Illinois House of Representatives


The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly, the bicameral legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 representatives elected from individual legislative districts for two-year terms with no limits; redistricted every 10 years, based on the 2010 U.S. census each representative represents approximately 108,734 people.
The house has the power to pass bills and impeach Illinois officeholders. Lawmakers must be at least 21 years of age and a resident of the district in which they serve for at least two years.
U.S. President Abraham Lincoln, who oversaw the American Civil War and the end of slavery in the United States, began his career in politics in the Illinois House of Representatives.

History

The Illinois General Assembly was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The candidates for office split into political parties in the 1830s, initially as the Democratic and Whig parties, until the Whig candidates reorganized as Republicans in the 1850s.
Abraham Lincoln began his political career in the Illinois House of Representatives as a member of the Whig party in 1834. He served there until 1842. Although Republicans held the majority of seats in the Illinois House after 1860, in the next election it returned to the Democrats. The Democratic Party-led legislature worked to frame a new state constitution that was ultimately rejected by voters After the 1862 election, the Democratic-led Illinois House of Representatives passed resolutions denouncing the federal government's conduct of the war and urging an immediate armistice and peace convention, leading the Republican governor to suspend the legislature for the first time in the state's history. In 1864, Republicans swept the state legislature and at the time of Lincoln's assassination at Ford's Theater, Illinois stood as a solidly Republican state.

Cutback Amendment of 1980

From 1870 to 1980, Illinois's lower house had several unique features:
The Cutback Amendment was proposed to abolish this system. Since its passage in 1980, representatives have been elected from 118 single-member districts formed by dividing the 59 Senate districts in half, a method known as nesting.
Since the adoption of the Cutback Amendment, there have been proposals by some major political figures in Illinois to bring back multi-member districts. A task force led by former governor Jim Edgar and former federal judge Abner Mikva issued a report in 2001 calling for the revival of cumulative voting, in part because it appears that such a system increases the representation of racial minorities in elected office. The Chicago Tribune editorialized in 1995 that the multi-member districts elected with cumulative voting produced better legislators. Others have argued that the now-abandoned system provided for greater stability in the lower house.
The Democratic Party won a majority of House seats in 1982. Except for a brief two-year period of Republican control from 1995 to 1997, the Democrats have held the majority since then.

Firsts

The first two African-American legislators in Illinois were John W. E. Thomas, first elected in 1876, and George French Ecton, elected in 1886. In 1922, Lottie Holman O'Neill became the first woman elected to the Illinois House of Representatives. In 1958, Floy Clements became the first African American woman to serve as state Representative. In 1982, Joseph Berrios became the first Hispanic American state representative. Theresa Mah became the first Asian American to serve in the Illinois House when she was sworn into office January 10, 2017.

Powers

The Illinois House of Representatives meets at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois. It is required to convene on the second Wednesday of January each year. Along with the Illinois Senate and governor, it is vested with the power to make laws, come up with a state budget, act on federal constitutional amendments, and propose constitutional amendments to the state constitution. The Illinois House of Representatives also holds the power to impeach executive and judicial officials.

Qualifications

A person must be a U.S. citizen and two-year resident of an electoral district of at least 21 years of age to serve in the Illinois House of Representatives. Members of the House cannot hold other public offices or receive appointments by the governor while in office.

Composition of the House

Leadership

The current Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives is Michael Madigan, who represents the 22nd district. The Democratic Party of Illinois currently holds a majority of seats in the House. Under the Constitution of Illinois, the office of minority leader is recognized for the purpose of making certain appointments. Jim Durkin, representing the 82nd district, currently holds the post.

