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Illinois Senate
Type
Type	Upper house
Leadership
President of the Senate	John Cullerton, (D); since January 14, 2009
Majority Leader	James Clayborne, Jr., (D); since November 20, 2008
Minority Leader	Christine Radogno, (R); since November 19, 2008
Structure
Members	59
Political groups	Democratic Party; Republican Party
Election
Last election	November 4, 2008
Meeting place
	Illinois State Capitol, Springfield, IL, U.S.
Website
	http://www.ilga.gov/senate/

The Illinois Senate is the upper chamber of the Illinois General Assembly, the legislative branch of the government of the state of Illinois in the United States. The body was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. The Illinois Senate is made up of 59 senators elected from individual legislative districts determined by population. 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.^[1] Depending on the election year, roughly ⅓, ⅔, or all of the senate seats may have terms ending. In contrast, the Illinois House of Representatives is made up of 118 members with its entire membership elected to two-year terms. House districts are formed by dividing each Senate district in half.^[2]

The Illinois Senate convenes at the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield, 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.

[edit] Party summary

Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)		Total

	Democratic	Republican		Vacant
End of previous legislature	37	22	59	0

Begin	37	22	59	0
Latest voting share	62.7%	37.3%

[edit] Leadership

[edit] Majority

[edit] Minority

Minority Leader: Christine Radogno
Deputy Minority Leader: Dale Righter
Assistant Minority Leaders:
Minority Caucus Chair: Dave Syverson
Minority Whip: Carole Pankau

[edit] Officers

Secretary of the Senate: Jillayne Rock
Assistant Secretary of the Senate: Scott Kaiser
Sergeant-at-Arms: Claricel Agans-Dominguez

[edit] Members of the Illinois Senate

District	Representative	Party	Residence	Term Up
1	Munoz, AntonioAntonio Munoz	Democratic	Chicago	2010
2	Delgado, WilliamWilliam Delgado	Democratic	Chicago	2012
3	Hunter, MattieMattie Hunter	Democratic	Chicago	2012
4	Lightford, Kimberly A.Kimberly A. Lightford	Democratic	Chicago	2010
5	Hendon, Rickey R.Rickey R. Hendon	Democratic	Chicago	2012
6	Cullerton, JohnJohn Cullerton	Democratic	Chicago	2012
7	Steans, HeatherHeather Steans	Democratic	Chicago	2010
8	Silverstein, IraIra Silverstein	Democratic	Chicago	2012
9	Schoenberg, JeffreyJeffrey Schoenberg	Democratic	Evanston	2012
10	DeLeo, JamesJames DeLeo	Democratic	Chicago	2010
11	Viverito, LouisLouis Viverito	Democratic	Burbank	2012
12	Sandoval, MartinMartin Sandoval	Democratic	Chicago	2012
13	Raoul, KwameKwame Raoul	Democratic	Chicago	2010
14	Jones III, EmilEmil Jones III	Democratic	Chicago	2012
15	Meeks, JamesJames Meeks	Democratic	Chicago	2012
16	Collins, Jacqueline Y.Jacqueline Y. Collins	Democratic	Chicago	2010
17	Trotter, DonneDonne Trotter	Democratic	Chicago	2012
18	Maloney, EdwardEdward Maloney	Democratic	Chicago	2012
19	Crotty, MaggieMaggie Crotty	Democratic	Oak Forest	2010
20	Martinez, IrisIris Martinez	Democratic	Chicago	2012
21	Cronin, DanielDaniel Cronin	Republican	Elmhurst	2012
22	Noland, MichaelMichael Noland	Democratic	Elgin	2010
23	Pankau, CaroleCarole Pankau	Republican	Bloomingdale	2012
24	Dillard, Kirk W.Kirk W. Dillard	Republican	Hinsdale	2012
25	Lauzen, ChrisChris Lauzen	Republican	Aurora	2010
26	Duffy, DanDan Duffy	Republican	Lake Barrington	2012
27	Murphy, MattMatt Murphy	Republican	Palatine	2012
28	Millner, John J.John J. Millner	Republican	St. Charles	2010
29	Garrett, SusanSusan Garrett	Democratic	Highwood	2012
30	Link, TerryTerry Link	Democratic	Vernon Hills	2012
31	Bond, MichaelMichael Bond	Democratic	Grayslake	2010
32	Althoff, PamelaPamela Althoff	Republican	Crystal Lake	2012
33	Kotowski, DanDan Kotowski	Democratic	Park Ridge	2012
34	Syverson, DaveDave Syverson	Republican	Rockford	2010
35	Burzynski, J. BradleyJ. Bradley Burzynski	Republican	Sycamore	2012
36	Jacobs, MikeMike Jacobs	Democratic	East Moline	2012
37	Risinger, DaleDale Risinger	Republican	Peoria	2010
38	Dahl, Gary G.Gary G. Dahl	Republican	Peru	2012
39	Harmon, DonDon Harmon	Democratic	Oak Park	2012
40	Hutchinson, ToiToi Hutchinson	Democratic	Crete	2010
41	Radogno, ChristineChristine Radogno	Republican	Lemont	2012
42	Holmes, LindaLinda Holmes	Democratic	Aurora	2012
43	Wilhelmi, ArthurArthur Wilhelmi	Democratic	Joliet	2010
44	Brady, BillBill Brady	Republican	Bloomington	2012
45	Bivins, TimTim Bivins	Republican	Dixon	2012
46	Koehler, DavidDavid Koehler	Democratic	Pekin	2010
47	Sullivan, John M.John M. Sullivan	Democratic	Rushville	2012
48	Hultgren, RandyRandy Hultgren	Republican	Wheaton	2012
49	Demuzio, DeannaDeanna Demuzio	Democratic	Carlinville	2010
50	Bomke, LarryLarry Bomke	Republican	Springfield	2012
51	McCarter, KyleKyle McCarter	Republican	Greenville	2012^[3]
52	Frerichs, MikeMike Frerichs	Democratic	Gifford	2010
53	Rutherford, DanDan Rutherford	Republican	Pontiac	2012
54	Jones, John O.John O. Jones	Republican	Mount Vernon	2012
55	Righter, DaleDale Righter	Republican	Mattoon	2010
56	Haine, William R.William R. Haine	Democratic	Alton	2012
57	Clayborne, Jr., JamesJames Clayborne, Jr.	Democratic	Belleville	2012
58	Luechtefeld, DavidDavid Luechtefeld	Republican	Okawville	2010
59	Forby, GaryGary Forby	Democratic	Benton	2012

[edit] References

^ Illinois Constitution Article IV, Section 2(a) http://www.ilga.gov/commission/lrb/con4.htm
^ Illinois Constitution Article IV, Section 2(b) http://www.ilga.gov/commission/lrb/con4.htm
^ McCarter was appointed to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Frank Watson. A special election will be held at the general election in November 2010 to fill the remainder of vacancy.

[edit] External links

Illinois General Assembly - Senate official government website
Illinois Senate Republicans official party website
Illinois Senate Democrats official party website
Project Vote Smart - State Senate of Illinois voter information

[0] Illinois Constitution Article IV, Section 2(a) http://www.ilga.gov/commission/lrb/con4.htm

[1] Illinois Constitution Article IV, Section 2(b) http://www.ilga.gov/commission/lrb/con4.htm

[2] McCarter was appointed to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Frank Watson. A special election will be held at the general election in November 2010 to fill the remainder of vacancy.

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[2]

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