The current Illinois Constitution is the fourth version of the State constitution. It was adopted on December 15, 1970. One of the important features of the fourth Illinois Constitution is the creation of home rule powers for larger municipalities and other local government units. The 1970 Constitution of Illinois consists of a preamble and 14 articles.
To change the constitution, Article XIV lays out four different methods such as:
- A constitutional convention.
- Automatic referral to a statewide ballot to decide on holding a convention every twenty years.
- Legislatively-referred constitutional amendment.
- An initiated constitutional amendment.
