
provision of Sections 2A-2 through 2A-54, as applied | ||||||
11 | to any office or
election, the requirements of Section 2A-1.2 | ||||||
12 | prevail, and shall be
enforced by the State Board of Elections.
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13 | (e) In the event any court of competent jurisdiction | ||||||
14 | declares an
election void, the court may order another election | ||||||
15 | without regard to
the schedule of elections set forth in this | ||||||
16 | Article.
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17 | (Source: P.A. 88-511.)
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18 | (10 ILCS 5/Art. 25.5 heading new)
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19 | ARTICLE 25.5. RECALL OF LOCAL ELECTED OFFICIALS | ||||||
20 | (10 ILCS 5/25.5-5 new)
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21 | Sec. 25.5-5. Definitions. For the purposes of this | ||||||
22 | Article:
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23 | "Appropriate election
official" means the State Board of | ||||||
24 | Elections in the case of recall of an
official elected from a |
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1 | district that is comprised of more than one county,
or is | ||||||
2 | partly in one county and partly in another county or counties; | ||||||
3 | the
county clerk in the case of recall of an official elected | ||||||
4 | to a county
office, trustee of a sanitary district, or member | ||||||
5 | of a school district board; or the local election official in
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6 | the case of recall of an official elected to a municipal or | ||||||
7 | township office,
other than a municipal or township office | ||||||
8 | where the municipality's or
township's boundaries are | ||||||
9 | co-extensive with or are entirely within the
jurisdiction of a | ||||||
10 | municipal board of election commissioners, in which case
the | ||||||
11 | "appropriate election official" means the municipal board of | ||||||
12 | election
commissioners.
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13 | "Local elected official" means any
official elected to an
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14 | office of a unit of local government or a school district.
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15 | (10 ILCS 5/25.5-10 new)
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16 | Sec. 25.5-10. Removal of local elected official. Every | ||||||
17 | incumbent
local elected official who has been elected to
an | ||||||
18 | office that has a term of 2 years or more
is subject to removal
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19 | by the electors qualified to vote for that official.
However, a | ||||||
20 | local official who has less than 9 months remaining in his or | ||||||
21 | her term may not be recalled under this Article.
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22 | (10 ILCS 5/25.5-15 new)
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23 | Sec. 25.5-15. Petition; form. A petition, signed by a | ||||||
24 | number of electors equal in number to at least 15% of the total |
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1 | votes cast for Governor in the preceding gubernatorial election | ||||||
2 | in the unit of local government
from which the removal of the | ||||||
3 | local elected official is sought, shall be
filed with the | ||||||
4 | appropriate
election official at least 61 days before the next | ||||||
5 | regularly scheduled
election under this Code and shall be | ||||||
6 | certified within one day after receipt
of the petition. The | ||||||
7 | petition shall demand an election
on the question of whether | ||||||
8 | the named incumbent local elected official shall be
removed | ||||||
9 | from office with
the election to be held at the next regularly | ||||||
10 | scheduled election. A petition must be signed by the | ||||||
11 | petitioning electors not more than 120 days after an affidavit | ||||||
12 | has been filed with the appropriate election official providing | ||||||
13 | notice of intent to circulate a petition to recall the local | ||||||
14 | elected official. The affidavit may be filed no sooner than 3 | ||||||
15 | months after the beginning of the local elected official's term | ||||||
16 | of office. The affidavit must be signed by the proponent of the | ||||||
17 | recall petition and at least 4 elected officials who represent | ||||||
18 | at least 25% the same electors who are represented by the local | ||||||
19 | elected official for which recall is sought.
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20 | The petition shall be substantially in the following form:
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21 | "To the (appropriate election official):
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22 | We, the undersigned electors of (unit or district), | ||||||
23 | entitled to vote
for (name of person) demand
an election on the | ||||||
24 | question of removal from office of (name of person).
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25 | Name House Number Street Date of |
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1 | if any Signing
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2 | |||||||
3 | .... ............ ....... ......
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4 | State of Illinois, )
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5 | ) SS.
