22nd circuit; subcircuits; additional resident judgeship

22nd circuit; subcircuits; additional resident judgeship. (a) The 22nd circuit shall be divided into 4 subcircuits. The subcircuits shall be compact, contiguous, and substantially equal in population. The General Assembly by law shall create the subcircuits, using population data as determined by the 2000 federal census, and shall determine a numerical order for the 4 subcircuits. That numerical order shall be the basis for the order in which resident judgeships are assigned to the subcircuits. Once a resident judgeship is assigned to a subcircuit, it shall continue to be assigned to that subcircuit for all purposes; provided that a resident judge elected from a subcircuit seeking retention shall run for retention at large in the circuit in accordance with Article VI, Section 12(d) of the Illinois Constitution. (a-5) In 2022, the General Assembly shall redraw the boundaries of the subcircuits to reflect the results of the 2020 federal decennial census. The General Assembly shall redraw the subcircuit boundaries after every federal decennial census. The subcircuits shall be compact, contiguous, and substantially equal in population. In accordance with subsection (a), a resident judgeship assigned to a subcircuit shall continue to be assigned to that subcircuit; provided that a resident judge elected from a subcircuit seeking retention shall run for retention at-large in the circuit in accordance with Article VI, Section 12(d) of the Illinois Constitution. Any vacancy in a resident judgeship existing on or occurring after the effective date of a law redrawing the boundaries of the subcircuits shall be filled by a resident of the redrawn subcircuit. (b) Other than the resident judgeship added by this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, the 22nd circuit shall have one additional resident judgeship, as well as its 3 existing resident judgeships, for a total of 4 resident judgeships to be allotted to the 4 subcircuit resident judgeships. The additional resident judgeship created by this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly shall be filled by election beginning at the general election in 2006 and shall not be filled by appointment before the general election in 2006. The number of resident judgeships allotted to subcircuits of the 22nd judicial circuit pursuant to this Section, and the resident judgeship added by this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, shall constitute all the resident judgeships of the 22nd judicial circuit. (c) The Supreme Court shall allot (i) all eligible vacancies in resident judgeships of the 22nd circuit existing on or occurring on or after August 18, 2003 and not filled at the 2004 general election, (ii) the resident judgeships of the 22nd circuit filled at the 2004 general election as those judgeships thereafter become vacant, and (iii) the additional resident judgeship of the 22nd circuit created by this amendatory Act of the 93rd General Assembly, for election from the various subcircuits until there is one resident judge to be elected from each subcircuit. No resident judge of the 22nd circuit serving on August 18, 2003 shall be required to change his or her residency in order to continue serving in office or to seek retention in office as resident judgeships are allotted by the Supreme Court in accordance with this Section. (d) A resident judge elected from a subcircuit shall continue to reside in that subcircuit as long as he or she holds that office. A resident judge elected from a subcircuit after January 1, 2008, must retain residency as a registered voter in the subcircuit to run for retention from the circuit at large thereafter. (e) Vacancies in resident judgeships of the 22nd circuit shall be filled in the manner provided in Article VI of the Illinois Constitution. (Source: P.A. 101-477, eff. 6-1-20; 102-668, eff. 11-15-21; 102-1126, eff. 2-10-23.)