SB0642 - Judicial Districts Act of 2021

• Redraws Illinois judicial districts to comply with the Illinois Constitution requirement that four districts outside Cook County have substantially equal population and consist of compact, contiguous counties.

• First Judicial District remains Cook County; Second District now comprises DeKalb, Kendall, Kane, Lake, and McHenry counties; Third District comprises Bureau, LaSalle, Grundy, Iroquois, Kankakee, DuPage, and Will counties; Fourth District comprises 43 counties in central and northern Illinois; Fifth District comprises 48 counties in southern and eastern Illinois.

• Protects tenure of all appellate and supreme court judges serving before the effective date; incumbent judges may seek retention in either their original district or new district where they reside.

• Does not require appellate courts to relocate; Elgin, Ottawa, Springfield, and Mt. Vernon remain in their respective districts.

• Amends the Judicial Districts Act by adding "prior to the effective date of this amendatory act" language to sections describing old district boundaries and repeals the unconstitutional Judicial Redistricting Act of 1997.