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6 | County of (name) )
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7 | I, (name of person), certify that I am a registered voter, | ||||||
8 | that I reside
at (address), in the county of (name)
and State | ||||||
9 | of
Illinois, and that the signatures on this sheet were signed | ||||||
10 | in my presence,
and are genuine, and that to the best of my | ||||||
11 | knowledge and belief, the
persons so signing were at the time | ||||||
12 | of signing the petitions qualified
voters, entitled to vote for | ||||||
13 | the office of (name of office), and that
their respective | ||||||
14 | residences are correctly stated, as above set forth.
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15 | ...........................
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16 | Subscribed and sworn to before me this ......... day of | ||||||
17 | ........., 20 ...
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18 | ...........................
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19 | (Official title)
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20 | (Seal, if officer has one)"
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21 | (10 ILCS 5/25.5-20 new)
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22 | Sec. 25.5-20. Petition; requirements. The petition shall | ||||||
23 | consist of
sheets having the form specified
in Section 25.5-15 | ||||||
24 | and shall be signed by qualified electors of the unit of
local | ||||||
25 | government entitled to vote for the office held by
the local |
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1 | elected official whose
removal is sought, and opposite the | ||||||
2 | signature of each signer, his or her
residence
address shall be | ||||||
3 | written or printed. The residence address required to be
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4 | written or printed opposite each qualified elector's name shall | ||||||
5 | include the
street address or rural route number of the signer, | ||||||
6 | as the case may be, as
well as the signer's city, village, or | ||||||
7 | town. The county or city,
village, or town, and state of | ||||||
8 | residence of the electors, however, may be
printed on
the | ||||||
9 | petition forms when all of the electors signing the petition | ||||||
10 | reside in
the same county or city, village, or town, and state. | ||||||
11 | Standard
abbreviations may be used in writing the residence | ||||||
12 | address, including
street number, if any.
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13 | A signature shall not be valid unless the requirements of | ||||||
14 | this Section
are complied with and unless the
date of signing | ||||||
15 | is less than 120 days preceding the date of filing the
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16 | petition.
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17 | At the bottom of each sheet shall be added the affidavit in | ||||||
18 | the form
specified in Section 25.5-15 signed by a qualified | ||||||
19 | voter of the
unit of local government entitled to vote for | ||||||
20 | removal
of the local elected official in which the
signers of | ||||||
21 | the sheet reside; certifying that the signatures on that
sheet | ||||||
22 | of the petition were signed in his or her presence; and either | ||||||
23 | (i)
indicating the dates on which that sheet was circulated, | ||||||
24 | (ii) indicating
the first and last dates on which that sheet | ||||||
25 | was circulated, or (iii)
certifying that none of the signatures | ||||||
26 | on the sheet were signed more than
120 days preceding the last |
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1 | day for the filing of the petition;
certifying that the | ||||||
2 | signatures on the sheet are genuine; and certifying
that to the | ||||||
3 | best of his or her knowledge and belief the persons so signing | ||||||
4 | were
at
the time of signing the petitions qualified voters of | ||||||
5 | the unit of local
government entitled to vote for the office | ||||||
6 | held by the
local elected official whose removal is being | ||||||
7 | sought.
This affidavit shall be sworn to before an
officer who
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8 | is qualified to administer oaths.
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9 | The petition, so verified, or a copy of the petition duly | ||||||
10 | certified by the
proper
persons, shall be prima facie evidence | ||||||
11 | that the signatures, statement of
residence, and dates upon the | ||||||
12 | petition are genuine and true and that the
persons signing the | ||||||
13 | petition are electors qualified to vote for the office
subject
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14 | to removal under this Article.
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15 | The person circulating the petition, or the candidate on | ||||||
16 | whose behalf the
petition is circulated, may strike any | ||||||
17 | signature from the petition, if:
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18 | (i) the person striking the signature initials the | ||||||
19 | petition at the
place where the signature is struck; and
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20 | (ii) the person striking the signature signs a | ||||||
21 | certification listing
the page number and line number of | ||||||
22 | each signature struck from the petition.
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23 | The certification shall be filed as a part of the petition.
