ELECTION CODE-GA VACANCIES

Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HB4547

Select Language

×

The Illinois General Assembly offers the Google Translate™ service for visitor convenience. In no way should it be considered accurate as to the translation of any content herein.

Visitors of the Illinois General Assembly website are encouraged to use other translation services available on the internet.

The English language version is always the official and authoritative version of this website.

NOTE: To return to the original English language version, select the "Show Original" button on the Google Translate™ menu bar at the top of the window.

Choose Language

English

Afrikaans

Albanian

Arabic

Armenian

Azerbaijani

Basque

Bengali

Bosnian

Catalan

Croatian

Czech

Danish

Dutch

Esperanto

Estonian

Filipino

Finnish

French

Galician

Georgian

German

Greek

Gujarati

Haitian Creole

Hausa

Hawaiian

Hebrew

Hindi

Hungarian

Icelandic

Indonesian

Interlingua

Interlingue

Inuktitut

Irish

Italian

Japanese

Javanese

Kannada

Khmer

Korean

Latin

Latvian

Lithuanian

Luxembourgish

Macedonian

Malagasy

Malayalam

Maltese

Maori

Marathi

Myanmar

Nepali

Norwegian

Odia

Pashto

Punjabi

Romanian

Russian

Samoan

Sango

Sanskrit

Sardinian

Sindhi

Sinhala

Slovak

Slovenian

Somali

Southern Sotho

Spanish

Sundanese

Swahili

Swedish

Tamil

Telugu

Thai

Tigrinya

Tonga

Turkish

Ukrainian

Urdu

Vietnamese

Welsh

Xhosa

Yiddish

Yoruba

Zulu

Powered by
Translate

Close

Illinois General Assembly

Top Navigation Bar

Translate

Learn

Select General Assembly

Search the 104th General Assembly

Enter search terms for legislation, members, committees, or schedules.

ILGA.GOV

LEGISLATION & LAWS

Bills & Resolutions

Public Acts

Illinois Compiled Statutes

Illinois Constitution

Search Legislation

Glossary

Guide

Reports & Inquiry

Legislative Reports

Special Reports

FTP Site

Legislator Lookup

Capitol Complex Phone Numbers

Rules & Regulations

Illinois Register

Administrative Rules

Senate

Members

Schedules

Committees

Request for Remote Testimony

Journals

Transcripts

Rules

Audio/Video

FOIA Information

Senate Employment Opportunities

Media Guidelines

House

Members

Schedules

Committees

Submit testimony for House Committees

Journals

Transcripts

Rules

Audio/Video

FOIA Information

House Employment Opportunities

Log In

Mobile Top Bar

Search the 104th General Assembly

Enter keywords to search the Illinois General Assembly website.

Full Text of HB4547

Home

Legislation

Full Text

HB4547 - 104th General Assembly

Bill Status

Full Text

Votes

Witness Slips

Select Menu

Bill Status

Full Text

Votes

Witness Slips

Printer Friendly Version

Introduced

Printer Friendly Version

Introduced

Open PDF

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
HB4547

Introduced 1/30/2026, by Rep. Lindsey LaPointe

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

10 ILCS 5/25-6

from Ch. 46, par. 25-6

Amends the Election Code. Provides the procedure for filling a
vacancy of a Senator or Representative in the General Assembly. Provides
that within 3 days after a vacancy, the committee for that legislative or
representative district shall create a uniform application for candidates
seeking appointment and determine the date, time, and location at which
the committee shall make the appointment (allowing for at least 7 days of
public notice). Provides that applications received within 2 days before
the appointment shall be made publicly available. Provides that candidates
shall be granted an opportunity to present their credentials publicly and
take questions from the committeepersons. Provides for a proxy for a
committeeperson that is ineligible to vote for an appointment. Effective
immediately.
LRB104 18953 SPS 32398 b

A BILL FOR

HB4547
LRB104 18953 SPS 32398 b
1

AN ACT concerning elections.

