Bill Text: IL HJRCA0005 | 2025-2026 | 104th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Proposes to amend the Legislature Article of the Illinois Constitution. Removes the requirement for each Legislative District to be divided into two Representative Districts. Modifies provisions concerning legislative redistricting. Provides specified requirements for each Legislative District, Representative District, and Congressional District for redistricting purposes. Replaces the current method of legislative redistricting. Provides for the creation of a sixteen-member commission, appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the most senior Supreme Court Justice of a different political party, in accordance with specified criteria. Requires the commission to adopt and file with the Secretary of State redistricting plans for Legislative, Representative, and Congressional Districts following a series of public hearings by August 1 of the year following a federal decennial census. Permits the public to submit redistricting plans during the redistricting process for consideration by the Commission. Specifies that, if a redistricting plan is not adopted by August 1 of the year following a federal decennial census, then a seventeenth member shall be appointed to the commission and redistricting plans shall be filed by September 1. Adds provisions concerning the membership of the commission and budgetary matters related to the commission. Effective upon being declared adopted and applicable to redistricting beginning in 2031 and to the election of General Assembly members beginning in 2032.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 4-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-28 - Referred to Rules Committee [HJRCA0005 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2025-HJRCA0005-Introduced.html

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104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2025 and 2026 HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT HC0005 Introduced , by Rep. Ryan Spain SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 2
ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 3
Proposes to amend the Legislature Article of the Illinois Constitution. Removes the requirement for each Legislative District to be divided into two Representative Districts. Modifies provisions concerning legislative redistricting. Provides specified requirements for each Legislative District, Representative District, and Congressional District for redistricting purposes. Replaces the current method of legislative redistricting. Provides for the creation of a sixteen-member commission, appointed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and the most senior Supreme Court Justice of a different political party, in accordance with specified criteria. Requires the commission to adopt and file with the Secretary of State redistricting plans for Legislative, Representative, and Congressional Districts following a series of public hearings by August 1 of the year following a federal decennial census. Permits the public to submit redistricting plans during the redistricting process for consideration by the Commission. Specifies that, if a redistricting plan is not adopted by August 1 of the year following a federal decennial census, then a seventeenth member shall be appointed to the commission and redistricting plans shall be filed by September 1. Adds provisions concerning the membership of the commission and budgetary matters related to the commission. Effective upon being declared adopted and applicable to redistricting beginning in 2031 and to the election of General Assembly members beginning in 2032.
LRB104 07326 SPS 17365 e
HC0005 LRB104 07326 SPS 17365 e
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT
RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
HUNDRED FOURTH 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 Article IV of the
Illinois Constitution by changing Sections 2 and 3 as follows:
ARTICLE IV
THE LEGISLATURE
(ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 2)
SECTION 2. LEGISLATIVE COMPOSITION
(a) One Senator shall be elected from each Legislative
District. Immediately following each decennial redistricting,
the General Assembly by law shall divide the Legislative
Districts as equally as possible into three groups. Senators
from one group shall be elected for terms of four years, four
years and two years; Senators from the second group, for terms
of four years, two years and four years; and Senators from the
third group, for terms of two years, four years and four years.
The Legislative Districts in each group shall be distributed
substantially equally over the State.

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(b) Each Legislative District shall be divided into two
Representative Districts. In 1982 and every two years
thereafter one Representative shall be elected from each
Representative District for a term of two years.
(c) To be eligible to serve as a member of the General
Assembly, a person must be a United States citizen, at least 21
years old, and for the two years preceding his election or
appointment a resident of the district which he is to
represent. In the general election following a redistricting,
a candidate for the General Assembly may be elected from any
district which contains a part of the district in which he
resided at the time of the redistricting and reelected if a
resident of the new district he represents for 18 months prior
to reelection.
(d) Within thirty days after a vacancy occurs, it shall be
filled by appointment as provided by law. If the vacancy is in
a Senatorial office with more than twenty-eight months
remaining in the term, the appointed Senator shall serve until
the next general election, at which time a Senator shall be
elected to serve for the remainder of the term. If the vacancy
is in a Representative office or in any other Senatorial
office, the appointment shall be for the remainder of the
term. An appointee to fill a vacancy shall be a member of the
same political party as the person he succeeds.
(e) No member of the General Assembly shall receive
compensation as a public officer or employee from any other

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governmental entity for time during which he is in attendance
as a member of the General Assembly.
No member of the General Assembly during the term for
which he was elected or appointed shall be appointed to a
public office which shall have been created or the
compensation for which shall have been increased by the
General Assembly during that term.
(Source: Amendment adopted at general election November 4,
1980.)
(ILCON Art. IV, Sec. 3)
SECTION 3. LEGISLATIVE REDISTRICTING
(a) As used in this Section, "consumer price index-u"
means the index published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of
the United States Department of Labor or a successor agency
that measures the average change in prices of goods and
services purchased by all urban consumers, United States city
average, all items, 1982-84=100.
(b) Each Legislative District, Representative District,
and Congressional District shall, in the following order of
priority:
(1) fully comply with the United States Constitution
and federal laws, such as the federal Voting Rights Act;
(2) be substantially equal in population;
(3) provide racial minorities and language minorities
with the equal opportunity to participate in the political

