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ILLINOIS
Constitution of the State of Illinois
Constitution of the State of Illinois
Adopted at special election on December 15, 1970
PREAMBLE
We, the People of the State of Illinois - grateful to
Almighty God for the civil, political and religious liberty
which He has permitted us to enjoy and seeking His blessing
upon our endeavors - in order to provide for the health,
safety and welfare of the people; maintain a representative
and orderly government; eliminate poverty and inequality;
assure legal, social and economic justice; provide
opportunity for the fullest development of the individual;
insure domestic tranquility; provide for the common defense;
and secure the blessings of freedom and liberty to ourselves
and our posterity - do ordain and establish this Constitution
for the State of Illinois.
(Source: Illinois Constitution.)
ARTICLE I
BILL OF RIGHTS
SECTION 1. INHERENT AND INALIENABLE RIGHTS
All men are by nature free and independent and have
certain inherent and inalienable rights among which are life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness. To secure these rights
and the protection of property, governments are instituted
among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the
governed.
(Source: Illinois Constitution.)
SECTION 2. DUE PROCESS AND EQUAL PROTECTION
No person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property
without due process of law nor be denied the equal protection
of the laws.
(Source: Illinois Constitution.)
SECTION 3. RELIGIOUS FREEDOM
The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession
and worship, without discrimination, shall forever be
guaranteed, and no person shall be denied any civil or
political right, privilege or capacity, on account of his
religious opinions; but the liberty of conscience hereby
secured shall not be construed to dispense with oaths or
affirmations, excuse acts of licentiousness, or justify
practices inconsistent with the peace or safety of the State.
No person shall be required to attend or support any ministry
or place of worship against his consent, nor shall any
preference be given by law to any religious denomination or
mode of worship.
(Source: Illinois Constitution.)
SECTION 4. FREEDOM OF SPEECH
All persons may speak, write and publish freely, being
responsible for the abuse of that liberty. In trials for
libel, both civil and criminal, the truth, when published
with good motives and for justifiable ends, shall be a
sufficient defense.
(Source: Illinois Constitution.)
SECTION 5. RIGHT TO ASSEMBLE AND PETITION
The people have the right to assemble in a peaceable
manner, to consult for the common good, to make known their
opinions to their representatives and to apply for redress of
grievances.
(Source: Illinois Constitution.)
SECTION 6. SEARCHES, SEIZURES, PRIVACY AND INTERCEPTIONS
The people shall have the right to be secure in their
persons, houses, papers and other possessions against
unreasonable searches, seizures, invasions of privacy or
interceptions of communications by eavesdropping devices or
other means. No warrant shall issue without probable cause,
supported by affidavit particularly describing the place to
be searched and the persons or things to be seized.
(Source: Illinois Constitution.)
SECTION 7. INDICTMENT AND PRELIMINARY HEARING
No person shall be held to answer for a criminal offense
unless on indictment of a grand jury, except in cases in
which the punishment is by fine or by imprisonment other than
in the penitentiary, in cases of impeachment, and in cases
arising in the militia when in actual service in time of war
or public danger. The General Assembly by law may abolish the
grand jury or further limit its use.
No person shall be held to answer for a crime punishable
by death or by imprisonment in the penitentiary unless either
the initial charge has been brought by indictment of a grand
jury or the person has been given a prompt preliminary
hearing to establish probable cause.
(Source: Illinois Constitution.)
SECTION 8. RIGHTS AFTER INDICTMENT
In criminal prosecutions, the accused shall have the
right to appear and defend in person and by counsel; to
demand the nature and cause of the accusation and have a copy
thereof; to be confronted with the witnesses against him or
her and to have process to compel the attendance of witnesses
in his or her behalf; and to have a speedy public trial by an
impartial jury of the county in which the offense is alleged
to have been committed.
(Source: Amendment adopted at general election November 8,
1994.)
SECTION 8.1. CRIME VICTIM'S RIGHTS.
(a) Crime victims, as defined by law, shall have the
following rights as provided by law:
(1) The right to be treated with fairness and
respect for their dignity and privacy throughout the
criminal justice process.
(2) The right to notification of court proceedings.
(3) The right to communicate with the prosecution.
(4) The right to make a statement to the court at
sentencing.
(5) The right to information about the conviction,
sentence, imprisonment, and release of the accused.
(6) The right to timely disposition of the case
following the arrest of the accused.
(7) The right to be reasonably protected from the
accused throughout the criminal justice process.