Majority

, the 101st General Assembly of the Illinois House of Representatives consists of the following members:
DistrictRepresentativePartyTook
Office		Residence
1Democratic2019Chicago
2Democratic2017Chicago
3Democratic2019 ƗChicago
4Democratic2019Chicago
5Democratic2019Chicago
6Democratic2015 ƗChicago
7Democratic2013Hillside
8Democratic2007Chicago
9Democratic2020 ƗChicago
10Democratic2019 ƗChicago
11Democratic2011Chicago
12Democratic2020 ƗChicago
13Democratic2006 ƗƗChicago
14Democratic2011 ƗChicago
15Democratic2004 ƗƗChicago
16Democratic2019 ƗChicago
17Democratic2019Glenview
18Democratic2010 ƗEvanston
19Democratic2019 ƗChicago
20Republican2019 ƗRosemont
21Democratic2020 ƗChicago
22Democratic1971Chicago
23Democratic2008 ƗƗRiverside
24Democratic2007Cicero
25Democratic2019Chicago
26Democratic2019 ƗChicago
27Democratic2017 ƗChicago
28Democratic2003Blue Island
29Democratic2011Calumet City
30Democratic2003Homewood
31Democratic1985Chicago
32Democratic2009Chicago
33Democratic2012 ƗChicago
34Democratic2018 ƗChicago
35Democratic2013Chicago
36Democratic2011Evergreen Park
37Republican2015Mokena
38Democratic2019Olympia Fields
39Democratic2015Chicago
40Democratic2013 ƗChicago
41Republican2015Naperville
42Republican2019Wheaton
43Democratic2014 ƗElgin
44Democratic2007Hoffman Estates
45Democratic2019Itasca
46Democratic2013Villa Park
47Republican2018 ƗElmhurst
48Democratic2019Glen Ellyn
49Democratic2019West Chicago
50Republican2015Oswego
51Democratic2019Mundelein
52Republican2013Barrington Hills
53Democratic2019Arlington Heights
54Republican2011Palatine
55Democratic2013Des Plaines
56Democratic2011Schaumburg
57Democratic2017 ƗNorthbrook
58Democratic2019Deerfield
59Democratic2019Buffalo Grove
60Democratic2010 ƗWaukegan
61Democratic2019Gurnee
62Democratic2013Grayslake
63Republican2017Woodstock
64Republican2019Lake Villa
65Republican2019Geneva
66Republican2017Algonquin
67Democratic2019Rockford
68Republican2012 ƗMachesney Park
69Republican2011Rockford
70Republican2018 ƗDeKalb
71Republican2017Savanna
72Democratic2017Milan
73Republican2017Peoria
74Republican2017Woodhull
75Republican2016 ƗMorris
76Democratic2019Ottawa
77Democratic2013Addison
78Democratic2010 ƗChicago
79Republican2017Kankakee
80Democratic2009 ƗChicago Heights
81Democratic2019Downers Grove
82Republican2006 ƗWestern Springs
83Democratic2019 ƗAurora
84Democratic2013Oswego
85Democratic2017 ƗLockport
86Democratic2012 ƗElwood
87Republican2015 ƗSpringfield
88Republican1999 ƗMorton
89Republican2018 ƗƗFreeport
90Republican2013Dixon
91Republican2011East Peoria
92Democratic2009Peoria
93Republican2010 ƗMacomb
94Republican2015Paloma
95Republican2015 ƗPawnee
96Democratic2013Decatur
97Republican2015Plainfield
98Democratic2013Joliet
99Republican2019Springfield
100Republican2012 ƗƗJacksonville
101Republican2019Decatur
102Republican2017Shelbyville
103Democratic2015Urbana
104Republican2018 ƗFithian
105Republican2001Bloomington
106Republican2015Gibson City
107Republican2019Beecher City
108Republican2013Okawville
109Republican2019Xenia
110Republican2019Charleston
111Democratic2017 ƗAlton
112Democratic2017Edwardsville
113Democratic2013Swansea
114Democratic2017East St. Louis
115Republican2015Murphysboro
116Democratic2019 ƗSteeleville
117Republican2017Benton
118Republican2019Metropolis