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2024 Illinois legislative session
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| 2024 Illinois legislative session |
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| General information |
| Scheduled session start: Jan. 16, 2024 Scheduled session end: May 24, 2024 |
| Leadership |
| Senate President Don Harmon (D) House Speaker |
| Elections |
| Next Election: November 5, 2024 Last Election: November 8, 2022 |
| Previous legislative sessions |
| 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 |
| Other 2024 legislative sessions |
In 2024, the Illinois State Legislature was scheduled to convene on January 16 and adjourn on May 24.
The legislators serving in this session took office following the 2022 elections. Democrats won a 40-19 majority in the Senate and a 78-39 majority in the House. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Democratic state government trifecta. At the start of the 2024 session, Illinois was one of nine state legislatures where Democrats had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.
Leadership in 2024
Illinois State Senate
- Senate president: Don Harmon (D)
- Majority leader: Kimberly Lightford (D)
- Minority leader: John Curran (R)
Illinois House of Representatives
- Speaker of the House: Chris Welch (D)
- Majority leader: Robyn Gabel (D)
- Minority leader: Tony McCombie (R)
Partisan control in 2024
- See also: State government trifectas
Illinois was one of 17 Democratic state government trifectas at the start of 2024 legislative sessions. A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. For more information about state government trifectas, click here.
Illinois was also one of nine state legislatures where Democrats had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers. Veto overrides occur when a legislature votes to reverse a veto issued by an executive such as a governor or the president. If one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party, it is called a veto-proof majority or, sometimes, a supermajority. To read more about veto-proof supermajorities in state legislatures, click here.
The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the Illinois State Legislature in the 2024 legislative session.
Illinois State Senate
| Party | As of January 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 40 | |
| Republican Party | 19 | |
| Total | 59 | |
Illinois House of Representatives
| Party | As of January 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 78 | |
| Republican Party | 40 | |
| Total | 118 | |
Standing legislative committees
A standing committee of a state legislature is a committee that exists on a more-or-less permanent basis, from legislative session to session, that considers and refines legislative bills that fall under the committee's subject matter.
At the beginning of the 2024 legislative session, there were 81 standing committees in Illinois' state government, including four joint legislative committees, 30 state Senate committees, and 47 state House committees.
Joint legislative committees
- Administrative Rules Committee
- Joint Comm. on Government Reform Committee
- Legislative Audit Commission
- Legislative Ethics Commission
Senate committees
- Agriculture Committee
- Appropriations Committee
- Assignments Committee
- Behavioral and Mental Health
- Commerce Committee
- Committee of the Whole
- Criminal Law Committee
- Education Committee
- Energy and Public Utilities Committee
- Environment and Conservation Committee
- Ethics Committee
- Executive Appointments Committee
- Healthcare Access and Availability Committee
- Human Rights Committee
- Judiciary Committee
- Labor Committee
- Local Government Committee
- Pensions Committee
- Redistricting Committee
- Revenue Committee
- Senate Executive Committee
- Senate Financial Institutions Committee
- Senate Higher Education Committee
- Senate Human Services Committee
- Senate Insurance Committee
- Senate Licensed Activities Committee
- State Government Committee
- Tourism and Hospitality Committee
- Transportation Committee
- Veterans Affairs Committee
House committees
- Adoption & Child Welfare Committee
- Agriculture & Conservation Committee
- Appropriations-Elementary & Secondary Education Committee
- Appropriations-General Service Committee
- Appropriations-Higher Education Committee
- Appropriations-Human Services Committee
- Appropriations-Public Safety Committee
- Child Care Accessibility & Early Childhood Education Committee
- Cities & Villages Committee
- Consumer Protection Committee
- Counties & Townships Committee
- Cybersecurity, Data Analytics, and IT Committee
- Economic Opportunity & Equity Committee
- Elections & Campaign Finance Committee
- Elementary & Secondary Education Charter School Policy Committee
- Elementary & Secondary Education: Administration, Licensing & Charter School Committee
- Elementary & Secondary Education: School Curriculum & Policies Committee
- Energy & Environment Committee
- Ethics & Elections Committee
- Health Care Availability & Accessibility Committee
- Health Care Licenses Committee
- House Executive Committee
- House Financial Institutions Committee
- House Higher Education Committee
- House Human Services Committee
- House Insurance Committee
- Housing Committee
- Immigration & Human Rights Committee
- International Trade & Commerce Committee
- Judiciary - Civil Committee
- Judiciary - Criminal Committee
- Labor & Commerce Committee
- Mental Health & Addiction Committee
- Museums, Arts, & Cultural Enhancements Committee
- Personnel & Pensions Committee
- Police & Fire Committee
- Prescription Drug Affordability & Accessibility Committee
- Public Utilities Committee
- Restorative Justice Committee
- Revenue & Finance Committee
- Rules Committee
- Small Business, Tech Innovation, and Entrepreneurship Committee
- State Government Administration Committee
- Tourism Committee
- Transportation: Regulation, Roads & Bridges Committee
- Transportation: Vehicles & Safety Committee
- Veterans' Affairs Committee
Legislation
Enacted legislation
The list below shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2024 legislative session that most recently passed both chambers of the legislature, were signed by the governor, or were approved by the legislature in a veto override. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation met these criteria in 2024. This information is provided by BillTrack50.
