Illinois Constitution- The Executive Branch

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Illinois Constitution

The Executive Branch

Article V: The Executive Department

The Illinois Governor's mansion

Article 5 gives rules for the executive branch of Illinois government. Six officials are elected by the people of Illinois: Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, Comptroller, and Treasurer.

To run for one of these offices a person must be a U.S. citizen, at least 25 years old, and a resident of Illinois for 3 years. Each official serves a four-year term.

The Governor is the chief executive officer of Illinois, just as the President is the chief executive officer of the United states. One main duty of the governor is to see that laws passed by the General Assembly are carried out. The Governor makes an annual report to the General Assembly, proposes a budget for the state, and signs or vetoes bills passed by the General Assembly. State agencies such as the Illinois Department of Public Health, the Department of Children and Family Services, and the Department of Transportation carry out the laws and policies of the state. The Governor appoints the directors of these agencies and many other administrators. The Governor nominates state officials, but the nominations must be approved by the state Senate.

Many of the powers of the Governor are similar to the powers of the U.S. president. One difference however, is the power the Governor has to veto or reduce items of appropriation bills (bills which spend money). The Governor can eliminate certain items from the bill but approve the rest of the bill. The President cannot do this; the President can only approve or veto the entire bill.

Duties of Illinois elected executive officials

Governor

Chief executive officer of Illinois.

(See paragraph above for explanation of duties.)

Lieutenant Governor

Similar to the Vice President of the United States.

Performs any duties assigned by the Governor.

If the Governor dies suddenly or is unable to serve, the Lieutenant Governor becomes governor.

Attorney General

Chief legal officer of Illinois.

Represents the state, state agencies, and state officials in court.

Chief law enforcement officer in Illinois.

Coordinates crime-fighting activities with state, county, and local authorities.

Secretary of State

Keeps the official records of the General Assembly and the executive branch.

Licenses drivers and keeps drivers records, issues vehicle license plates and titles, and registers corporations.

Comptroller

Chief fiscal officer for Illinois.

Reviews all bills and payments, pays the state’s bills, keeps records, and helps set financial policies for the state.

Treasurer

Acts as the state’s banker, keeping and investing the money the state receives through taxes.

The Executive Branch

The Governor

The Executive Branch enforces and administers the laws. The Governor is the Chief Executive of state government. In other words, he/she is the head of the Executive Branch.

The Governor must be at least 25 years old and a resident of the state for the three years preceding his election, and a citizen. The Governor's term of office is 4 years and may be re-elected an unlimited number of times. The order of succession to the Governor's office is:

1. Lieutenant Governor

2. Attorney General

3. Secretary of State

The Governor, besides enforcing and administering the law, also has the important duty of vetoing or approving bills passed by the General Assembly.

Other duties of the Governor are:

1. The Governor appoints many members of the state government. Many of these appointments require the approval of the State Senate. The Governor may also remove any of these officials he feels are incompetent. (The Governor cannot remove the other executive officers such as the Secretary of State since they are elected).

2. The Governor may grant pardons, reprieves, and commutations. Pardon means to forgive a person of a crime. Reprieve means to delay the carrying out of a criminal sentence. To commute a sentence is to shorten a criminal sentence.

3. The Governor shall deliver to the General Assembly an address about the condition of the state.

4. The Governor is the commander-in-chief of the state militia, except in cases of national emergency when they are called into federal service. The Governor may call out the militia to carry out the laws of the state.

5. The Governor may call special sessions of the General Assembly.

Vetoes

The Governor has three types of vetoes. The regular veto is like the President's veto in which the whole bill is rejected. The bill is returned to the house of the General Assembly where it began with a list of reasons why the Governor vetoed it. The item veto means to veto only a part of a bill. This type of veto is for appropriations (spending) bills where the Governor simply changes the appropriation. The houses can pass over this veto by simply accepting the appropriation change. The third type of veto is the amendatory veto. If the Governor notes specific recommendations the house can pass the bill by simply accepting the recommendation.

The Governor's office is similar in some ways to the office of the President except Governors do not deal with the making of foreign policy or national defense issues to any great degree.