Illinois General Assembly

The Illinois General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois and comprises the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. Illinois has 59 legislative districts, with two representatives and one senator from each correspondent district. The current General Assembly is Illinois's 97th.

The General Assembly meets in the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield.

Terms of members

All members of the House of Representatives are elected to a two-year term without term limits.

The Senate's term cycle is staggered. In order to avoid complete turnovers in Senate membership (except after an intervening Census), not all districts elect senators simultaneously. Every Senate district elects its members to serve two four-year terms and one two-year term per decade. The placement of the two-year term in the decade varies from one district to another, with each district's terms defined as 2-4-4, 4-2-4, or 4-4-2. Similar to the House, Senators are also elected without term limits.

Officers

The officers of each house of the General Assembly are elected at the beginning of each odd number year. Representatives of the House elect from its membership a Speaker and Speaker pro tempore, typically drawn from the majority party in the chamber. The Illinois Secretary of State convenes and supervises the opening House session and leadership vote. Similarly, senators elect from the chamber a Senate President, convened and under the supervision of the governor. Since the adoption of the current Illinois Constitution in 1970, the Lieutenant Governor of Illinois does not serve in any legislative capacity as Senate President, and has had its office's powers transferred to other capacities.

Sessions and qualifications

The General Assembly's first official working day is the second Monday of January each year, with the Secretary of State convening the House, and the Governor convening the Senate. In order to serve as a member in either chamber of the General Assembly, a person must be a U.S. citizen, at least 21 years of age, and for the two years preceding his election or appointment a resident of the district which they represent. In the general election following a redistricting, a candidate for any chamber of 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.

Veto powers

The General Assembly has the power to override gubernatorial vetoes through a three-fifths majority vote in each chamber.

External links

• Illinois General Assembly
• Illinois General Assembly at Ballotpedia