Illinois House of Representatives

Illinois House of Representatives

The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The state House of Representatives is made of 118 representatives elected from individual legislative districts for a two-year term with no limits. In contrast, the upper house Illinois Senate is made of 59 senators with staggered two or four-year terms.

Duties

The Illinois House of Representatives convenes at the Illinois State Capitol in the state capital of Springfield. 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, 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 House of Representatives also holds the power to impeach Executive and Judicial officials.

The current Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives is Michael Madigan of Chicago, who represents the 22nd District. The Democratic Party of Illinois currently holds a majority in the House. Under the current Illinois Constitution, the office of Minority Leader is recognized for the purpose of making certain appointments. Tom Cross of Plainfield, a Republican representing the 84th District, currently holds the post.

Changes to the House

Before the Cutback Amendment to the state constituion in 1980, the state was divided into 59 "legislative districts", each of which elected three representatives, yielding a House of 177 members. This unusual system was even more distinctive in that the individual voter was given three legislative votes to cast, and could cast either one vote each for three candidates, all three votes for one candidate (known as a "bullet vote"), or even 1 1/2 votes each for two candidates. After the passage of the Cutback Amendment, this system was abolished and representatives were elected from 118 single member constituencies.

Composition of the House

Officers

Speaker of the House: Michael Madigan
Majority Leader: Barbara Flynn Currie
Deputy Majority Leader: Gary Hannig
Majority Conference Chair: Joe Lyons
Minority Leader: Tom Cross
Minority Caucus Chair: Dan Brady
Clerk of the House: Mark Mahoney
Chief Doorkeeper: Lee A. Crawford
Parliamentarian: Robert A. Uhe

External links

Illinois General Assembly - House official government site
Illinois House Republicans official government site
Illinois House Democrats official government site
Project Vote Smart - Illinois State House of Representatives voter information