(105 ILCS 5/9-22) (from Ch. 122, par. 9-22)

Sec. 9-22. School board districts; changing manner of election. A school board may by resolution or shall, upon the petition of the lesser of 2,500 or 5% of the district's registered voters, order submitted to the district's voters at a regular school election or at the general election, the proposition for the election of board members by school board district, and the proposition shall thereupon be certified by the board's secretary for submission. If the proposition is approved by a majority of those voting on the proposition, the board shall divide the school district into 7 school board districts, each of which must be compact and contiguous and substantially equal in population to each other district. The terms of office of the board members incumbent at the time the proposition is adopted expire on the day of the next regular school election, at which time one member shall be elected from each school board district. In districts which have 4 year terms, those members first elected after adoption of such a proposition shall, by lot, determine 3 to serve for 2 years and 4 for 4 years; their successors shall serve for a 4 year term. In districts which have 6 year terms, those members first elected after adoption of such a proposition shall, by lot, determine 3 to serve for 2 years, 2 for 4 years and 2 for 6 years; their successors shall serve for a 6 year term. Vacancies shall be filled as provided in Section 10-10.

In the year following each decennial census, the school board shall reapportion the board districts to reflect the results of such census; provided, that no decennial reapportionment shall be required in any school district which elects its board members by school board district rather than at large if: (i) on the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1990, such school district last elected its board members by school board district at the nonpartisan election in 1989; (ii) the terms of the board members so elected were determined by lot after that election and prior to January 1, 1990; and (iii) the population of each existing school board district in that school district at the time of the decennial census is within 5% of what would be the population in the corresponding school board district that would result were the school board districts in that school district to be reapportioned following that decennial census as otherwise required by this paragraph. If reapportionment is required by this paragraph, the school board districts shall be compact, contiguous and substantially equal in population, and such reapportionment plan shall be completed and formally approved by a majority of the members of the board not less than 90 days before the last date established by law for the submission of nominating petitions for the next school board election. At the same board meeting, the board shall, publicly by lot, divide the board districts as equally as possible into 2 groups. In school districts which have 4 year terms, board members or their successors from one group shall be elected for successive terms of 2 years, 4 years and 4 years; and members or their successors from the second group shall be elected for successive terms of 4 years, 4 years and 2 years. In school districts which have 6 year terms, board members or their successors from one group shall be elected for successive terms of 4 years and 6 years; and members or their successors from the second group shall be elected for successive terms of 6 years and 4 years.

In any school district in which the members of the school board are elected by school board district rather than at large, the school board may by resolution or shall, upon the petition of the lesser of 2,500 or 5% of the school district's registered voters, order submitted to the school district's voters at a regular school election or at the general election, the proposition for the election of board members at large rather than by school board district; and the proposition shall thereupon be certified by the board's secretary for submission. If a majority of those voting at the election in each school board district vote in favor of the proposition: (i) the proposition to elect board members at large shall be deemed to have passed, (ii) new members of the board shall be elected at large at the next regular school election, and (iii) the terms of office of the board members incumbent at the time the proposition is adopted shall expire when the new board members that are elected at large have organized in accordance with Section 10-16. In school districts that formerly elected their members by school board district to successive terms not exceeding 4 years, the members elected at large shall be elected for a term of 4 years, and in school districts that formerly elected their members by school board district to successive terms not exceeding 6 years, the members elected at large shall be elected for a term of 6 years; provided, that in each case the terms of the board members initially elected at large as provided in this paragraph shall be staggered and determined in accordance with the provisions of Sections 10-10 and 10-16.

(Source: P.A. 87-1139; 87-1210; 88-45.)