Election administration legislation
State election laws are changing. Keeping track of the latest developments in all 50 states can seem like an impossible job. Here's the solution: Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker.
Ballotpedia's Election Administration Tracker sets the industry standard for ease of use, flexibility, and raw power. Ballotpedia's election experts provide daily updates on bills and other relevant political developments, translate complex bill text into easy-to-understand summaries written in everyday language, and, because it's from Ballotpedia, our Tracker is guaranteed to be neutral, unbiased, and nonpartisan.
The table below lists 2024 election-related legislation in Illinois. The following information is included for each bill:
- Bill number
- Official name or caption
- Most recent action date
- Legislative status
- Topics dealt with by the bill
Bills are organized by bill number. The table displays up to 100 results by default. To view additional results, use the arrows in the upper-right corner of the table. For more information about a particular bill, simply click the bill number. This will open a separate page with additional information.
Legislatively referred constitutional amendments
In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are also many other types of statewide measures.
The methods by which the Illinois Constitution can be amended:
The Illinois Constitution provides four mechanisms for amending the state constitution—a constitutional convention, a legislative process, and a citizen-initiated process.
Initiative
- See also: Initiated constitutional amendment
An initiated constitutional amendment is a citizen-initiated ballot measure that amends a state's constitution. Eighteen (18) states allow citizens to initiate constitutional amendments.
In Illinois, the number of signatures required for an initiated constitutional amendment is equal to 8% of votes cast for governor in the previous gubernatorial election. Initiated measures in Illinois may only amend Article IV of the Illinois Constitution, which addresses the structure of the Illinois State Legislature. All amendments must be approved by either a majority of those voting in the election or three-fifths of those voting on the amendment itself.
Legislature
According to Article XVI, the state Legislature can refer constitutional amendments to the ballot for voters to decide. A 60% vote is required during one legislative session for the Illinois General Assembly to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 71 votes in the Illinois House of Representatives and 36 votes in the Illinois State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.
Convention
According to Article XIV of the Illinois Constitution, a question about whether to hold a constitutional convention is to automatically appear on the state's ballot every 20 years starting in 1918. Illinois is one of 14 states that provides for an automatic constitutional convention question. A constitutional convention question can also be placed before the state's voters if 60% of the members of both houses of the Illinois General Assembly vote in the affirmative. If such a question does appear on the ballot, it must be affirmed by a supermajority vote of 60% of those voting on the question or a majority of those who cast a ballot for any office in that election.
The table below shows the last and next constitutional convention question election years:
| State | Interval | Last question on the ballot | Next question on the ballot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois | 20 years | 2008 | 2028 |
Historical partisan control
The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of Illinois.
Illinois Party Control: 1992-2025
Nineteen years of Democratic trifectas • Two years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
| Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
| Senate | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
| House | D | D | D | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D |
Historical Senate control
Democrats won control of the Illinois State Senate in 2002. In 2022, they won a 40-19 majority.
The table below shows the partisan history of the Illinois Senate following every general election from 1992 to 2022. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.
Illinois State Senate election results: 1992-2022
| Year | '92 | '94 | '96 | '98 | '00 | '02 | '04 | '06 | '08 | '10 | '12 | '14 | '16 | '18 | '20 | '22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democrats | 27 | 26 | 28 | 27 | 27 | 32 | 31 | 37 | 37 | 35 | 40 | 39 | 37 | 40 | 41 | 40 |
| Republicans | 32 | 33 | 31 | 32 | 32 | 27 | 27 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 19 | 20 | 22 | 19 | 18 | 19 |
From 1900 to 2022, the Illinois State Senate switched partisan control nine times.
Historical House control
Democrats won control of the Illinois House of Representatives in 1996. In 2022, they won a 78-40 majority.
The table below shows the partisan history of the Illinois House following every general election from 1992 to 2022. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.
Illinois House of Representatives election results: 1992-2022
| Year | '92 | '94 | '96 | '98 | '00 | '02 | '04 | '06 | '08 | '10 | '12 | '14 | '16 | '18 | '20 | '22 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democrats | 67 | 54 | 60 | 62 | 62 | 66 | 65 | 66 | 70 | 64 | 71 | 71 | 67 | 74 | 73 | 78 |
| Republicans | 51 | 64 | 58 | 56 | 56 | 52 | 53 | 52 | 48 | 54 | 47 | 47 | 51 | 44 | 45 | 40 |
From 1900 to 2022, the Illinois House of Representatives switched partisan control 15 times.
See also
| Elections | Illinois State Government | State Legislatures | State Politics |
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External links
Footnotes