(8) The right to be present at the trial and all
other court proceedings on the same basis as the accused,
unless the victim is to testify and the court determines
that the victim's testimony would be materially affected
if the victim hears other testimony at the trial.
(9) The right to have present at all court
proceedings, subject to the rules of evidence, an
advocate or other support person of the victim's choice.
(10) The right to restitution.
(b) The General Assembly may provide by law for the
enforcement of this Section.
(c) The General Assembly may provide for an assessment
against convicted defendants to pay for crime victims'
rights.
(d) Nothing in this Section or in any law enacted under
this Section shall be construed as creating a basis for
vacating a conviction or a ground for appellate relief in any
criminal case.
(Source: Amendment adopted at general election November 3,
1992.)
SECTION 9. BAIL AND HABEAS CORPUS
All persons shall be bailable by sufficient sureties,
except for the following offenses where the proof is evident
or the presumption great: capital offenses; offenses for
which a sentence of life imprisonment may be imposed as a
consequence of conviction; and felony offenses for which a
sentence of imprisonment, without conditional and revocable
release, shall be imposed by law as a consequence of
conviction, when the court, after a hearing, determines that
release of the offender would pose a real and present threat
to the physical safety of any person. The privilege of the
writ of habeas corpus shall not be suspended except in cases
of rebellion or invasion when the public safety may require
it.
Any costs accruing to a unit of local government as a
result of the denial of bail pursuant to the 1986 Amendment
to this Section shall be reimbursed by the State to the unit
of local government.
(Source: Amendment adopted at general election November 4,
1986.)
SECTION 10. SELF-INCRIMINATION AND DOUBLE JEOPARDY
No person shall be compelled in a criminal case to give
evidence against himself nor be twice put in jeopardy for the
same offense.
(Source: Illinois Constitution.)
SECTION 11. LIMITATION OF PENALTIES AFTER CONVICTION
All penalties shall be determined both according to the
seriousness of the offense and with the objective of
restoring the offender to useful citizenship. No conviction
shall work corruption of blood or forfeiture of estate. No
person shall be transported out of the State for an offense
committed within the State.
(Source: Illinois Constitution.)
SECTION 12. RIGHT TO REMEDY AND JUSTICE
Every person shall find a certain remedy in the laws for
all injuries and wrongs which he receives to his person,
privacy, property or reputation. He shall obtain justice by
law, freely, completely, and promptly.
(Source: Illinois Constitution.)
SECTION 13. TRIAL BY JURY
The right of trial by jury as heretofore enjoyed shall
remain inviolate.
(Source: Illinois Constitution.)
SECTION 14. IMPRISONMENT FOR DEBT
No person shall be imprisoned for debt unless he refuses
to deliver up his estate for the benefit of his creditors as
provided by law or unless there is a strong presumption of
fraud. No person shall be imprisoned for failure to pay a
fine in a criminal case unless he has been afforded adequate
time to make payment, in installments if necessary, and has
willfully failed to make payment.
(Source: Illinois Constitution.)
SECTION 15. RIGHT OF EMINENT DOMAIN
Private property shall not be taken or damaged for public
use without just compensation as provided by law. Such
compensation shall be determined by a jury as provided by
law.
(Source: Illinois Constitution.)
SECTION 16. EX POST FACTO LAWS AND IMPAIRING CONTRACTS
No ex post facto law, or law impairing the obligation of
contracts or making an irrevocable grant of special
privileges or immunities, shall be passed.
(Source: Illinois Constitution.)
SECTION 17. NO DISCRIMINATION IN EMPLOYMENT AND THE SALE OR
RENTAL OF PROPERTY
All persons shall have the right to be free from
discrimination on the basis of race, color, creed, national
ancestry and sex in the hiring and promotion practices of any
employer or in the sale or rental of property.
These rights are enforceable without action by the
General Assembly, but the General Assembly by law may
establish reasonable exemptions relating to these rights and
provide additional remedies for their violation.
(Source: Illinois Constitution.)
SECTION 18. NO DISCRIMINATION ON THE BASIS OF SEX
The equal protection of the laws shall not be denied or
abridged on account of sex by the State or its units of local
government and school districts.
(Source: Illinois Constitution.)
SECTION 19. NO DISCRIMINATION AGAINST THE HANDICAPPED
All persons with a physical or mental handicap shall be
free from discrimination in the sale or rental of property
and shall be free from discrimination unrelated to ability in
the hiring and promotion practices of any employer.
(Source: Illinois Constitution.)
