Illinois Senate

The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the State of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. Under the Illinois Constitution of 1970, the Illinois Senate is made up of 59 senators elected from individual legislative districts determined by population and redistricted every 10 years; based on the 2010 U.S. census each senator represents approximately 217,468 people.[1] Senators are divided into three groups, each group having a two-year term at a different part of the decade between censuses, with the rest of the decade being taken up by two four-year terms.[2] This ensures that the Senate reflects changes made when the General Assembly redistricts itself after each census.

Illinois Senate
Illinois General Assembly
Type
Type
Term limits
None
History
New session started
January 9, 2019
Leadership
President of the Senate
Don Harmon (D)
since Jan 19, 2020
Majority Leader
Kimberly Lightford (D)
since Jan 7, 2019
Minority Leader
Bill Brady (R)
since July 1, 2017
Structure
Seats59
Political groups
Majority
  •   Democratic (40)

Minority

  •   Republican (19)
Length of term
4 years (with one two-year term each decade)
AuthorityIllinois Constitution Article IV
Salary$67,874/year + per diem
Elections
Last election
November 6, 2018
Next election
November 3, 2020
RedistrictingLegislative Control
Meeting place
State Senate Chamber
Illinois State Capitol
Springfield, Illinois
Website
Illinois State Senate

Depending on the election year, roughly one-third, two-thirds, or all Senate seats may be contested. In contrast, the Illinois House of Representatives is made up of 118 members with its entire membership elected to two-year terms. House districts are formed by dividing each Senate district in half,[3] with each senator having two "associated" representatives.

The Illinois Senate convenes at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois. 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, confirm appointments to state departments and agencies, 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 Senate tries impeachments made by the House of Representatives, and can convict impeached officers by a two-thirds vote.

Voting in the Illinois Senate is done by members pushing one of three buttons. Unlike most states, the Illinois Senate allows members to vote yes, no, or present. It takes 30 affirmative votes to pass legislation during final action.[4][5] The number of negative votes does not matter. Therefore, voting present has the same effect on the tally as voting no.

Party summary
Affiliation Party
(Shading indicates majority caucus)		 Total
Democratic Republican Conservative Vacant
End of previous legislature 40 19 0 59 0
Begin 37 22 0 59 0
April 19, 2018[6] 21 1
January 7, 2019[7] 40 19 0 59 0
Latest voting share 67.8% 32.2% 0%

Leadership

As of February 20, 2020, the 101st General Assembly of the Illinois Senate consists of the following leadership:[8]

Majority
  • President of the Senate: Don Harmon
  • Majority Leader: Kimberly A. Lightford
  • Assistant Majority Leader/President Pro Tempore: Bill Cunningham
  • Deputy Majority Leader: Laura Murphy
  • Assistant Majority Leaders:
    • Linda Holmes
    • David Koehler
    • Iris Martinez
    • Antonio Munoz
  • Majority Caucus Chair: Mattie Hunter
  • Deputy Majority Caucus Chair: Jacqueline Y. Collins
  • Majority Caucus Whips:
    • Omar Aquino
    • Michael Hastings
    • Napoleon Harris III

Minority
  • Minority Leader: Bill Brady
  • Deputy Minority Leader: Dave Syverson
  • Assistant Minority Leaders:
    • Neil Anderson
    • Jason Barickman
    • Sue Rezin
    • Chapin Rose
  • Minority Caucus Chair: Dale Righter
  • Minority Caucus Whips:
    • Jim Oberweis
    • Jil Tracy

Officers
  • Secretary of the Senate: Tim Anderson
  • Assistant Secretary of the Senate: Scott Kaiser
  • Sergeant-at-Arms: Joe Dominguez
  • Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms: Dirk R. Eilers

Members

In 1924, Florence Fifer Bohrer became the body's first female member and Adelbert H. Roberts became its first African American member.[9][10] In 1977, Earlean Collins became the first African American woman to serve in the Illinois Senate.[11] Barack Obama, later the President of the United States, served in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004.[12]

As of February 20, 2020, the 101st General Assembly of the Illinois Senate consists of the following members:[13]

