2023 Illinois Compiled Statutes › Chapter 5 - GENERAL PROVISIONS › 5 ILCS 20/ - Illinois Constitutional Amendment Act.

(5 ILCS 20/0.01) (from Ch. 1, par. 100)
Sec. 0.01. 
		Short title. 
		This Act may be cited as the Illinois Constitutional Amendment Act.
(Source: P.A. 86-1324.)
(5 ILCS 20/1) (from Ch. 1, par. 101)
Sec. 1. 
Amendments to the Constitution of this State
may be proposed by joint resolution in either house of the General
Assembly, and if the same shall be voted for by 3/5 of all the members
elected to each of the 2 houses in the manner provided by Section 2 of
Article XIV of the Constitution, the amendment or amendments proposed
shall be submitted to the electors of this State for adoption or
rejection in the manner hereinafter provided.
(Source: P.A. 98-463, eff. 8-16-13.)
(5 ILCS 20/1a) (from Ch. 1, par. 102)
Sec. 1a. 
		
		An amendment to Article IV of the Constitution
 proposed by petition in the manner provided by Section 3 of Article XIV
of the Constitution shall be submitted to the electors of this State for
adoption or rejection in the manner hereinafter provided, unless such petition
is determined not to be valid or sufficient as provided by law.
(Source: P.A. 81-163)
(5 ILCS 20/2) (from Ch. 1, par. 103)
Sec. 2. 
(a) The General Assembly in submitting an amendment to the
Constitution to the electors, or the proponents of an amendment to Article
IV of the Constitution submitted by petition, shall prepare a brief explanation of such
amendment, a brief argument in favor of the same, and the form in which
such amendment will appear on the separate ballot as provided by Section
16-6 of the Election Code, as
amended. The minority of the General Assembly, or if there is no minority,
anyone designated by the General Assembly shall prepare a brief argument
against such amendment. The explanation, the arguments for and against each constitutional amendment, and the form in which the amendment will appear on the separate ballot shall be approved by a joint resolution of the General Assembly and filed in the office of the Secretary of State with the proposed amendment.
(b) In the case of an
amendment to Article IV of the Constitution initiated pursuant to Section
3 of Article XIV of the Constitution, the proponents shall be those persons
so designated at the time of the filing of the petition as provided in Section
10-8 of the Election Code, and the opponents shall be those members of the
General Assembly opposing such amendment, or if there are none, anyone
designated by the General Assembly and such opponents shall prepare a brief
argument against such amendment.  The proponent's explanation and
argument in favor of and the opponent's argument against an amendment
to Article IV initiated by petition must
be submitted to the Attorney General, who may rewrite them for accuracy
and fairness.  The explanation,
the arguments for and against each constitutional amendment, and the form in which the
amendment will appear on the separate ballot shall be filed in the
office of the Secretary of State with the proposed amendment.
(c) At least 2 months before the next election of members of the General Assembly,
following the passage of the proposed amendment, the Secretary of State
shall publish the amendment, in full in 8 point type, or the equivalent
thereto, in at least one secular newspaper of general circulation in
every county in this State in which a newspaper is published and its digital equivalent. In
counties in which 2 or more newspapers are published, the Secretary of
State shall cause such amendment to be published in 2 newspapers and their digital equivalent. In
counties having a population of 500,000 or more, such amendment shall be
published in not less than 6 newspapers of general circulation and their digital equivalent. After
the first publication, the publication of such amendment shall be
repeated once each week for 2 consecutive weeks. In selecting newspapers
in which to publish such amendment the Secretary of State shall have
regard solely to the circulation of such newspapers, selecting secular
newspapers in every case having the largest circulation. The proposed
amendment shall have a notice prefixed thereto in said publications,
that at such election the proposed amendment will be submitted to the
electors for adoption or rejection, and at the end of the official
publication, he shall also publish the form in which the proposed
amendment will appear on the separate ballot. The Secretary of State
shall fix the publication fees to be paid to newspapers for making such
publication, but in no case shall such publication fee exceed the amount
charged by such newspapers to private individuals for a like
publication.
(d) In addition to the notice hereby required to be published,
the Secretary of State shall also cause the existing form of the
constitutional provision proposed to be amended, the proposed amendment,
the explanation of the same, the arguments for and against the same, and
the form in which such amendment will appear on the separate ballot, to
be published in pamphlet form in 8 point type or the equivalent thereto in English, in additional languages as required by Section 203 of Title III of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965,  and in braille.  The Secretary of State shall publish the pamphlet on the Secretary's website in a downloadable, printable format and maintain a reasonable supply of printed pamphlets to be available upon request. The Secretary of State shall publish an audio version of the pamphlet, which shall be available for playback on the Secretary's website and made available to any individual or entity upon request.
(e) Except as provided in subsection (f), the Secretary of State shall mail such pamphlet to every mailing
address in the State, addressed to the attention of the Postal Patron.  He
shall also maintain a reasonable supply of such pamphlets so as to make
them available to any person requesting one.
(f) For any proposed constitutional amendment appearing on the ballot for the general election on November 8, 2022, the Secretary of State, in lieu of the requirement in subsection (e) of this Act, shall mail a postcard to every mailing address in the State advising that a proposed constitutional amendment will be considered at the general election. The postcard shall include a URL to the Secretary of State's website that contains the information required in subsection (d).
(Source: P.A. 102-699, eff. 4-19-22; 103-467, eff. 8-4-23.)
(5 ILCS 20/2a) (from Ch. 1, par. 104)
Sec. 2a. 
		
