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Illinois House of Representatives
| Illinois House of Representatives | |
 | |
| General Information | |
| Type: | Lower house |
| Term limits: | None |
| 2012 session start: | January 11, 2012 |
| Website: | Official House Page |
| Leadership | |
| House Speaker: | Michael Madigan, (D) |
| Majority Leader: | Barbara Flynn Currie, (D) |
| Minority leader: | Tom Cross, (R) |
| Structure | |
| Members: | 118 |
| Democratic Party (63) Republican Party (53) Vacancy (2) | |
| Length of term: | 2 years |
| Authority: | Art IV, Illinois Constitution |
| Salary: | $67,836/year + per diem |
| Elections | |
| Last Election: | November 2, 2010 (118 seats) |
| Next election: | November 6, 2012 (118 seats) |
| Redistricting: | General Assembly First Draws, Commission Acts as Back-Up. |
Contents |
Illinois Ballot Question 1 in 1980 altered Section 1 of Article IV of the Illinois Constitution to reduce the number of members of the Illinois House of Representatives from 177 members to 118 members beginning with the elections in 1982.
Sessions
Article IV of the Illinois Constitution establishes when the Illinois General Assembly, of which the House is a part, is to be in session. Section 5 of Article IV states that the General Assembly will convene its regular session on the second Wednesday of January.
Section 5 also creates rules for the convening of special sessions. The section allows the Governor of Illinois to convene the General Assembly or the Senate alone. When the Governor calls a special session, the General Assembly can generally only deal with matters related to the purpose of the session, as stated by the Governor's proclamation of the session, but they can also deal with impeachments or confirmation of appointments. Section 5 also allows the presiding officers of both houses of the General Assembly to convene a special session through joint proclamation.
2012
- See also: Dates of 2012 state legislative sessions
In 2012, the House will be in session starting January 11 and meet throughout the year.
Major issues
Governor Pat Quinn (D) and all four legislative leaders say reforming the state's public employee pension system will be a top priority in 2012. Legislators are also expected to address gambling expansion.[2]
2011
- See also: Dates of 2011 state legislative sessions
In 2011, the House was in session from January 12-June 1. A special session has been called by Governor Pat Quinn to settle disputes regarding Illinois construction projects. The session is slated to begin June 22, 2011.[3]
2010
- See also: Dates of 2010 state legislative sessions
In 2010, the House was in regular session from January 13th to May 7th.
Elections
2012
Elections for the office of Illinois House of Representatives will be held in Illinois on November 6, 2012. All 118 seats will be up for election.
The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in these elections is December 5, 2011. Petitions can be circulated starting on September 6, 2011.[4] The primary election day will be March 20, 2012
2010
Elections for the office of Illinois State House were held in Illinois on November 2, 2010. House seats in all 118 districts are up for election in 2010.
The signature-filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in these elections was November 2, 2009, and the primary election day was February 2, 2010.
In 2010, the total amount of contributions raised in state house elections was $50,734,623. The top 10 contributors were: [5]
| Donor | Amount |
|---|---|
| Illinois Democratic Party | $5,100,516 |
| House Republican Organization of Illinois | $1,304,567 |
| Illinois Republican Party | $1,302,517 |
| Illinois Education Association | $807,027 |
| Citizens to Elect Tom Cross | $769,486 |
| Illinois House Republican Organization | $700,651 |
| Illinois Health Care Association | $675,393 |
| Hoffman, Jay C | $543,711 |
| Associated Beer Distributors of Illinois | $520,270 |
| Illinois State Medical Society | $517,693 |
Qualifications
Article IV of the Illinois Constitution states: 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.
Vacancies
| How Vacancies are filled in State Legislatures |
 |
Whenever there is a vacancy in the House, the state constitution mandates that the seat must be filled by appointment when allowed by law. The appointment must be made within 30 days after the vacancy. All vacancies must be filled by a member of the same political party that last held the seat[6].
The vacancy must be filled by the respective party organizations covering the vacant seat[7]. The respective committeemen and committeewomen from the party organization representing the vacant district must vote on a replacement[8]. The person selected to the seat serves for the remainder of the unfilled term.
Representatives
Salaries
- See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
As of 2011, members of the Illinois House of Representatives are paid $67,836/year. Additionally, legislators receive $132/day per diem.[9]
The $67,836/year that Illinois Representatives are paid as of 2010 is an increase over the $57,619/year they were paid during legislative sessions in 2007. Per diem has increased from $125/day in 2007 to $132/day in 2011. [10]
When sworn in
Illinois legislators assume office the second Wednesday in January.
Majority control
- See also: Partisan composition of state houses
| Party | As of May 2012 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 63 | |
| Republican Party | 53 | |
| Vacancy | 2 | |
| Total | 118 | |
Leadership
The Speaker of the House is the presiding officer of the body and is elected by its full membership. Duties of the Speaker include preserving order and decorum, deciding all points of order, signing all bills and acts of the House, and appointing all chairs, co-chairs, and vice chairs of committees, as well as appointing all majority caucus members of committees. The Minority Leader appoints all minority caucus members to committees.[11][12]
Current leadership
List of current members
Standing committees
The Illinois House has 47 standing committees for the 2011-2012 session.[13]
- Adoption Reform
- Aging
- Agriculture & Conservation
- Appropriations-Elementary & Secondary Education
- Appropriations-General Service
- Appropriations-Higher Education
- Appropriations-Human Services
- Appropriations-Public Safety
- Armed Forces & Military Affairs
- Bio-Technology
- Business & Occupational Licenses
- Cities & Villages
- Committee of the Whole
- Consumer Protection
- Counties & Townships
- Disability Services
- Elections & Campaign Reform
- Elementary & Secondary Education
- Environment & Energy
- Environmental Health
- Executive
- Financial Institutions
- Health & Healthcare Disparities
- Health Care Availability Access
- Health Care Licenses
- Higher Education
- Housing
- Human Services
- Insurance
- International Trade & Commerce
- Judiciary I - Civil Law
- Judiciary II - Criminal Law
- Labor
- Mass Transit
- Personnel & Pensions
- Public Utilities
- Redistricting
- Revenue & Finance
- Rules
- Small Business Empowerment & Workforce Development
- State Government Administration
- Telecommunications
- Tollway Oversight
- Tourism & Conventions
- Transportation: Vehicles & Safety
- Transportation: Regulation, Roads & Bridges Committee
- Veterans' Affairs
External links
- Official website of the Illinois House of Representatives
- Project Vote Smart on the Illinois House of Representatives
- Illinois House Republicans official government site
- Illinois House Democrats official government site
References
- ↑ Population in 2000 of the American states
- ↑ Illinois Issues, "Push for pension changes grows, but players are far from agreement," January 12, 2012
- ↑ ABC.com, General Assembly to hold special session next week, June 15, 2011
- ↑ Confirmed via email with Illinois Board of Elections, February 28, 2011
- ↑ Follow the Money: "Illinois House 2010 Campaign Contributions"
- ↑ Illinois General Assembly "Illinois Constitution"(Referenced Section Article IV, Section 2(d))
- ↑ Illinois General Assembly "Illinois Election Code"(Referenced Statute 10 ILCS 5/25 6 (a), (c))
- ↑ Illinois General Assembly "Illinois Election Code"(Referenced Statute 10 ILCS 5/25 6 (d))
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2011 Legislator Compensation Data"
- ↑ Empire Center, "Legislative Salaries Per State as of 2007"
- ↑ Rules of the House of the Illinois 9gth General Assembly
- ↑ Illinois Republican House Leaders
- ↑ Illinois General Assembly, "House Committees," accessed March 21, 2011
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