Illinois House of Representatives

Infobox Legislature
name = Illinois House of Representatives
coa_pic =
coa-pic =
session_room =
house_type = Bicameral
houses =
leader1_type = Speaker
leader1 = Michael Madigan
party1 = (D)
election1 = 1997
leader2_type = Minority Leader
leader2 = Tom Cross
party2 = (R)
election2 = 2002
members = 118
p_groups = Democratic Party
Republican Party
election3 = November 7, 2006
meeting_place = Illinois State Capitol
website = [http://www.ilga.gov/house/ ilga.gov/house]

The Illinois House of Representatives 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 upper house Illinois Senate is made of 59 senators with staggered two or four-year terms.

Duties

The Illinois House of Representatives convenes at the Illinois State Capitol in the state capital of Springfield. 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, 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 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 current 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 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

Officers

*Speaker of the House: Michael Madigan
*Majority Leader: Barbara Flynn Currie
*Deputy Majority Leader: Gary Hannig
*Majority Conference Chair: Joe Lyons
*Minority Leader: Tom Cross
*Minority Caucus Chair: Dan Brady
*Clerk of the House: Mark Mahoney
*Chief Doorkeeper: Lee A. Crawford
*Parliamentarian: Robert A. Uhe

Members of the Illinois House of Representatives

External links

* [http://www.ilga.gov/house/ Illinois General Assembly - House] official government site
* [http://www.ilhousegop.org/ Illinois House Republicans] official government site
* [http://www.housedem.state.il.us/ Illinois House Democrats] official government site
* [http://votesmart.org/official_state_legislator.php?type=office&criteria=lower Project Vote Smart - Illinois State House of Representatives] voter information