1. This week’s edition of #50Weeks50Constitutions explores the constitutional history of Illinois, the #LandofLincoln (& a couple other presidents too) & our 3d state in this series admitted under the Northwest Ordinance.
2. The Illinois territory was originally governed from Indiana, but the people felt that was just too far away, so they decided to make it on their own! Illinois became a separate territory in 1809 & began taking serious steps toward statehood in 1812.
3. By 1817 the Illinois legislature was ready to petition Congress for statehood. But first, they had to prove that Illinois had at least 40K inhabitants & adopt a constitution acceptable to Congress. So, the legislature convened a convention to address both of these.
4. The convention quickly decided that there were over 40,000 inhabitants in Illinois (historians say unlikely) so they set out to draft a constitution. Luckily, they had a lot of examples to draw from, especially borrowing from Ohio, Tennessee, Kentucky & Indiana.
5. The original constitution set up the typical bicameral legislature, a Supreme Court & a governor. The governor sat on a council of revision with Supreme Court justices. They could “veto” laws, but the legislature could override it by a simple majority vote.
6. The legislature & the governor were popularly elected, & the legislature had the sole power of electing the justices of the Supreme Court. All white men over 21 were eligible to vote & there were neither property nor citizenship requirements.
7. The constitution also had a Declaration of Rights with many of the traditional protections included. It was appended at the end & drew heavily from the Declarations of other similar states at that time.
8. The convention finished the constitution in August 1818 & sent it to Congress for approval. The debate in Congress was all about (you guessed it) slavery. But the petition was approved & with the signature of President Monroe in December 1818, Illinois became a state.
9. This constitution lasted until 1848, when it was replaced by a constitution approved by 75% of voters. But the changes were unexciting for the most part which in turn led to a relatively low voter turnout.
10. The 1848 Constitution focused on restricting the power of the General Assembly & giving more power to the people—a common development for the time. Additionally, the counsels of revision were also abolished & power was given to the governor to act as a check on the GA.
11. The issues stemming from this constitution were felt almost immediately. The restrictions made the government less able to respond to the problems of the Civil War. The problems were so bad, a convention was actually called during the war, but nothing really came of it.
12. Another convention was held in 1869 out of which came the constitution of 1870. This document limited suffrage to only men over 21 & refused to even submit a separate provision on women’s suffrage to the voters. So, nothing radical here.
13. This constitution also gave the governor strong appointment and removal powers and a strong veto. Now, it would take 2/3 of each house to override a governor’s veto. No easy task.
14. It also required the GA to provide a system of public education for the children of the state, but prohibited all aid to sectarian schools, a nod to opponents of the vast numbers of Catholic immigrants in Chicago.
Can anyone say #BlaineAmendments?
ij.org/issues/school-…
Can anyone say #BlaineAmendments?
ij.org/issues/school-…
15. This constitution was amended semi-frequently in its early years, including to give the governor the line-item veto. But the process of amending the constitution was made more difficult by a 1917 Illinois Supreme Court decision: People v. Stevenson (117 N.E. 747).
16. The court determined that the majority of voters needed to pass the amendment would be measured against all voters in the election. Meaning, those who voted neither yay nor nay on the specific amendment were counted as no-votes.
17. This constitution also had many problems and a convention was even called. But the constitution drafted by that convention was rejected by the voters in 1922. After multiple other failed attempts, a new convention was convened in 1969.
18. This effort was successful, was approved by the voters, and went into effect in 1970. It is one of the country’s most recent constitutions. It did a lot of updating & added a Baby Ninth Amendment & an anti-discrimination provision.
19. Interestingly, this constitution also requires that the voters be asked if a new convention is desired at least once every 20 years. It has been rejected twice, including in 2008 when Illinois voters had more on their mind.
20. But, another vote is coming up soon so who knows! This is what makes state constitutions so exciting! There is much more of a chance for change than on the federal level. So keep an eye on the #LandofLincoln and keep following #50Weeks50Constitutions.