2

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3
represented in the General Assembly:

4

Section 5.
The Election Code is amended by changing
5
Section 25-6 as follows:

6

(10 ILCS 5/25-6)

(from Ch. 46, par. 25-6)
7

Sec. 25-6.
General Assembly vacancies.
8

(a) When a vacancy occurs in the office of State Senator or
9
Representative in the General Assembly, the vacancy shall be
10
filled within 30 days by appointment of the legislative or
11
representative committee of that legislative or representative
12
district of the political party of which the incumbent was a
13
candidate at the time of his election
, as provided in
14
subsection (a-5)
. Prior to holding a meeting to fill the
15
vacancy, the committee shall make public (i) the names of the
16
committeeperson on the appropriate legislative or
17
representative committee, (ii) the date, time, and location of
18
the meeting to fill the vacancy, and (iii) any information on
19
how to apply or submit a name for consideration as the
20
appointee. A meeting to fill a vacancy in office shall be held
21
in the district or virtually, and any meeting shall be
22
accessible to the public. The appointee shall be a member of
23
the same political party as the person he succeeds was at the

HB4547
- 2 -
LRB104 18953 SPS 32398 b
1
time of his election, and shall be otherwise eligible to serve
2
as a member of the General Assembly.
3

(a-5) Within 3 days after a vacancy occurring in the
4
office of State Senator or Representative in the General
5
Assembly, the legislative or representative committee of that
6
legislative or representative district shall convene to: (i)
7
create a uniform application for all candidates seeking
8
appointment to the vacated office; and (ii) determine the
9
date, time, and location at which the committee shall make its
10
appointment, provided the date selected allows for at least 7
11
days of public notice before the appointment will occur. The
12
uniform application shall be made publicly available by all
13
committeepersons of the legislative or representative
14
district. Applications received within 2 days before the
15
appointment shall be made publicly available on the website of
16
the committeeperson holding the majority of the votes pursuant
17
to subsection (d). If 2 or more committeepersons hold the
18
majority of votes or in making appointments in legislative or
19
representative districts comprising only one county or part of
20
a county other than a county containing 2,000,000 or more
21
inhabitants, all such committeepersons shall be responsible
22
for making applications received within 2 days before the
23
appointment publicly available. On the day selected by the
24
committee for appointment, all candidates seeking appointment
25
shall be granted an opportunity to present their credentials
26
publicly to all in attendance and take questions from

HB4547
- 3 -
LRB104 18953 SPS 32398 b
1
committeepersons.

2

(a-10) If a committeeperson is ineligible to cast his or
3
her vote pursuant to subsection (d-5), because he or she is
4
also the former holder of the office now vacant, the
5
legislative or representative committee on which the former
6
officeholder serves as a committeeperson shall meet to elect a
7
proxy member to vote for the ineligible committeeperson. The
8
proxy shall be entitled to the same number of votes to which
9
the ineligible committeeperson would have otherwise been
10
entitled.

11

(b) When a vacancy occurs in the office of a legislator
12
elected other than as a candidate of a political party, the
13
vacancy shall be filled within 30 days of such occurrence by
14
appointment of the Governor. The appointee shall not be a
15
member of a political party, and shall be otherwise eligible
16
to serve as a member of the General Assembly. Provided,
17
however, the appropriate body of the General Assembly may, by
18
resolution, allow a legislator elected other than as a
19
candidate of a political party to affiliate with a political
20
party for his term of office in the General Assembly. A vacancy
21
occurring in the office of any such legislator who affiliates
22
with a political party pursuant to resolution shall be filled
23
within 30 days of such occurrence by appointment of the
24
appropriate legislative or representative committee of that
25
legislative or representative district of the political party
26
with which the legislator so affiliates. The appointee shall

HB4547
- 4 -
LRB104 18953 SPS 32398 b
1
be a member of the political party with which the incumbent
2
affiliated.
3

(c) For purposes of this Section, a person is a member of a
4
political party for 23 months after (i) signing a candidate
5
petition, as to the political party whose nomination is
6
sought; (ii) signing a statement of candidacy, as to the
7
political party where nomination or election is sought; (iii)
8
signing a Petition of Political Party Formation, as to the
9
proposed political party; (iv) applying for and receiving a
10
primary ballot, as to the political party whose ballot is
11
received; or (v) becoming a candidate for election to or
12
accepting appointment to the office of ward, township,
13
precinct or state central committeeperson.
14

