Illinois Senate

Illinois State Senate
Illinois General Assembly

Type
Type	Upper house
Term limits	None
History
New session started	January 9, 2013
Leadership
President of the Senate	John Cullerton (D) since January 14, 2009
Majority Leader	James Clayborne, Jr. (D) since November 20, 2008
Minority Leader	Christine Radogno (R) since November 19, 2008
Structure
Seats	59

Political groups	Democrat: 39 seats Republican: 20 seats
Authority	Article IV, Illinois Constitution
Salary	$67,836/year + per diem
Elections
Last election	November 4, 2014 (19 seats)
Next election	November 8, 2016 (19 seats)
Redistricting	Legislative Control
Meeting place

State Senate Chamber Illinois State Capitol Springfield, Illinois
Website
Illinois State Senate

The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the state of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. The Illinois Senate is made up of 59 senators elected from individual legislative districts determined by population; redistricted every 10 years, based on the 2010 U.S. census each senator represents approximately 217,468 people.^[1] Under the Illinois Constitution of 1970, senators are divided into three groups, each group having a two-year term at a different part of the decade between censuses, with the rest of the decade being taken up by two four-year terms.^[2] Depending on the election year, roughly one-third, two-thirds, or all Senate seats may be contested. In contrast, the Illinois House of Representatives is made up of 118 members with its entire membership elected to two-year terms. House districts are formed by dividing each Senate district in half.^[3]

The Illinois Senate convenes at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois. Its first official working day is the second Wednesday of January each year. Its primary duties are to pass bills into law, approve the state budget, confirm appointments to state departments and agencies, act on federal constitutional amendments and propose constitutional amendments for Illinois. It also has the power to override gubernatorial vetoes through a three-fifths majority vote. The Illinois Senate tries impeachments made by the House of Representatives, and can convict impeached officers by a two-thirds vote.

Voting in the Illinois Senate is done by members pushing one of three buttons. Unlike most states, the Illinois Senate allows members to vote yes, no, or present. It takes 30 affirmative votes to pass legislation during final action.^[4]^[5] The number of negative votes does not matter. Therefore, voting present has the same effect on the tally as voting no.

The Democratic Party of Illinois currently holds a majority in the Illinois Senate.

Party summary

Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)		Total

	Democratic	Republican		Vacant
End of previous legislature	40	19	59	0

Begin	39	20	59	0
Latest voting share	7001661009999900000♠66.1%	7001339000000000000♠33.9%

Leadership

Majority

President of the Senate: John Cullerton
Majority Leader: James Clayborne, Jr.
Assistant Majority Leaders:
President Pro Tempore: Don Harmon
Majority Caucus Chair: Ira Silverstein
Majority Caucus Whips:

Officers

Secretary of the Senate: Tim Anderson
Assistant Secretary of the Senate: Scott Kaiser
Sergeant-at-Arms: Joe Dominguez
Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: Dirk R. Eilers

