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Illinois State Legislature

Illinois General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois.  The Illinois General Assembly is a bicameral body consisting of the Illinois House of Representatives, the lower chamber, and the Illinois Senate, the upper chamber.  The primary duties of the General Assembly 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.  The General Assembly also has the power to override gubernatorial vetoes through a three-fifths majority vote in each chamber.  The General Assembly meets at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield.

The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly.  The Illinois Senate consists of 59 senators elected from individual legislative districts determined by population.  In order to avoid complete turnovers in Senate membership, some senators are elected to two-year terms while others are elected to four-year terms.  Senators elect from the chamber a Senate President who presides over the Senate.

The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly.  The House is made up of 118 representatives elected from individual legislative districts for a two-year term with no term limits. Representatives of the House elect from its membership a Speaker and Speaker pro tempore, typically drawn from the majority party in the chamber.

In order to serve as a member in either chamber of the General Assembly, a person must be a U.S. citizen, at least 21 years of age, and for the two years preceding his election or appointment a resident of the district which they represent.  In the general election following a redistricting, a candidate for any chamber of 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.

Illinois General Assembly


Inside Illinois State Legislature