SECTION 20. INDIVIDUAL DIGNITY
To promote individual dignity, communications that
portray criminality, depravity or lack of virtue in, or that
incite violence, hatred, abuse or hostility toward, a person
or group of persons by reason of or by reference to
religious, racial, ethnic, national or regional affiliation
are condemned.
(Source: Illinois Constitution.)
SECTION 21. QUARTERING OF SOLDIERS
No soldier in time of peace shall be quartered in a house
without the consent of the owner; nor in time of war except
as provided by law.
(Source: Illinois Constitution.)
SECTION 22. RIGHT TO ARMS
Subject only to the police power, the right of the
individual citizen to keep and bear arms shall not be
infringed.
(Source: Illinois Constitution.)
SECTION 23. FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES
A frequent recurrence to the fundamental principles of
civil government is necessary to preserve the blessings of
liberty. These blessings cannot endure unless the people
recognize their corresponding individual obligations and
responsibilities.
(Source: Illinois Constitution.)
SECTION 24. RIGHTS RETAINED
The enumeration in this Constitution of certain rights
shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained
by the individual citizens of the State.
(Source: Illinois Constitution.)
ARTICLE II
THE POWERS OF THE STATE
SECTION 1. SEPARATION OF POWERS
The legislative, executive and judicial branches are
separate. No branch shall exercise powers properly belonging
to another.
(Source: Illinois Constitution.)
SECTION 2. POWERS OF GOVERNMENT
The enumeration in this Constitution of specified powers
and functions shall not be construed as a limitation of
powers of state government.
(Source: Illinois Constitution.)
ARTICLE III
SUFFRAGE AND ELECTIONS
SECTION 1. VOTING QUALIFICATIONS
Every United States citizen who has attained the age of
18 or any other voting age required by the United States for
voting in State elections and who has been a permanent
resident of this State for at least 30 days next preceding
any election shall have the right to vote at such election.
The General Assembly by law may establish registration
requirements and require permanent residence in an election
district not to exceed thirty days prior to an election. The
General Assembly by law may establish shorter residence
requirements for voting for President and Vice-President of
the United States.
(Source: Amendment adopted at general election November 8,
1988.)
SECTION 2. VOTING DISQUALIFICATIONS
A person convicted of a felony, or otherwise under
sentence in a correctional institution or jail, shall lose
the right to vote, which right shall be restored not later
than upon completion of his sentence.
(Source: Illinois Constitution.)
SECTION 3. ELECTIONS
All elections shall be free and equal.
(Source: Illinois Constitution.)
SECTION 4. ELECTION LAWS
The General Assembly by law shall define permanent
residence for voting purposes, insure secrecy of voting and
the integrity of the election process, and facilitate
registration and voting by all qualified persons. Laws
governing voter registration and conduct of elections shall
be general and uniform.
(Source: Illinois Constitution.)
SECTION 5. BOARD OF ELECTIONS
A State Board of Elections shall have general supervision
over the administration of the registration and election laws
throughout the State. The General Assembly by law shall
determine the size, manner of selection and compensation of
the Board. No political party shall have a majority of
members of the Board.
(Source: Illinois Constitution.)
SECTION 6. GENERAL ELECTION
As used in all articles of this Constitution except
Article VII, "general election" means the biennial election
at which members of the General Assembly are elected. Such
election shall be held on the Tuesday following the first
Monday of November in even-numbered years or on such other
day as provided by law.
(Source: Illinois Constitution.)
ARTICLE IV
THE LEGISLATURE
SECTION 1. LEGISLATURE - POWER AND STRUCTURE
The legislative power is vested in a General Assembly
consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives,
elected by the electors from 59 Legislative Districts and 118
Representative Districts.
(Source: Amendment adopted at general election November 4,
1980.)
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.
(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
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.)
SECTION 3. LEGISLATIVE REDISTRICTING
(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
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 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.)
SECTION 4. ELECTION
Members of the General Assembly shall be elected at the
general election in even-numbered years.
(Source: Illinois Constitution.)
SECTION 5. SESSIONS
(a) The General Assembly shall convene each year on the
second Wednesday of January. The General Assembly shall be a
continuous body during the term for which members of the
House of Representatives are elected.
(b) The Governor may convene the General Assembly or the
Senate alone in special session by a proclamation stating the
purpose of the session; and only business encompassed by such
purpose, together with any impeachments or confirmation of
appointments shall be transacted. Special sessions of the
General Assembly may also be convened by joint proclamation
of the presiding officers of both houses, issued as provided
by law.
