NW Illinois News

Senator Andrew Chesney celebrated Illinois Constitution Day, stating, "on August 26, 1818, Illinois ratified its first State Constitution." He made the statement in an Aug. 26 Facebook post.

"Happy Illinois Constitution Day," said Chesney, State Senator, according to Facebook. "On August 26, 1818 Illinois ratified its first State Constitution. Let's take this opportunity to reflect on the principles that guide our government and honor the history of our great state."

According to historical records, in August 1818, state delegates met in the Kaskaskia region to draft Illinois' state constitution. When approved on Aug. 26, 1818, the state’s constitution comprised eight articles. It was the first of four constitutions that the state has had. That original document limited the governor’s powers, set aside land in every township for schools, and allowed all white males who lived in the state six months or longer to vote; there was no requirement that the men be U.S. citizens, according to the Illinois Secretary of State’s website focused on the state constitution.

Screenshot of Sen. Andrew Chesney's Aug. 26 Facebook post | Senator Andrew Chesney's Facebook page

When Congress reviewed the document, according to the Secretary of State’s Office, 34 members of the House of Representatives voted against admitting Illinois to the union because it didn’t go far enough to prohibit slavery. Nonetheless, both national houses approved statehood and President James Monroe signed legislation to make it official in December 1818.

On Aug. 20, 2021, the Illinois House of Representatives approved a bill that became Public Act 102-0447, which designated Aug. 26 as Illinois Constitution Day to commemorate the creation of the first state constitution on Aug. 26, 1818. The bill was filed by former Representative Tim Butler on Feb. 18, 2021, and passed on April 22, 2021; it arrived in the Senate the next day and passed there on May 27, 2021. It was signed by the governor on Aug. 20, 2021 and went into effect on Jan. 1, 2022.

According to a background paper by Samuel K. Gove titled "Constitutional Developments in Illinois," the state has had four constitutions since 1818. The second document was approved in 1848 and went into effect on April 1 of that year. The call for a convention first happened in 1823 but did not receive enough votes for approval until subsequent calls in later years led to success.

The next successful call for a convention occurred in 1860 with conventions held in both that year and again in1870 due to multiple issues including a controversial method of electing members to the House of Representatives using cumulative voting.

The fifth constitutional convention convened in January1920 but did not result in a new document; however,a1969-1970 convention led toa new constitution that passed witha56% margin.

Andrew S.Chesney represents45th Senate District.He has served as an elected memberof Freeport City Counciland has been past board memberof Regional Access Mobilization Project(RAMP)—an organization providing support servicesand advocacyfor people with disabilities.He is alsoa former mentorwith Big Brothers Big Sisters.