Overview
The General Assembly is the legislature body which produces, deliberates, and ultimately votes on bills to turn into law. Like Congress, the General Assembly is made up of two legislative bodies, the House and Senate.
The House
The House is composed of 118 members which each member being elected from their respective district. The district maps change every 10 years to reflect current population trends and are approved by the General Assembly. House members may serve as long as they are re-elected. Members must run for re-elected every two years.
Each member also belongs to a political party. The Democrats currently have a majority, 74 members compared to 44 Republicans.
The Senate
The Senate is composed of 59 members which, like members of the House, are elected from their respective district. While House members must run for re-elected every two years, the Senate is a little more complex. Every Senate district elects its members to serve two four-year terms and two-year in each decade.
Members are divided into three groups for elections:
- one third of the Senate is elected for one 2-year term, followed by two 4-year terms;
- one third of the Senate is elected for one 4-year term, followed by one 2-year term, and then one 4-year term;
- one third of the Senate is elected for two 4-year terms, followed by one 2-year term.
The Democrats currently have a majority, 40 members compared to 19.
Prairie State Policy 