(c) Sessions of each house of the General Assembly and
meetings of committees, joint committees and legislative
commissions shall be open to the public. Sessions and
committee meetings of a house may be closed to the public if
two-thirds of the members elected to that house determine
that the public interest so requires; and meetings of joint
committees and legislative commissions may be so closed if
two-thirds of the members elected to each house so determine.
(Source: Illinois Constitution.)
SECTION 6. ORGANIZATION
(a) A majority of the members elected to each house
constitutes a quorum.
(b) On the first day of the January session of the
General Assembly in odd-numbered years, the Secretary of
State shall convene the House of Representatives to elect
from its membership a Speaker of the House of Representatives
as presiding officer, and the Governor shall convene the
Senate to elect from its membership a President of the Senate
as presiding officer.
(c) For purposes of powers of appointment conferred by
this Constitution, the Minority Leader of either house is a
member of the numerically strongest political party other
than the party to which the Speaker or the President belongs,
as the case may be.
(d) Each house shall determine the rules of its
proceedings, judge the elections, returns and qualifications
of its members and choose its officers. No member shall be
expelled by either house, except by a vote of two-thirds of
the members elected to that house. A member may be expelled
only once for the same offense. Each house may punish by
imprisonment any person, not a member, guilty of disrespect
to the house by disorderly or contemptuous behavior in its
presence. Imprisonment shall not extend beyond twenty-four
hours at one time unless the person persists in disorderly or
contemptuous behavior.
(Source: Illinois Constitution.)
SECTION 7. TRANSACTION OF BUSINESS
(a) Committees of each house, joint committees of the
two houses and legislative commissions shall give reasonable
public notice of meetings, including a statement of subjects
to be considered.
(b) Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings
and a transcript of its debates. The journal shall be
published and the transcript shall be available to the
public.
(c) Either house or any committee thereof as provided by
law may compel by subpoena the attendance and testimony of
witnesses and the production of books, records and papers.
(Source: Illinois Constitution.)
SECTION 8. PASSAGE OF BILLS
(a) The enacting clause of the laws of this State shall
be: "Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly."
(b) The General Assembly shall enact laws only by bill.
Bills may originate in either house, but may be amended or
rejected by the other.
(c) No bill shall become a law without the concurrence
of a majority of the members elected to each house. Final
passage of a bill shall be by record vote. In the Senate at
the request of two members, and in the House at the request
of five members, a record vote may be taken on any other
occasion. A record vote is a vote by yeas and nays entered on
the journal.
(d) A bill shall be read by title on three different
days in each house. A bill and each amendment thereto shall
be reproduced and placed on the desk of each member before
final passage.
Bills, except bills for appropriations and for the
codification, revision or rearrangement of laws, shall be
confined to one subject. Appropriation bills shall be limited
to the subject of appropriations.
A bill expressly amending a law shall set forth
completely the sections amended.
The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the
President of the Senate shall sign each bill that passes both
houses to certify that the procedural requirements for
passage have been met.
(Source: Illinois Constitution.)
SECTION 9. VETO PROCEDURE
(a) Every bill passed by the General Assembly shall be
presented to the Governor within 30 calendar days after its
passage. The foregoing requirement shall be judicially
enforceable. If the Governor approves the bill, he shall sign
it and it shall become law.
(b) If the Governor does not approve the bill, he shall
veto it by returning it with his objections to the house in
which it originated. Any bill not so returned by the Governor
within 60 calendar days after it is presented to him shall
become law. If recess or adjournment of the General Assembly
prevents the return of a bill, the bill and the Governor's
objections shall be filed with the Secretary of State within
such 60 calendar days. The Secretary of State shall return
the bill and objections to the originating house promptly
upon the next meeting of the same General Assembly at which
the bill can be considered.
(c) The house to which a bill is returned shall
immediately enter the Governor's objections upon its journal.
If within 15 calendar days after such entry that house by a
record vote of three-fifths of the members elected passes the
bill, it shall be delivered immediately to the second house.
If within 15 calendar days after such delivery the second
house by a record vote of three-fifths of the members elected
passes the bill, it shall become law.
(d) The Governor may reduce or veto any item of
appropriations in a bill presented to him. Portions of a bill
not reduced or vetoed shall become law. An item vetoed shall
be returned to the house in which it originated and may
become law in the same manner as a vetoed bill. An item
reduced in amount shall be returned to the house in which it
originated and may be restored to its original amount in the
same manner as a vetoed bill except that the required record
vote shall be a majority of the members elected to each
house. If a reduced item is not so restored, it shall become
law in the reduced amount.
(e) The Governor may return a bill together with
specific recommendations for change to the house in which it
originated. The bill shall | 
