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Illinois General Assembly

Illinois General Assembly

The Illinois General Assembly refers to the State Legislature of Illinois, in the United States of America. The Illinois General Assembly refers to both the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. A State Constitution passed in 1818 created the Illinois General Assembly. As of 2010, there have been 96 General Assemblies in the State. These Assemblies meet in the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield.
There is no limit to how many Assemblies an individual can be elected to serve on, meaning there are no term limits. All members of the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly, the House of Representatives, are elected to their Assembles every two years. The election cycle in the upper house of the Illinois General Assembly is more complicated. Once each decade, the senatorial election is for a two-year term. Otherwise, senatorial terms are for four years.
This means that one district may have a four-year-two-year-four-year election cycle, with a neighboring district having a two-year-four-year-four-year cycle, and a third neighbor having a four-year-four-year-two-year election cycle. Although this staggering of election cycles may appear complicated, it is considered valuable because it prevents an entirely new Illinois General Assembly from being installed at the same time, while still allowing frequent rotation of elected officials.
If both Assemblies approve the vote by a two-thirds margin, a gubernatorial veto may be over ridden.