(105 ILCS 5/Art. 9 heading)

(105 ILCS 5/9-1) (from Ch. 122, par. 9-1) Sec. 9-1. Scope of article. All school elections shall be governed by the general election law of the State. (Source: P.A. 81-1490.)

(105 ILCS 5/9-1.1) (from Ch. 122, par. 9-1.1) Sec. 9-1.1. Referenda. Whenever a proposition or public question is required to be submitted pursuant to this Act for approval or rejection by the electorate at an election, the time and manner of conducting such referendum shall be in accordance with the general election law of the State. (Source: P.A. 81-1490.)

(105 ILCS 5/9-1.5) Sec. 9-1.5. Advisory referenda. By a vote of the majority of the members of the school board, the board may authorize an advisory question of public policy to be placed on the ballot at the next regularly scheduled election in the school district. The school board shall certify the question to the proper election authority, which must submit the question at an election in accordance with the Election Code, provided, however, that no such question may be submitted at a consolidated primary election. (Source: P.A. 97-81, eff. 7-5-11.)

(105 ILCS 5/9-2) (from Ch. 122, par. 9-2) Sec. 9-2. Election Definitions. As used in this Act in connection with elections of school officials and referenda: (a) "Voter" or "Legal voter" or "elector" means a person qualified to vote under the general election law. (b) "Certify" and "certification", when used in connection with elections of officers or referenda, refers to the certification in accordance with the general election law of offices, candidates or propositions to county clerks and boards of election commissioners for inclusion on the ballot at an election. (c) "Submit" and "submission" when used in connection with a referendum on a proposition or question refers to the submission to the voters in accordance with the general election law of the proposition or question by county clerks and boards of election commissioners. (d) "Local election official" means the secretary of a board of education, the secretary or clerk of a board of school directors, the treasurer of a township board of school trustees, the secretary of township land commissioners and the regional superintendent of schools with respect to the various school officer elections and school referenda for which the regional superintendent is assigned election duties pursuant to this Code. (Source: P.A. 84-1338.)

(105 ILCS 5/9-5) (from Ch. 122, par. 9-5) Sec. 9-5. Election dates and terms of offices. The dates upon which school officer elections shall be held are as established in the general election law. Members of boards of education shall unless otherwise provided serve terms of 4 years. If, at a regularly scheduled election, a proposition is submitted to the voters of a district, as provided by a resolution of the board, on the question of whether board members should serve for 6 year terms and the proposition receives the affirmative vote of those voting thereon, members of the board of education shall thereafter serve for terms of 6 years. (Source: P.A. 82-1014.)

(105 ILCS 5/9-10) (from Ch. 122, par. 9-10) Sec. 9-10. Candidates for office - nominating petitions. Candidates for the office of school director shall be nominated by petition signed by at least 25 voters or 5% of the voters, whichever is less, residing within the district and filed with the county clerk or the county board of election commissioners, as the case may be, of the county in which the principal office of the school district is located. Nominations for members of boards of education, including non-high school boards of education shall be made by a petition signed by at least 50 voters or 10% of the voters, whichever is less, residing within the district and shall be filed with the county clerk or the county board of election commissioners, as the case may be, of the county in which the principal office of the school district is located. In addition to the requirements of the general election law, the form of such petitions shall be substantially as follows:

(105 ILCS 5/9-11) (from Ch. 122, par. 9-11) Sec. 9-11. Tax rate increase - notice of election - ballot. In addition to the notice requirements of the general election law, whenever a proposition to increase a school tax rate is submitted to be voted upon by the voters of any district the notice of such election shall include an estimate of the approximate amount of taxes extendible under the maximum rate then in force and an estimate of the approximate amount of taxes extendible under the proposed increased rate, such amounts being computed upon the last known full, fair cash value; provided that any error, miscalculation or inaccuracy in computing such amounts shall not invalidate or affect the validity of any rate so increased. The board of directors shall make such estimate and the secretary shall certify such amount to the election authority as part of the certification of the proposition as required by the general election law. Such estimate shall appear on the ballot on which the proposition is printed, but shall not appear as a part of the proposition. (Source: P.A. 83-448.)