Members of the Illinois Senate

District	Representative	Party	Residence	Next Election
1	Munoz, AntonioAntonio Munoz	Democratic	Chicago	2016
2	Delgado, WilliamWilliam Delgado	Democratic	Chicago	2016
3	Hunter, MattieMattie Hunter	Democratic	Chicago	2018
4	Lightford, Kimberly A.Kimberly A. Lightford	Democratic	Chicago	2016
5	Van Pelt Watkins, PatriciaPatricia Van Pelt Watkins	Democratic	Chicago	2016
6	Cullerton, JohnJohn Cullerton	Democratic	Chicago	2018
7	Steans, HeatherHeather Steans	Democratic	Chicago	2016
8	Silverstein, IraIra Silverstein	Democratic	Chicago	2016
9	Biss, DanielDaniel Biss	Democratic	Evanston	2018
10	Mulroe, John G.John G. Mulroe	Democratic	Chicago	2016
11	Sandoval, MartinMartin Sandoval	Democratic	Chicago	2016
12	Landek, Steven MSteven M Landek	Democratic	Bridgeview	2018
13	Raoul, KwameKwame Raoul	Democratic	Chicago	2016
14	Jones III, EmilEmil Jones III	Democratic	Chicago	2016
15	Harris, NapoleonNapoleon Harris	Democratic	Chicago	2018
16	Collins, Jacqueline Y.Jacqueline Y. Collins	Democratic	Chicago	2016
17	Trotter, DonneDonne Trotter	Democratic	Chicago	2016
18	Cunningham, WilliamWilliam Cunningham	Democratic	Chicago	2018
19	Hastings, MichaelMichael Hastings	Democratic	Orland Township	2016
20	Martinez, IrisIris Martinez	Democratic	Chicago	2016
21	Connelly, MichaelMichael Connelly	Republican	Naperville	2016
22	Noland, MichaelMichael Noland	Democratic	Elgin	2016
23	Cullerton, TomTom Cullerton	Democratic	Villa Park	2016
24	Nybo, ChrisChris Nybo	Republican	Hinsdale	2018
25	Oberweis, JimJim Oberweis	Republican	Sugar Grove	2016
26	Duffy, DanDan Duffy	Republican	Lake Barrington	2016
27	Murphy, MattMatt Murphy	Republican	Palatine	2018
28	Kotowski, DanDan Kotowski	Democratic	Park Ridge	2016
29	Morrison, JulieJulie Morrison	Democratic	Deerfield	2016
30	Link, TerryTerry Link	Democratic	Vernon Hills	2018
31	Bush, MelindaMelinda Bush	Democratic	Grayslake	2016
32	Althoff, PamelaPamela Althoff	Republican	Crystal Lake	2016
33	McConnaughay, KarenKaren McConnaughay	Republican	St. Charles	2018
34	Stadelman, SteveSteve Stadelman	Democratic	Rockford	2016
35	Syverson, DaveDave Syverson	Republican	Rockford	2016
36	Anderson, NeilNeil Anderson	Republican	Rock Island	2018
37	LaHood, Darin M.Darin M. LaHood	Republican	Peoria	2016
38	Rezin, SueSue Rezin	Republican	Morris	2016
39	Harmon, DonDon Harmon	Democratic	Oak Park	2018
40	Hutchinson, ToiToi Hutchinson	Democratic	Olympia Fields	2016
41	Radogno, ChristineChristine Radogno	Republican	Lemont	2016
42	Holmes, LindaLinda Holmes	Democratic	Aurora	2018
43	McGuire, PatPat McGuire	Democratic	Joliet	2016
44	Brady, BillBill Brady	Republican	Bloomington	2016
45	Bivins, TimTim Bivins	Republican	Dixon	2018
46	Koehler, DavidDavid Koehler	Democratic	Peoria	2016
47	Sullivan, John M.John M. Sullivan	Democratic	Rushville	2016
48	Manar, AndyAndy Manar	Democratic	Bunker Hill	2018
49	Bertino-Tarrant, JenniferJennifer Bertino-Tarrant	Democratic	Shorewood	2016
50	McCann, SamSam McCann	Republican	Springfield	2016
51	Rose, ChapinChapin Rose	Republican	Mahomet	2018
52	Bennett, Scott M.Scott M. Bennett	Democratic	Champaign	2016
53	Barickman, JasonJason Barickman	Republican	Normal	2016
54	McCarter, KyleKyle McCarter	Republican	Lebanon	2018
55	Righter, DaleDale Righter	Republican	Mattoon	2016
56	Haine, William R.William R. Haine	Democratic	Alton	2016
57	Clayborne, Jr., JamesJames Clayborne, Jr.	Democratic	Belleville	2018
58	Luechtefeld, DavidDavid Luechtefeld	Republican	Okawville	2016
59	Forby, GaryGary Forby	Democratic	Benton	2016

References

↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20121007180439/http://2010.census.gov/news/pdf/apport2010_table4.pdf
↑ Illinois Constitution Article IV, Section 2(a) http://www.ilga.gov/commission/lrb/con4.htm
↑ Illinois Constitution Article IV, Section 2(b) http://www.ilga.gov/commission/lrb/con4.htm
↑ Gonzales, Nathan (13 February 2007). "The Ever-'Present' Obama". The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved 26 September 2014.
↑ Burnett, Sara (14 February 2013). "Illinois Senate votes to legalize gay marriage". Associated Press. Retrieved 26 September 2014.

External links

Illinois General Assembly – Senate official government website
Illinois Senate Republicans official party website
Illinois Senate Democrats official party website
Legislature of Illinois at Project Vote Smart
Illinois campaign financing at FollowTheMoney.org
Illinois Senate at Ballotpedia

Members of the Illinois State Senate

99th General Assembly (2015–2016)
President: John Cullerton (D)
Majority Leader: James Clayborne, Jr. (D)
Minority Leader: Christine Radogno (R)

Jacqueline Y. Collins (D)
Donne Trotter (D)
Bill Cunningham (D)
Michael Hastings (D)
Iris Martinez (D)
Michael Connelly (R)
Michael Noland (D)
Tom Cullerton (D)
Chris Nybo (R)
Jim Oberweis (R)
Dan Duffy (R)
Matt Murphy (R)
Dan Kotowski (D)
Julie Morrison (D)
Terry Link (D)

Melinda Bush (D)
Pamela Althoff (R)
Karen McConnaughay (R)
Steve Stadelman (D)
Dave Syverson (R)
Neil Anderson (R)
Darin LaHood (R)
Sue Rezin (R)
Don Harmon (D)
Toi Hutchinson (D)
Christine Radogno (R)
Linda Holmes (D)
Pat McGuire (D)
Bill Brady (R)
Tim Bivins (R)

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