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process and elect candidates of their choice;
(4) provide racial minorities and language minorities
who constitute less than a voting-age majority of a
Legislative District, Representative District, or
Congressional District with an opportunity to
substantially influence the outcome of an election;
(5) be contiguous;
(6) be compact;
(7) respect, to the extent practical, geographic
integrity of units of local government;
(8) respect, to the extent practical, communities
sharing common social or economic interests; and
(9) not discriminate against or in favor of any
political party or individual.
(c) No later than December 30 of the year that each federal
decennial census occurs, the Chief Justice and the most senior
Supreme Court Justice who is not elected from the same
political party as the Chief Justice shall select sixteen
commissioners to form an Independent Redistricting Commission.
The commissioners shall reflect the ethnic, gender, and racial
demographics of Illinois. Fourteen of the commissioners shall
represent, in equal number, the two political parties whose
gubernatorial candidates received the greatest number of votes
in the last gubernatorial election. Two of the commissioners
shall represent neither of those parties. The two Justices
responsible for selecting the sixteen commissioners shall

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consider party identification and all campaign contributions
in determining a potential commissioner's eligibility. There
shall be at least two commissioners from each Judicial
District.
(d) A person is ineligible to serve on the Commission if,
within the preceding four calendar years, the person or his or
her spouse or immediate family member was appointed or elected
to a position with the State, federal, or local government; is
a State employee; is a lobbyist as defined by law; has an
ownership interest in an entity with a State or federal
contract; or is appointed or elected to serve a political
party. A commissioner is ineligible for a period of 10 years to
serve in the General Assembly or to be appointed to a position
subject to Senate confirmation. Commissioners must file
financial disclosure statements and abide by any ethics
requirements established by law.
(e) The Commission shall act in public meetings by the
affirmative vote of ten commissioners. The Commission shall
elect its chairperson and vice chairperson, who shall not be
affiliated with the same political party. Each meeting of the
Commission shall be open to the public. There must be public
notice at least seven days before a meeting. All records of the
Commission, including all communications to or from the
Commission regarding the work of the Commission, shall be
available for public inspection. The Commission shall adopt
rules governing its procedures. The Commission shall be

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considered a public body subject to the Freedom of Information
Act or a successor Act and the Open Meetings Act or a successor
Act. Commissioners and staff may not communicate with or
receive communications about redistricting matters from anyone
outside of a public hearing.
(f) The Commission shall hold at least twenty public
hearings throughout the State before adopting a redistricting
plan, with a majority of the hearings occurring before the
Commission releases any proposed redistricting plan. At least
10 public hearings must occur throughout the State after the
release of any proposed redistricting plan.
The Commission must provide a meaningful opportunity for
racial minorities and language minorities to participate in
the public hearings, including, but not limited to, issuing
notices in multiple languages and ensuring that translation
services are available at all hearings at the Commission's
expense or through partnership with outside organizations.
These public hearings must be open to all members of the public
and must be planned to encourage attendance and participation
across the State, including the use of technology that allows
for real-time, virtual participation and feedback during the
hearings. When releasing a proposed redistricting plan, the
Commission must also release population data, geographic data,
election data, and any other data used to create the plan, when
the Commission receives this information. The Commission must
also provide terminals for members of the public to access the

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data and associated software. During the redistricting
process, any member of the public may submit redistricting
proposals for consideration to the Commission. Those
submissions are public records that are open to comment.
The Commission may not adopt a redistricting plan until
the Commission adopts and publishes a report explaining the
plan's compliance with the United States Constitution and
Illinois Constitution. Before the adoption of a redistricting
plan, the Commission shall release to the public the final
plan and its associated compliance report. The meeting to vote
on adoption of a redistricting plan shall occur no sooner than
thirty days after the release of the final plan and its
associated compliance report. All proposed and adopted
redistricting plans and any data used to develop these
redistricting plans are public records. The Commission shall
maintain a website or other similar electronic platform to
disseminate information about the Commission, including
records of its meetings and hearings, proposed redistricting
plans, assessments and reports on plans, and to allow the
public to view its meetings and hearings in both live and
archived form. The website or electronic platform must allow
the public to submit redistricting plans and comments on
redistricting plans to the Commission for its consideration.
(g) The Commission shall adopt and file with the Secretary
of State a redistricting plan for the Legislative Districts,
Representative Districts, and Congressional Districts by

