Government of Illinois

The executive branch is composed of six elected officers and their offices, as well as numerous other departments. Illinois is one of 26 states that elect their governor on the same ticket as their lieutenant governor.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nlga.us/lt-governors/office-of-lieutenant-governor/methods-of-election/|title=Methods of Election {{!}} National Lieutenant Governors Association (NLGA)|language=en-US|access-date=2019-01-15}} The six elected officers are:

{{Gallery|width=160 | height=170

|File:J. B. Pritzker (cropped).jpg|J. B. Pritzker (D)
Governor

|File:Juliana Stratton (cropped).jpg|Juliana Stratton (D)
Lieutenant Governor

|File:Kwame Raoul RFCG.jpg|Kwame Raoul (D)
Attorney General

|File:Alexi_Giannoulias (1).jpg|Alexi Giannoulias (D)
Secretary of State

|File:Susana Mendoza Blue Suit.jpg|Susana Mendoza (D)
Comptroller

|File:Frerichs June 30 2016.jpg|Mike Frerichs (D)
Treasurer

}}

{{further|List of Illinois state agencies}}

The government of Illinois has numerous departments, agencies, boards and commissions; however, the code departments, so called because they are established by the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois, provide most of the state's services:{{cite book|title=Governing Illinois: Your Connection to State and Local Government|chapter=The Governor and the Executive Branch|pages=77–79|first=Judy Lee|last=Uphoff|editor1-first=Nancy S.|editor1-last=Lind|editor2-first=Erik|editor2-last=Rankin|edition=4th|publisher=Center Publications, Center for State Policy and Leadership, University of Illinois Springfield|year=2012|isbn=978-0-938943-28-0|url=http://illinoisissues.uis.edu/images/Chapter5Draft.pdf|access-date=2013-11-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130622010608/http://illinoisissues.uis.edu/images/Chapter5Draft.pdf|archive-date=2013-06-22|url-status=dead}}{{ILCS|20|5}}

• Department on Aging
• Department of Agriculture
• Department of Central Management Services
• Department of Children and Family Services File:James R. Thompson Center.JPG in the Loop]]
• Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity
• Department of Corrections
• Emergency Management Agency
• Department of Employment Security
• Department of Financial and Professional Regulation
• Department of Healthcare and Family Services
• Department of Human Rights
• Department of Human Services
• Department of Juvenile Justice
• Department of Labor
• Department of the Lottery
• Department of Natural Resources
• Department of Public Health
• Department of Revenue
• Department of State Police
• Department of Transportation
• Department of Veterans' Affairs

Former Lt. Governor and Attorney General Neil Hartigan currently serves as General Counsel to The Governor of Illinois (J.B. Pritzker). Regulations are codified in the Illinois Administrative Code.{{cite book|title=Tapping State Government Information Sources|page=126|first1=Lori L.|last1=Smith|first2=Daniel C.|last2=Barkley|first3=Daniel C.|last3=Cornwall|first4=Eric W.|last4=Johnson|first5=J. Louise|last5=Malcomb|year=2003|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=1-57356-387-0|lccn=2002044846|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4zo-J7chfmMC&pg=PA126}} The Illinois Register is the weekly publication containing proposed and adopted rules.

File:Illinois State Senate.jpg in Springfield]]

The Illinois General Assembly is the state legislature, composed of the 118-member Illinois House of Representatives and the 59-member Illinois Senate. Representatives elect from their chamber a Speaker and Speaker pro tempore, and senators elect from the chamber a President of the Senate.

The Governor has different types of vetoes, such as a full veto, reduction veto, and an amendatory veto, but the General Assembly has the power to override gubernatorial vetoes through a three-fifths majority vote of each chamber. The General Assembly's session laws are published in the official Laws of Illinois.{{cite web|title=Illinois Legal Research Guide|access-date=5 September 2013|publisher=University of Chicago Library|url=https://www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/law/db/ref/illinois.html}} The Illinois Compiled Statutes (ILCS) are the codified statutes of a general and permanent nature.{{cite book|title=Illinois Criminal Law: A Survey of Crimes and Defenses|first1=John F.|last1=Decker|first2=Christopher|last2=Kopacz|year=2012|edition=5th|publisher=LexisNexis|isbn=978-0-7698-5284-3|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=l2I_8OvYAVYC&pg=PT24|at=§ 1.01}}

{{main article|Judiciary of Illinois}}

File:Chicago 6.JPG in Chicago houses offices and courtrooms for the Cook County Circuit Court]]

The Supreme Court has limited original jurisdiction and has final appellate jurisdiction. It has mandatory jurisdiction in capital cases and cases where the constitutionality of laws has been called into question, and has discretionary jurisdiction from the Appellate Court. The Appellate Court is the court of first appeal for civil and criminal cases rising in the Illinois circuit courts.

The circuit courts are trial courts of original jurisdiction. There are 25 judicial circuits in the state (24 numbered circuits and one for Cook County), each comprising one or more of Illinois' 102 counties.{{cite book|title=Illinois Legal Research|last=Wojcik|first=Mark E.|year=2003|page=[https://archive.org/details/illinoislegalres0000wojc/page/38 38]|publisher=Carolina Academic Press|isbn=0-89089-339-X|lccn=2003110318|oclc=52972867|url=https://archive.org/details/illinoislegalres0000wojc/page/38}} The circuit court has general jurisdiction and can decide, with few exceptions, any kind of case.