(d) In making appointments under this Section
, except as
15
provided in subsection (d-5)
, each committeeperson of the
16
appropriate legislative or representative committee shall be
17
entitled to one vote for each vote that was received, in that
18
portion of the legislative or representative district which he
19
represents on the committee, by the Senator or Representative
20
whose seat is vacant at the general election at which that
21
legislator was elected to the seat which has been vacated and a
22
majority of the total number of votes received in such
23
election by the Senator or Representative whose seat is vacant
24
is required for the appointment of his successor; provided,
25
however, that in making appointments in legislative or
26
representative districts comprising only one county or part of

HB4547
- 5 -
LRB104 18953 SPS 32398 b
1
a county other than a county containing 2,000,000 or more
2
inhabitants, each committeeperson shall be entitled to cast
3
only one vote.
4

(d-5) A State Senator or Representative who is also a
5
committeeperson, elected pursuant to subsection (b) of Section
6
7-8, is prohibited from participating in the appointment of
7
his or her successor. If the vacancy in the office of State
8
Senator or Representative is to be filled by the legislative
9
or representative committee on which the former officeholder
10
serves as a committeeperson, he or she shall not participate
11
in the selection process or cast any votes for a candidate. Any
12
votes he or she would have voted pursuant to subsection (d)
13
shall be voted by the proxy member elected by the other
14
committeepersons of the legislative or representative
15
committee, pursuant to subsection (a-10).

16

(e) Appointments made under this Section shall be in
17
writing and shall be signed by members of the legislative or
18
representative committee whose total votes are sufficient to
19
make the appointments or by the Governor, as the case may be.
20
Such appointments shall be filed with the Secretary of State
21
and with the Clerk of the House of Representatives or the
22
Secretary of the Senate, whichever is appropriate.
23

(f) An appointment made under this Section shall be for
24
the remainder of the term, except that, if the appointment is
25
to fill a vacancy in the office of State Senator and the
26
vacancy occurs with more than 28 months remaining in the term,

HB4547
- 6 -
LRB104 18953 SPS 32398 b
1
the term of the appointment shall expire at the time of the
2
next general election at which time a Senator shall be elected
3
for a new term commencing on the determination of the results
4
of the election and ending on the second Wednesday of January
5
in the second odd-numbered year next occurring. If a vacancy
6
in office of State Senator occurs with more than 28 months
7
remaining in the term and after the period for filing
8
petitions for the general primary election, then the
9
appropriate legislative committee for the applicable political
10
party may fill a vacancy in nomination for that office in
11
accordance with Section 7-61 for the next general election,
12
except that each committeeperson of the appropriate
13
legislative committee shall be entitled to one vote for each
14
vote received, by the Senator whose seat is vacant, in the
15
portion of the legislative district that the committeeperson
16
represents on the committee, at the most recent general
17
election at which that Senator was elected. A majority of the
18
total number of votes received in that election by the Senator
19
whose seat is vacant is required to fill the vacancy in
20
nomination. However, in filling a vacancy in nomination in a
21
legislative district composed of only one county or part of a
22
county, other than a county containing 2,000,000 or more
23
inhabitants, each committeeperson shall be entitled to cast
24
only one vote. Whenever a Senator has been appointed to fill a
25
vacancy and was thereafter elected to that office, the term of
26
service under the authority of the election shall be

HB4547
- 7 -
LRB104 18953 SPS 32398 b
1
considered a new term of service, separate from the term of
2
service rendered under the authority of the appointment.
3
(Source: P.A. 102-15, eff. 6-17-21; 103-586, eff. 5-3-24.)

4

Section 99.
Effective date.
This Act takes effect upon
5
becoming law.

Footer

Disclaimer

This site is maintained for the Illinois General Assembly by the
Legislative Information System, 705 Stratton Building, Springfield, Illinois 62706.

Contact ILGA Webmaster

ILGA.gov uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By continuing to browse ILGA.gov you consent to our use of cookies.
Read About Cookies

ILGA.GOV

2026 ILGA.gov | All Rights Reserved |
ADA

|
Disclaimers
|
Learn

This site is maintained for the Illinois General Assembly by the
Legislative Information System, 705 Stratton Building, Springfield, Illinois 62706.
Contact ILGA Webmaster

ILGA.gov uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By continuing to browse ILGA.gov you consent to our use of cookies.
Read About Cookies

ILGA.GOV

2026 ILGA.gov | All Rights Reserved |
ADA

|
Disclaimers
|
Learn