LEGISLATIVE DEPARTMENT.

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

The General Assembly of Illinois consists of 204 members, fifty-one Senators and 153 Representatives, one Senator and three Representatives from each of the fifty-one senatorial districts into which the State is divided under the provisions of the Constitution of 1870. It is the duty of the General Assembly to re-district the State once in every ten years, making the ratio of representation in the Senate the quotient arising from dividing by the number fifty-one the total population of the State as returned by the last preceding Federal census. To be eligible to the General Assembly one must be a citizen of the United States, a resident of the State for five years and of the district from which elected for the two years next preceding his election, must be at least 25 years of age, if a Senator, and not less than 21. if a Representative. No person holding any lucrative office under the United States, this State, or any foreign government, is eligible to the Assembly, but appointments in the militia, and the offices of notary public and justice of the peace are not considered lucrative offices; nor may any member receive any civil appointment within the State during the term for which he is elected.

Members are allowed, by statute, $1,000 for each regular biennial session and $50 for stationery and 10 cents a mile for the actual distance between the State capital and their respective homes with $5 per day for special sessions.

The statutory officers of the General Assembly are, in the Senate, a president pro tem; a secretary and two assistants; a sergeant-at-arms and two assistants: a postmaster and one assistant, and an enrolling and engrossing clerk and two assistants. In the House, a speaker, a chief clerk and three assistants: a doorkeeper and three assistants; a postmaster and one assistant, and an enrolling and engrossing clerk with two assistants. Additional officers may be appointed by a two-thirds vote of either branch of the Assembly. There is no constitutional nor statutory limitation on the length of the legislative session. The Governor may convene the Assembly by proclamation on extraordinary occasions; but at special sessions no business shall be entered upon except for the purposes named in the proclamation.

All members are elected at the regular election held on the Tuesday next after the first Monday in November in even numbered years, Representatives for a term of two years and Senators for four years. Senators from evennumbered districts are elected at the same time as presidential electors and from the odd-numbered districts two years later, at the same time as the Superintendent of Public Instruction. In all elections for Representatives, each elector may cast as many votes for Representative as there are representatives to be elected, giving all the votes to one candidate or distributing the number or equal parts thereof among the various candidates as he may choose. This system of cumulative voting usually results in the election of two Representatives from the dominant party and one from the minority party of each district.

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The General Assembly is prohibited from passing special laws for the granting of divorces, for changing the names of persons or places, for establishing roads and highways, for vacating roads, streets, alleys, etc., for granting special privileges to persons or corporations and for other purposes specifically enumerated in the Constitution, besides which there is a general provision that in all other cases where a general law can be made applicable no special law shall be enacted."

The General Assembly meets biennially on the Wednesday next after the first Monday in January of all odd numbered years.

The present General Assembly, the Forty-fourth, consists of 133 republicans, sixty-six democrats, three prohibitionists and two socialists. Of the republicans forty-two are Senators and ninety-one are Representatives: of the democrats nine are Senators and fifty-seven are Representatives, while the prohi bitionists and socialists are all members of the House.

APPORTIONMENT.

The following are the apportionments for members of the General Assembly from 1818 to 1901, inclusive:

APPORTIONMENT UNDER THE CONSTITUTION OF 1818.

Section 5, Article II, of the Constitution of 1818 provided that"The number of Senators and Representatives shall, at the first session of the General Assembly holden after the returns herein provided for are made, be fixed by the General Assembly, and apportioned among the several counties or districts to be established by law, according to the number of white inhabitants The number of Representatives shall not be less than twenty-seven nor more than thirty-six, until the number of inhabitants within this State shall amount to 100,000; and the number of Senators shall never be less than one-third or more than one-half of the number of Representatives."