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24 | The sheets, before being filed, shall be neatly fastened | ||||||
25 | together in book
form by placing the sheets in a pile and | ||||||
26 | fastening them together at one
edge in a secure and suitable |
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1 | manner, and the sheets shall then be numbered
consecutively. | ||||||
2 | The sheets shall not be fastened by pasting them together
end | ||||||
3 | to end, so as to form a continuous strip or roll. All petition | ||||||
4 | sheets
that are filed with the appropriate election official | ||||||
5 | shall be the original sheets
that have been signed by the | ||||||
6 | voters and by the circulator of the sheet, and not
photocopies | ||||||
7 | or duplicates of those sheets.
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8 | The petitions, when filed, may not be withdrawn or added | ||||||
9 | to, and no
signature shall be revoked except by revocation | ||||||
10 | filed in writing with the
appropriate election official
with | ||||||
11 | whom the petition is required to be filed before the filing of | ||||||
12 | the
petition. Whoever forges the name of a signer upon any | ||||||
13 | petition required
by this Article is deemed guilty of a forgery | ||||||
14 | and on conviction
shall be punished accordingly.
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15 | (10 ILCS 5/25.5-25 new)
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16 | Sec. 25.5-25. Objections to petitions. The provisions of | ||||||
17 | Sections
10-8 through 10-10.1 of the
Election Code relating to | ||||||
18 | objections to nominating petitions, hearing on
objections, and | ||||||
19 | judicial review, shall apply to and govern, insofar as may
be | ||||||
20 | practical, objections to petitions for the submission of | ||||||
21 | questions of
recall under this Article.
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22 | The electoral board to hear and pass on objections shall be | ||||||
23 | the electoral
board specified in Section 10-9 to have | ||||||
24 | jurisdiction over objections to the
nominating petitions of | ||||||
25 | candidates for offices in which
the question of recall is |
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1 | proposed to be submitted to the electors.
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2 | (10 ILCS 5/25.5-30 new)
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3 | Sec. 25.5-30. Election on the question. If no objections | ||||||
4 | to a
petition are filed within 5 business
days after the | ||||||
5 | petition is submitted to the appropriate election official,
or | ||||||
6 | if objections are filed and the electoral
board specified in | ||||||
7 | Section 25.5-25 rules the petition sufficient,
then | ||||||
8 | immediately after the expiration of this 5-day period, or | ||||||
9 | immediately
after the receipt by the appropriate election | ||||||
10 | official
with whom the
petition was originally filed,
or from | ||||||
11 | the electoral board of the petition and the certified copy of | ||||||
12 | the electoral board's ruling declaring the petition | ||||||
13 | sufficient, as the case
may be, the appropriate election | ||||||
14 | official
with whom the petition was originally filed shall | ||||||
15 | submit the petition without delay to
the election authority or | ||||||
16 | election authorities within the election
jurisdiction or | ||||||
17 | election jurisdictions where the local elected official is
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18 | subject to recall, and the election authority or election | ||||||
19 | authorities
shall order the election demanded in the petition | ||||||
20 | to be held at the next regular
election or municipal election | ||||||
21 | 78 days after the filing of the petition.
This election shall | ||||||
22 | be
conducted, returned, and the results declared in all | ||||||
23 | respects the
same as in other elections under the general | ||||||
24 | election law.
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25 | If at the election on the question of removal at least a |
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1 | majority of those voting
on the question vote in favor of | ||||||
2 | removal, the local elected official is by operation of law | ||||||
3 | removed from office and a vacancy exists in the office
subject | ||||||
4 | to removal.
The vacancy shall be filled in the manner | ||||||
5 | prescribed for
filling vacancies in that office in other cases.
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6 | (10 ILCS 5/25.5-40 new)
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7 | Sec. 25.5-40. Prohibition against future election or | ||||||
8 | appointment. A
local elected official who has been removed from | ||||||
9 | office,
or who has resigned from office while removal | ||||||
10 | proceedings were pending
against that local elected official, | ||||||
11 | shall not be appointed or elected to the same office
within one | ||||||
12 | year after the removal or resignation. Not more than one
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13 | election for the recall of the same local elected official | ||||||
14 | shall be held during
the same term of office.
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