DistrictSenatorPartyResidenceAssumed
Office		Next
Election
1 Antonio Munoz Democratic Chicago 1999 2020
2 Omar Aquino Democratic Chicago 2016 Ɨ 2022
3 Mattie Hunter Democratic Chicago 2003 2022
4 Kimberly A. Lightford Democratic Chicago 1998 Ɨ 2020
5 Patricia Van Pelt Democratic Chicago 2013 2022
6 Sara Feigenholtz Democratic Chicago 2020 Ɨ 2022
7 Heather Steans Democratic Chicago 2008 Ɨ 2020
8 Ram Villivalam Democratic Chicago 2019 2022
9 Laura Fine Democratic Glenview 2019 2022
10 Robert Martwick Democratic Chicago 2019 Ɨ 2020
11 Celina Villanueva Democratic Chicago 2020 Ɨ 2020
12 Steven Landek Democratic Bridgeview 2011 Ɨ 2022
13 Robert Peters Democratic Chicago 2019 Ɨ 2020
14 Emil Jones III Democratic Chicago 2009 2022
15 Napoleon Harris Democratic Harvey 2013 2022
16 Jacqueline Y. Collins Democratic Chicago 2003 2020
17 Elgie Sims Democratic Chicago 2018 Ɨ 2022
18 William Cunningham Democratic Chicago 2013 2022
19 Michael Hastings Democratic Tinley Park 2013 2020
20 Iris Martinez Democratic Chicago 2003 2022
21 Laura Ellman Democratic Lisle 2019 2022
22 Cristina Castro Democratic Elgin 2017 2020
23 Tom Cullerton Democratic Villa Park 2013 2022
24 Suzy Glowiak Democratic Western Springs 2019 2022
25 Jim Oberweis Republican Sugar Grove 2013 2020
26 Dan McConchie Republican Hawthorn Woods 2016 Ɨ 2022
27 Ann Gillespie Democratic Rolling Meadows 2019 2022
28 Laura Murphy Democratic Des Plaines 2015 Ɨ 2020
29 Julie Morrison Democratic Deerfield 2013 2022
30 Terry Link Democratic Waukegan 1997 2022
31 Melinda Bush Democratic Grayslake 2013 2020
32 Craig Wilcox Republican McHenry 2018 Ɨ 2022
33 Don DeWitte Republican St. Charles 2019 2022
34 Steve Stadelman Democratic Rockford 2013 2020
35 Dave Syverson Republican Rockford 1993 2022
36 Neil Anderson Republican Rock Island 2015 2022
37 Chuck Weaver Republican Peoria 2015 Ɨ 2020
38 Sue Rezin Republican Morris 2010 Ɨ 2022
39 Don Harmon Democratic Oak Park 2003 2022
40 Patrick Joyce Democratic Kankakee 2019 Ɨ 2020
41 John Curran Republican Woodridge 2017 Ɨ 2022
42 Linda Holmes Democratic Aurora 2007 2022
43 Pat McGuire Democratic Joliet 2012 Ɨ 2020
44 Bill Brady Republican Bloomington 2002 Ɨ 2022
45 Brian W. Stewart Republican Freeport 2018 ƗƗ 2022
46 David Koehler Democratic Peoria 2006 ƗƗ 2020
47 Jil Tracy Republican Quincy 2017 2022
48 Andy Manar Democratic Bunker Hill 2013 2022
49 Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant Democratic Shorewood 2013 2020
50 Steve McClure Republican Springfield 2019 2022
51 Chapin Rose Republican Mahomet 2013 2022
52 Scott M. Bennett Democratic Champaign 2015 Ɨ 2020
53 Jason Barickman Republican Bloomington 2013 2022
54 Jason Plummer Republican Edwardsville 2019 2022
55 Dale Righter Republican Mattoon 2003 2020
56 Rachelle Crowe Democratic Glen Carbon 2019 2022
57 Christopher Belt Democratic Cahokia 2019 2022
58 Paul Schimpf Republican Waterloo 2017 2020
59 Dale Fowler Republican Harrisburg 2017 2022
  • Ɨ Legislator was appointed to the Illinois Senate during session.
  • ƗƗ Legislator was appointed to the Illinois Senate after being elected, but prior to inauguration day of the General Assembly to which they were elected.

Past composition of the Senate

References
  1. "Wayback Machine" (PDF). October 7, 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 7, 2012.
  2. Illinois Constitution Article IV, Section 2(a) http://www.ilga.gov/commission/lrb/con4.htm
  3. Illinois Constitution Article IV, Section 2(b) http://www.ilga.gov/commission/lrb/con4.htm
  4. Gonzales, Nathan (February 13, 2007). "The Ever-'Present' Obama". The Rothenberg Political Report. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  5. Burnett, Sara (February 14, 2013). "Illinois Senate votes to legalize gay marriage". Associated Press. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
  6. Sam McCann (District 50) switched parties from Republican to the Conservative Party, which McCann created for the purpose of running for governor.
  7. "Illinois Democrats will have historic majorities". WQAD.com. November 29, 2018. Retrieved January 21, 2019.
  8. "101st GA SENATE LEADERSHIP" (PDF). Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
  9. Thomas, Whitney Freund (April 1998). "Florence Fifer Bohrer: A Woman Before Her Time". Illinois History: A Magazine for Young People. 51 (3): 59–60. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved August 22, 2017.
  10. Gherardini, Caroline, ed. (February 1984). "Honors". Illinois Issues. Vol. 9 no. 2. Springfield, Illinois: Sangamon State University. p. 41. ISSN 0738-9663. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
  11. Musser, Ashley; Dutton, Julie (February 11, 2016). "Illinois Women in Congress and General Assembly" (PDF). Springfield, Illinois: Illinois Legislative Research Unit. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
  12. Miller, David R. (ed.). "A Former New Member: Barack Obama (D-13, Chicago) (From First Reading, December 1996)" (PDF). First Reading. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois Legislative Research Unit. p. 4.
  13. "Current Senate Members 101st General Assembly". Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
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