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Laws governing recall in Illinois
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A recall election is the process by which citizens may remove elected officials from office before the expiration of their terms. This article summarizes the laws governing recall elections in Illinois. Illinois allows for the recall of the governor and some local officials.
In 39 states, local officials can be subject to recall elections. Of those, 19 also permit recalls of state-level officials. Eleven states do not permit recalls of elected officials at any level. Click here for more information.
Offices subject to recall
Federal officials
The U.S. Constitution does not provide for the recall of elected federal officials. While some state constitutions have stated that their citizens have the right to recall members of Congress, the Supreme Court has never ruled on whether such recalls are constitutional.[1] Ballotpedia does not provide coverage of federal recalls. Click here for more information.
State officials
On November 2, 2010, Illinois voters approved the Illinois Gubernatorial Recall Amendment, which added a provision to the state constitution allowing the governor to be recalled.[2][3][4][5]
Local officials
The Illinois Constitution does not provide for the recall of local officials; the availability of recall at the local level is determined by individual jurisdictions.[5][6] At the local level, Illinois has seen recall used in Buffalo Grove, where City Council member Lisa Stone was removed from office in a November 2, 2010, recall election.[7][8] The recall of Lisa Stone is considered the first local recall in Illinois history.[9] It was made possible after city election laws were amended in 2010 to permit local recall elections.[10][6]
Process
Petition
Certifying the petition
In Illinois, a gubernatorial recall may be initiated after the governor has served six months in office. The process begins with a notice of intent filed with the State Board of Elections, signed by at least 20 state representatives and 10 state senators, with bipartisan representation required in both chambers.[11]
Collecting petition signatures
Petitioners may start gathering signatures after certification of the petition form. The petition must contain signatures representing at least 15% of the votes cast in the prior governor’s election, including at least 100 signatures from 25 different counties.[11]
Filing the petition
Completed petitions must be filed within 150 days after the petition has been filed with the State Board of Elections.[11]
Localized requirements
No specific grounds are required for recall in Illinois. The Illinois Constitution does not specifically address recall of local officials. Because of this, recalls of local officials in the state are determined by locality.[5][6]
Legislation involving recall elections
The table below lists bills related to recall elections in Illinois. The following information is included for each bill:
- State
- Bill number
- Official bill name or caption
- Most recent action date
- Legislative status
- Sponsor party
- Topics dealt with by the bill
Bills are organized by most recent action. The table displays up to 100 results. To view more bills, use the arrows in the upper-right corner. Clicking on a bill will open its page on Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker, which includes bill details and a summary.
See also
What are recalls?
Recall efforts
Ballotpedia's Recall Report
Recalls by state
Recalls by office
Recall laws
Footnotes
- ↑ Congressional Research Service, "Recall of Legislators and the Removal of Members of Congress from Office," January 5, 2012
- ↑ WLS, "Voters approve governor recall measure," November 3, 2010
- ↑ The News-Gazette, "Proposed amendment for recalling governors advances," May 31, 2009 (dead link)
- ↑ Northwest Herald, "Recall will be on Nov. ballot," June 7, 2010
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Illinois General Assembly, "Constitution of the State of Illinois," accessed June 26, 2013
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Daily Herald, "Buffalo Grove puts Stone vote to public," August 10, 2010
- ↑ Buffalo Grove Patch, "he Verdict's In — Stone is Out," November 3, 2010
- ↑ BuffaloGrove-Countryside, "Buffalo Grove trustees praise recall proposal," September 21, 2009
- ↑ Daily Herald, "Buffalo Grove recall vote to make history," October 31, 2010
- ↑ Chicago Now, "Buffalo Grove Recall Ordinance violates US Constitution, IL Constitution, IL Election Code," September 29, 2009
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Illinois General Assembly, "Illinois – Const. Art. 3, §7," accessed September 16, 2025