(105 ILCS 5/9-11.1) (from Ch. 122, par. 9-11.1) Sec. 9-11.1. The county clerk or the board of election commissioners, as the case may be, of the jurisdiction in which the principal office of the school district is located shall conduct a lottery to determine the ballot order of candidates for full terms in the event of any simultaneous petition filings. Such candidate lottery shall be conducted as follows: All petitions filed by persons waiting in line as of 8:00 a.m. on the first day for filing, or as of the normal opening hour of the office involved on such day, shall be deemed simultaneously filed as of 8:00 a.m. or the normal opening hour, as the case may be. Petitions filed by mail and received after midnight of the first day for filing and in the first mail delivery or pickup of that day shall be deemed simultaneously filed as of 8:00 a.m. of that day or as of the normal opening hour of such day, as the case may be. All petitions received thereafter shall be deemed filed in the order of actual receipt. However, 2 or more petitions filed within the last hour of the filing deadline shall be deemed filed simultaneously. Where 2 or more petitions are received simultaneously for the same office as of 8:00 a.m. on the first day for petition filing, or as of the normal opening hour of the office of the county clerk or the board of election commissioners, as the case may be, the county clerk or the board of election commissioners with whom such petitions are filed shall break ties and determine the order of filing by means of a lottery or other fair and impartial method of random selection. Such lottery shall be conducted within 9 days following the last day for petition filing and shall be open to the public. Seven days written notice of the time and place of conducting such random selection shall be given by the county clerk or the board of election commissioners to all candidates who filed their petitions simultaneously and to each organization of citizens within the election jurisdiction which was entitled, under the general election law, at the next preceding election, to have pollwatchers present on the day of election. The county clerk or the board of election commissioners shall post in a conspicuous, open and public place, at the entrance of his or her office, notice of the time and place of such lottery. All candidates shall be certified in the order in which their petitions have been filed and in the manner prescribed by Section 10-15 of the general election law. Where candidates have filed simultaneously, they shall be certified in the order prescribed by this Section and prior to candidates who filed for the same office at a later time. Where elections are conducted for unexpired terms, a second lottery to determine ballot order shall be conducted for candidates who simultaneously file petitions for such unexpired terms. Such lottery shall be conducted in the same manner as prescribed by this Section for full term candidates. (Source: P.A. 98-691, eff. 7-1-14.)

(105 ILCS 5/9-11.2) (from Ch. 122, par. 9-11.2) Sec. 9-11.2. For all school districts electing candidates to a board of education in a manner other than at large, candidates not elected at large who file nominating petitions for a full term shall be grouped together by area of residence as follows: (1) by congressional townships, or (2) according to incorporated or unincorporated areas. For all school districts electing candidates to a board of education in a manner other than at large, candidates not elected at large who file nominating petitions for an unexpired term shall be grouped together by area of residence as follows: (1) by congressional townships, or (2) according to incorporated or unincorporated areas. Candidate groupings by area of residence for unexpired terms shall precede the candidate groupings by area of residence for full terms on the ballot. In all instances, however, the ballot order of each candidate grouping shall be determined by the order of petition filing or lottery held pursuant to Section 9-11.1 in the following manner: The area of residence of the candidate determined to be first by order of petition filing or by lottery shall be listed first among the candidate groupings on the ballot. All other candidates from the same area of residence will follow according to order of petition filing or the lottery. The area of residence of the candidate determined to be second by the order of petition filing or the lottery shall be listed second among the candidate groupings on the ballot. All other candidates from the same area of residence will follow according to the order of petition filing or the lottery. The ballot order of additional candidate groupings by area of residence shall be established in a like manner. In any school district that elects its board members according to area of residence and that has one or more unexpired terms to be filled at an election, the winner or winners of the unexpired term or terms shall be determined first and independently of those running for full terms. The winners of the full terms shall then be determined taking into consideration the areas of residence of those elected to fill the unexpired term or terms. "Area of Residence" means congressional township and incorporated and unincorporated territories. "Affected school district" means either of the 2 entire elementary school districts that are formed into a combined school district. (Source: P.A. 93-1079, eff. 1-21-05; 94-1019, eff. 7-10-06.)

(105 ILCS 5/9-12) (from Ch. 122, par. 9-12) Sec. 9-12. Ballots for the election of school officers shall be in one of the following forms: (FORMAT 1 Ballot position for candidates shall be determined by the order of petition filing or lottery held pursuant to Section 9-11.1. This format is used by Boards of School Directors. School Directors are elected at large.)

(105 ILCS 5/9-12.1) (from Ch. 122, par. 9-12.1) Sec. 9-12.1. (a) On the reverse side of each ballot contained in Section 9-12, except the ballot under Format 6, shall be printed the following:

(105 ILCS 5/9-13) (from Ch. 122, par. 9-13) Sec. 9-13. Public measure - Ballot. More than one public measure may be submitted upon the same ballot. The proposition of purchasing one or more schoolhouse sites, building one or more new schoolhouses, and issuing bonds for the purpose of borrowing money to purchase one or more schoolhouse sites and to build one or more new schoolhouses or make additions and improvements to existing school buildings, may be combined into one or more propositions on the ballot. No proposition under this Section which is substantially the same shall be submitted more than once every 2 months, except where the proposition is submitted as a consequence of a disaster, calamity or other Act of God. (Source: P.A. 81-1489.)

(105 ILCS 5/9-18) Sec. 9-18. (Repealed). (Source: P.A. 93-1079, eff. 1-21-05. Repealed by P.A. 95-141, eff. 8-13-07.)

(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.)