East Central Reporter

State Representative Adam Niemerg celebrated Illinois Constitution Day, stating, "Let's take this opportunity to reflect on the principles that guide our government and honor the history of our great state." He made the statement in an August 26 Facebook post.

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

In his Facebook post, Niemerg shared a link to the Illinois Secretary of State/State Archivist website on the state constitution, which explained the history of the first constitution of the state. According to this source, in August 1818, state delegates met in the Kaskaskia region to draft Illinois' state constitution. When approved on August 26, 1818, the state's constitution was composed of 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.

State Representative Adam Niemerg Aug. 26 Facebook post | State Representative Adam Niemerg 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 August 20, 2021, according to legislative records, the Illinois House of Representatives approved a bill that became Public Act 102-0447. This act designated August 26 as Illinois Constitution Day to commemorate the creation of the first state constitution on August 26, 1818. The bill was filed by former Representative Tim Butler on February 18, 2021, passed on April 22, 2021; it arrived in the Senate the next day and passed there on May 27, 2021. It was signed by Governor J.B. Pritzker on August 20, 2021 and went into effect on January 1, 2022.

According to a background paper by Samuel K. Gove titled "Constitutional Developments in Illinois," the state has had four constitutions since its inception in 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 achieve sufficient votes until voters approved another call for a convention in 1846.

The next successful call for a convention occurred in 1860 with conventions held subsequently in both years: one in January and another one later resulting from issues including a controversial method of electing members to its House using cumulative voting methods.

A fifth constitutional convention convened unsuccessfully in January1920 while another held between1969-1970 led eventually toward passing new documents by56% margin across statewide polls

Adam Niemerg elected during2020 lifelong Illinoisan holding bachelor’s degree Eastern University describes himself fiscally conservative focusing lower taxes fighting limited government pension reforms eldest five siblings pro-life Second Amendment supporter per official biography