Illinois Legislature
| Illinois General Assembly | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Type | |
| Type | |
| Houses |
Senate House of Representatives |
| Leadership | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 118 |
 |
|
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Political groups
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 |
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Political groups
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| Elections | |
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Last election
|
November 4, 2014 |
| Meeting place | |
 |
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| Illinois State Capitol, Springfield | |
| Website | |
| www.ilga.gov | |
The Illinois General Assembly is the bicameral legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois and comprises the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. The State Senate has 59 members while the House has 118. A Senate district is formed by combining two adjacent House districts. The current General Assembly is Illinois's 100th. The General Assembly meets in the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield, Illinois. Its session laws are generally adopted by majority vote in both houses, and upon gaining the assent of the Governor of Illinois. They are published in the official Laws of Illinois.
The Illinois General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in 1818. Initially, the state did not have organized political parties, but the Democratic and Whig parties began to form in the 1830s.
Future U.S. President Abraham Lincoln successfully campaigned as a member of the Whig Party to serve in the General Assembly in 1834. He served four successive terms in the Illinois House of Representatives, supporting expanded suffrage and the abolition of slavery.
The Illinois Republican Party was organized at a conference held in Major's Hall in Bloomington, Illinois on May 29, 1856. Its founding members came from the former Whig Party in Illinois after its members joined with several powerful local political factions including, notably, the Independent Democrat movement of Chicago that helped elect James Hutchinson Woodworth as mayor in 1848.
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Wikipedia