File:James R. Thompson Center (51573845537).jpg, which has offices of Illinois officials. Pat Gauen, columnist of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, argued that Chicago is "de facto" state co-capital with SpringfieldGauen, Pat. "[http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/columns/pat-gauen/illinois-corruption-explained-the-capital-is-too-far-from-chicago/article_c38d21b7-0134-5124-b56f-3bc99a60c327.html Illinois corruption explained: the capital is too far from Chicago ]" ([https://web.archive.org/web/20160915191211/http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/columns/pat-gauen/illinois-corruption-explained-the-capital-is-too-far-from-chicago/article_c38d21b7-0134-5124-b56f-3bc99a60c327.html Archive]). St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved on May 26, 2016.]]

Springfield is the state capital. Many state offices are in Springfield, and it is the regular meeting place of the Illinois General Assembly. All officers chosen in statewide elections are required to have at least one residence in Springfield, funded by the state government.Reeder, Scott. "[http://ilnews.org/2831/what-does-it-cost-taxpayers-to-pay-for-lawmakers-empty-springfield-residences/ What does it cost taxpayers to pay for lawmakers’ empty Springfield residences?]" ([https://web.archive.org/web/20160617094836/http://ilnews.org/2831/what-does-it-cost-taxpayers-to-pay-for-lawmakers-empty-springfield-residences/ Archive]). Illinois News Network. September 11, 2014. Retrieved on May 26, 2016.

Cabinet officers and constitutional officer conduct much of their business at state offices in Chicago. In 2012, St. Louis Post-Dispatch columnist Pat Gauen argued that "in the reality of Illinois politics, [Springfield] shares de facto capital status with Chicago." According to Gauen, "Everybody who's anybody in Illinois government has an office in Chicago." University of Illinois researcher and former member of the Illinois legislature Jim Nowlan stated "It’s almost like Chicago is becoming the shadow capital of Illinois" and that "Springfield is almost become a hinterland outpost." A former director of the Southern Illinois University Paul Simon Institute for Public Affairs, Mike Lawrence, criticized state officials for spending so little time in Springfield since it estranged them from and devalued Illinois state employees in that city.

In 2007, Illinois state representative Raymond Poe sponsored House Bill 1959, which proposed ending state financing for officers' travel to Springfield. "The state capital is Springfield, and that should be their work location," said Poe. "[http://www.sj-r.com/Sections/News/Stories/110049.asp Committee votes to cut off funds for agency chiefs traveling here / Poe says capital is where they're supposed to be]" {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160809144332/http://www.sj-r.com/Sections/News/Stories/110049.asp |date=2016-08-09 }}. The State Journal-Register. March 15, 2007. Retrieved on May 26, 2016. Available on NewsBank, accessible from [http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_action=keyword&s_search_type=keyword&p_product=JR&p_theme=gatehouse the newspaper archives].

{{main article|Administrative divisions of Illinois}}

{{see also|Government of Cook County, Illinois|Government of Chicago}}

File:A lifelong job-the constant protection of their health-The Cook County Public Health Unit LCCN98513455.jpg poster for the Cook County Public Health Unit (1941)]]

The administrative divisions of Illinois are the counties, townships, precincts, cities, towns, villages, and special-purpose districts.{{citation|title=Individual State Descriptions: 2007|series=2007 Census of Governments|date=November 2012|pages=89–97|publisher=United States Census Bureau|url=http://www2.census.gov/govs/cog/isd_book.pdf|ref={{harvid|Census|2007}}}} Illinois has more units of local government than any other state—over 8,000 in all. The basic subdivision of Illinois are the 102 counties.{{sfn|Census|2007|p=89}} 85 of the 102 counties are in turn divided into 1,432 townships.{{sfn|Census|2007|p=89}} Municipal governments are the cities, villages, and incorporated towns.{{sfn|Census|2007|p=89}} Some localities possess "home rule", which allows them to govern themselves to a certain extent.{{cite book|title=Illinois Politics and Government: The Expanding Metropolitan Frontier|first=Samuel Kimball|last=Gove|year=1996|series=Politics and Governments of the American States|pages=[https://archive.org/details/illinoispolitics0000gove/page/155 155]–156|publisher=University of Nebraska Press|isbn=0-8032-7014-3|lccn=95-46017|url=https://archive.org/details/illinoispolitics0000gove|url-access=registration}} Illinois counties, townships, cities, and villages may promulgate local ordinances.{{cite journal|title=Finding Illinois Municipal Ordinances Online|first=Tom|last=Gaylord|journal=Illinois Bar Journal|date=March 2007|volume=95|issue=3|page=156|url=http://www.isba.org/ibj/2007/03/findingillinoismunicipalordinanceso}} Illinois also has several types of school districts (including the Chicago Public Schools and the Illinois Community College System) and additional units of government that oversee many other functions.

• Elections in Illinois
• Illinois Budget Impasse
• Law enforcement in Illinois
• Law of Illinois
• Politics of Illinois

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{{Reflist}}

• {{official website|https://www.illinois.gov/government.html}}
• [https://data.illinois.gov/ Illinois Data Portal]
• [https://www.usaspending.gov/recipient/c11a2b28-68d6-804c-6242-1ec6eed10a05-P State of Illinois] recipient profile on USAspending.gov

{{Illinois}}

{{Governments of the United States}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Government Of Illinois}}

Illinois