		The State Board of Elections as constituted in the Election Code
shall, not later than the time prescribed by law for certifying the
candidates for State offices to be voted upon at the same election,
certify to the several county clerks any proposal to amend the
constitution. The several county clerks shall certify such proposal to
any board of election commissioners within their respective counties not
later than the time prescribed by law for the certification of
candidates.
(Source: P.A. 77-2790.)
(5 ILCS 20/3) (from Ch. 1, par. 105)
Sec. 3. 
		
		The county clerks of the respective counties of this state
shall with the election notices of the next succeeding election of
members of the General Assembly ensuing the adoption of the joint
resolution proposing an amendment or amendments, or ensuing the submission
of petitions for an amendment to Article IV of the Constitution, and in the manner
required by law for notices of general elections, give notice that at
such election said proposed amendment or amendments will be submitted to
the electors of this state for adoption or rejection.
(Source: P.A. 81-163.)
(5 ILCS 20/4) (from Ch. 1, par. 106)
Sec. 4. 
At the election, the proposed amendment and explanation shall
be printed on the top of the "Official Ballot" preceding all nominations of any political party upon a single ballot in accordance with the provisions of
Section 16-6 of the Election Code.
(Source: P.A. 103-467, eff. 8-4-23.)
(5 ILCS 20/5) (from Ch. 1, par. 107)
Sec. 5. 
		
		The votes cast for and against the proposed amendment or
amendments to the constitution shall be by the judges of such election
received, canvassed and returned to the county clerks of their
respective counties, at the same time and in the same manner as the
votes cast at the election for members of the General Assembly are by
law required to be received, canvassed and returned to the clerks.
(Source: Laws 1957, p. 1285.)
(5 ILCS 20/6) (from Ch. 1, par. 108)
Sec. 6. 
The county canvassing boards of the counties respectively
shall at the time it opens the returns and makes abstracts of the votes
cast at such elections for officers, also make abstracts in duplicate of
the votes cast for and against such proposed amendment or amendments to
the constitution. And immediately after the completion of the abstracts
the county canvassing boards shall inclose one of the same in a sealed
envelope, and indorse thereon the words "Abstract of votes for and
against amendment of the constitution," and address and mail the same to
the State Board of Elections, and shall file the other of the abstracts in the
county clerk's office.
(Source: P.A. 97-81, eff. 7-5-11.)
(5 ILCS 20/7) (from Ch. 1, par. 109)
Sec. 7. 
		
		The State Board of Elections created by the Election Code shall
proceed, within 20 days after the election and sooner if all the returns
are received, to canvass the votes given for and against said amendment
or amendments, as shown by said abstracts, and if it appears that a
majority of the electors voting in the election or 3/5 of the electors
voting on any such proposed amendment have voted for the proposed
amendment or amendments, the same shall by said board be declared
adopted, and become a part of the Constitution of this State, and the
Governor shall cause proclamation to be made of the result of the vote,
and that said amendment has become a part of the Constitution, by
publication in at least 2 newspapers published at the seat of
government.
(Source: P.A. 77-2790.)
(5 ILCS 20/7.1)
Sec. 7.1. 
		Effective date of amendments. 
		An amendment to the
constitution may include a schedule specifying when the amendment takes
effect.  An amendment to the constitution that includes a schedule shall, if
adopted, take effect in accordance with the schedule.  An amendment to the
constitution that does not include a schedule takes effect upon being
declared adopted in accordance with Section 7.
(Source: P.A. 88-597, eff. 8-28-94.)
(5 ILCS 20/8) (from Ch. 1, par. 110)
Sec. 8. 
		
		Whenever any amendments to the constitution shall have been
proposed to, and adopted by the electors of this state in the manner
provided by this act, the same shall be enrolled and numbered in the
order of time in which they may be adopted, and preserved by the
secretary of state among the records of his office.
(Source: Laws 1877, p. 4.)