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August 1 of the year following the federal decennial census.
The Commission may adopt separate redistricting plans for the
Legislative Districts, the Representative Districts, and the
Congressional Districts.
(h) If the Commission fails to adopt and file a
redistricting plan by August 1 of the year following a federal
decennial census, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and
the most senior Supreme Court Justice who is not elected from
the same political party as the Chief Justice shall appoint,
by August 8, a seventeenth member to the Commission. The
seventeenth member of the Commission must not be affiliated
with either major political party. The seventeen-member
Commission shall adopt and file with the Secretary of State
redistricting plans for the Legislative Districts,
Representative Districts, and Congressional Districts by
September 1 of the year following the federal decennial
census.
(i) Members of the Commission shall be compensated at the
rate of $37.50 for each hour the member is engaged in
Commission business. For each succeeding Commission, the rate
of compensation shall be adjusted in each year of the federal
decennial census by the cumulative change in the consumer
price index-u or a successor metric. Members of the Commission
are eligible for reimbursement of personal expenses incurred
in connection with the duties performed pursuant to this
Section. A member's residence is deemed to be the member's

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post of duty for purposes of reimbursement of expenses.
(j) Within thirty days after the selection of the
Independent Redistricting Commission, the Governor shall
include in the budget submitted under Section 2 of Article
VIII to the General Assembly amounts of funding for the
Commission and the Secretary of State that are sufficient to
meet the estimated expenses of each of those officers or
entities in implementing the redistricting process required by
this Section for a three-year period, including, but not
limited to, adequate funding for a statewide outreach program
to solicit broad public participation in the redistricting
process. The Governor shall also make adequate office space
available for the operation of the Commission. The General
Assembly shall make the necessary appropriation for the
Commission, and the appropriation shall be available during
the entire 3-year period. The appropriation made shall be
equal to the greater of $3,000,000 or the amount expended in
accordance with this subsection in the immediately preceding
redistricting process, as each amount is adjusted by the
cumulative change in inflation based on the consumer price
index-u or a successor metric, since the date of the
immediately preceding appropriation made in accordance with
this subsection. The General Assembly may make additional
appropriations in any year that it determines that the
Commission requires additional funding in order to fulfill its
duties. The Commission, with fiscal oversight from the

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Comptroller or its successor, shall have procurement and
contracting authority and may hire staff and consultants, for
the purposes of this Section, including legal representation.
(k) A redistricting plan filed with the Secretary of State
shall be presumed valid and shall be published promptly by the
Secretary of State.
(l) The Supreme Court shall have original and exclusive
jurisdiction over actions concerning the redistricting of the
Congressional, Legislative, and Representative Districts,
which shall be initiated in the name of the People of the State
by the Attorney General. Each person who resides or is
domiciled in the State, or whose executive office or principal
place of business is located in the State, may bring an action
in a court of competent jurisdiction to obtain any of the
relief available.
(a) Legislative Districts shall be compact, contiguous and
substantially equal in population. Representative Districts
shall be compact, contiguous, and substantially equal in
population.
(b) In the year following each Federal decennial census
year, the General Assembly by law shall redistrict the
Legislative Districts and the Representative Districts.
If no redistricting plan becomes effective by June 30 of
that year, a Legislative Redistricting Commission shall be
constituted not later than July 10. The Commission shall
consist of eight members, no more than four of whom shall be

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members of the same political party.
The Speaker and Minority Leader of the House of
Representatives shall each appoint to the Commission one
Representative and one person who is not a member of the
General Assembly. The President and Minority Leader of the
Senate shall each appoint to the Commission one Senator and
one person who is not a member of the General Assembly.
The members shall be certified to the Secretary of State
by the appointing authorities. A vacancy on the Commission
shall be filled within five days by the authority that made the
original appointment. A Chairman and Vice Chairman shall be
chosen by a majority of all members of the Commission.
Not later than August 10, the Commission shall file with
the Secretary of State a redistricting plan approved by at
least five members.
If the Commission fails to file an approved redistricting
plan, the Supreme Court shall submit the names of two persons,
not of the same political party, to the Secretary of State not
later than September 1.
Not later than September 5, the Secretary of State
publicly shall draw by random selection the name of one of the
two persons to serve as the ninth member of the Commission.
Not later than October 5, the Commission shall file with
the Secretary of State a redistricting plan approved by at
least five members.
An approved redistricting plan filed with the Secretary of

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State shall be presumed valid, shall have the force and effect
of law and shall be published promptly by the Secretary of
State.
The Supreme Court shall have original and exclusive
jurisdiction over actions concerning redistricting the House
and Senate, which shall be initiated in the name of the People
of the State by the Attorney General.
(Source: Amendment adopted at general election November 4,
1980.)
SCHEDULE
This Constitutional Amendment takes effect upon being
declared adopted in accordance with Section 7 of the Illinois
Constitutional Amendment Act and applies to redistricting
beginning in 2031 and to the election of General Assembly
members beginning in 2032.