- Illinois Senate
The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the
Illinois General Assembly , thelegislative branch of the government of thestate ofIllinois in theUnited States . The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in1818 . The Illinois Senate is made up of 59 senators elected from individual legislative districts determined by population. In order to avoid complete turnovers in Senate membership, under the Illinois Constitution of 1970, 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 [Illinois Constitution Article IV, Section 2(a) http://www.ilga.gov/commission/lrb/con4.htm] . In contrast, theIllinois House of Representatives is made of 118 members with its entire membership elected to two-year terms. House districts are formed by dividing each Senate district in half. [Illinois Constitution Article IV, Section 2(b) http://www.ilga.gov/commission/lrb/con4.htm]The Illinois Senate convenes at the
Illinois State Capitol inSpringfield, 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. The number of negative votes does not matter. Therefore the use of the "present" vote has the same effect as voting "no."
The
Democratic Party of Illinois currently holds a veto-proof majority in the Illinois Senate.Illinois State Senate - 95th General Assembly
Officers
*President of the Senate: Emil Jones, Jr.
*Majority Leader:Debbie Halvorson
*Majority Caucus Chair:Terry Link
*Minority Leader:Frank Watson
*Minority Caucus Chair:Dale Righter Members of the Illinois Senate
References
External links
* [http://www.ilga.gov/senate/ Illinois General Assembly - Senate] official government site
* [http://www.senategop.state.il.us/ Illinois Senate Republicans] official party site
* [http://www.senatedem.ilga.gov/ Illinois Senate Democrats] official party site
* [http://votesmart.org/official_state_legislator.php?type=office&criteria=upper&state_id=IL&go.x=9&go.y=6 Project Vote Smart - State Senate of Illinois] voter information
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