| Illinois House of Representatives | |
|---|---|
| Type | |
| Type | Lower house |
| Leadership | |
| Speaker of the House | Michael Madigan, (D) since January 8, 1997 |
| Majority Leader | Barbara Flynn Currie, (D) since January 8, 1997 |
| Minority Leader | Tom Cross, (R) since January 8, 2002 |
| Structure | |
| Members | 118 |
| Political groups | Democratic Party Republican Party |
| Election | |
| Last election | November 4, 2008 |
| Meeting place | |
 |
|
| Illinois State Capitol, Springfield, IL, U.S. | |
| Website | |
| ilga.gov/house | |
The Illinois House of Representatives of 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 Illinois Senate is made of 59 senators with staggered two- or four-year terms.
Contents |
Duties
The Illinois House of Representatives meets at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield. It is required to convene on the second Wednesday of January each year. Its primary duties are to make laws (including the state budget), act on federal constitutional amendments, and propose constitutional amendments for Illinois. 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 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 constitution 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 election was conducted by a modified form of cumulative voting: each 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
| Affiliation | Party
(Shading indicates majority caucus)
|
Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Republican | Vacant | ||
| End of previous legislature | 68 | 48 | 116 | 2 |
| Current legislature | 70 | 48 | 118 | 0 |
| Latest voting share | 59.3% | 40.7% | ||
Leadership
Majority
- Speaker of the House: Michael Madigan
- Majority Leader: Barbara Flynn Currie
- Deputy Majority Leaders:
- Assistant Majority Leaders:
- Majority Conference Chair: Dan Burke
Minority
- Minority Leader: Tom Cross
- Deputy Minority Leaders:
- Assistant Minority Leaders:
- Minority Caucus Chair: JoAnn D. Osmond
Officers
- Clerk of the House: Mark Mahoney
- Chief Doorkeeper: Lee A. Crawford
- Parliamentarian: David Ellis
- Assistant Clerk of the House: Bradley S. Bolin
Members of the Illinois House of Representatives
External links
- Illinois General Assembly - House official government website
- Illinois House Republicans official party website
- Illinois House Democrats official party website
- Project Vote Smart - Illinois State House of Representatives voter information
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