Section 8 of the schedule provided that the representation of the first General Assembly should be as follows:

"Section 8. Until the first census shall be taken as directed by this Constitution, the county of Madison shall be entitled to one Senator and three Representatives; the county of St. Clair, to one Senator and three Representatives: the county of Bond, to one Senator and one Representative; the county of Washington, to one Senator and one Representative; the county of Monroe, to one Senator and one Representative; the county of Randolph, to one Senator and two Representatives; the county of Jackson, to one Senator and one Representative; the counties of Johnson and Franklin, to form one Senatorial district, and to be entitled to one Senator, and each county one Representative; the county of Union, to one Senator and two Representatives: the county of Pope, to one Senator and two Represenatives; the county of Gallatin, to one Senator and three Representatives: the county of White, to one Senator and three Representatives: the county of Edwards, to one Senator and three Representatives; and the county of Crawford, to one Senator and two Representatives."

Apportionments were made under the Constitution of 1818 as follows:

Feb. 14, 1821: Senate, 18; House, 36. Jan. 12, 1826: Senate 18; House 26. Feb. 7, 1831: Senate 26; House 55. Jan. 14, 1836, the ratio for a Senator was fixed at 7,000 white inhabitants, and for a representative, 3,000. By this law the State was entitled to forty Senators and ninety-one Representatives. Feb. 26, 1841, the ratio for a Senator was fixed at 12,000, and for a Representative, 4,000. The Senate consisted of 41 members, and the House of Representatives of 121 members.

Under the last two apportionments made, the membership of the General Assembly varies one or two from the number designated by the acts-probably owing to a variation of population.

Feb. 25, 1847, another apportionment was made. by which the ratio was fixed at 19,000 for a Senator, and 6,500 for a Representative. The Senate was made to consist of thirty-four and the House of 100 members: but before an election was held under this law the Constitution of 1848 was adopted, and the apportionment made thereby took effect.

Section 6, Article III, of the Constitution of 1848 provided that"The Senate shall consist of 25 members, and the House of Representatives shall consist of 75 members, until the population of the State shall amount to 1,000.000 of souls, when five members may be added to the House and five additional members for every 500,000 inhabitants thereafter, until the whole number of Representatives shall amount to 100; after which, the number shall neither be increased nor diminished: to be apportioned among the several counties according to the number of white inhabitants. In all future apportionments, where more than one county shall be thrown into a representative district. all the Representatives to which said counties may be entitled shall be elected by the entire district." By section 8 of the same article, an apportionment was required to be made in the year 1855, and every tenth year thereafter. Section 40. same article, apportioned the representation in the General Assembly at twenty-five Senators and seventy-five Representatives, and divided the State into districts, as follows:

13-Cumberland. Effingham, Clay, 1. 14-Fayette, 1.

15-Montgomery, Bond, Clinton. 2. 16 Washington, Perry, 1.

17-Randolph, 1.

18-Monroe, 1

19 St. Clair, 2.

20-Madison, 2.

21-Macoupin, 1.

23-Scott, 1.

22-Jersey, Greene, 2.

28-Tazewell, 1.

29-McLean, DeWitt, 1.

30-Vermilion, 1.

31-Edgar, 1.

32-Champaign, Piatt, Moultrie, Macon, 1.

33-Shelby, Christian, I.

34-Pike, Calhoun, 2.

35-Adams, *Highland, Brown, 3.

36-Schuyler, 1.

37-Hancock, 2.

38-McDonough, 1.

39-Fulton, 2.

40-Peoria, 1.

41-Knox, 1.

42-Warren, Mercer, Henderson. 2.
43-Rock Island, Henry, Stark, 1.
44-Whiteside, Lee, 1.

45-Carroll. Ogle, 1.

46 Jo Daviess, Stephenson, 2.

47-Winnebago, 1.

48-Putnam, Marshall, Woodford, 1.

49-LaSalle, Grundy, Livingston, Bureau, 2.

50-DuPage, Kendall, Will, Iroquois, 3.

51-Kane, DeKalb, 2.

52-Boone, McHenry, 1.

53-Lake, 1.

54-Cook, 2.

* Highland (formerly Marquette) never fully organized and territory reverted to Adams county.

APPORTIONMENT OF 1854.

The act of Feb. 27, 1854, apportioned the representation in the General Assembly at 25 Senators and 75 Representatives, and divided the State into districts as follows:

SENATORIAL DISTRICTS.

REPRESENTATIVE DISTRICTS.

*Highland (formerly Marquette) never completed its organization and territory reverted to Adams county.