do your congressmen fit the bill?. rodney davis (r) – 13 th district taylorville married...
TRANSCRIPT
WHAT TYPE OF PERSON WOULD MAKE THE PERFECT REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM CENTRAL ILLINOIS?
Do your Congressmen fit the bill?
MEET YOUR CONGRESSMEN
Rodney Davis (R) – 13th District
Taylorville Married (Shannon) with
three children. 43 years old. 1st Term Former assistant to
Congressman John Shimkus (16 years)
Graduate of Millikin University.
Aaron Schock (R) – 18th District
Peoria Single 32 years old 3rd term Former representative in
Illinois General Assembly Former Peoria District 150
School Board member. Peoria Richwoods and
Bradley University graduate.
MEET YOUR SENATORSDick Durbin (D)
Springfield, IL 3rd term Married, Loretta Durbin,
three children 68 years old Georgetown University – law 14 years in U.S. House of
Rep.
Mark Kirk (R) Chicago, IL 1st term Single 54 years old Georgetown
University - law Illinois Navy Reserve U.S. Congressman
from 2000-2010.
WHAT WILL I LEARN TODAY? I can identify the size, term length and
requirements for members of the House of Representatives and the Senate.
I can explain what types of people get elected to Congress.
I can define reapportionment and explain the impact it has had on Illinois.
I can gerrymander.
CONGRESS
Bicameral – House and Senate
Term Length – Two Years (113th Congress)
20th Amendment – new Congressional term begins January 3rd, every odd-numbered year.
Session – meeting of Congress
Recess – break in the meeting
Adjournment – end of the meeting
Special Session – can be called by President.
THE SENATEThe Constitution says
that the Senate “shall be composed of two Senators from each State.” Today’s Senate consists of 100 Senators.
17th Amendment – Senators elected by the people.
Term Length – 6 years, no term length.
Continuous body – Only 1/3rd of the Senate is up for re-election at a time.
QUALIFICATIONS FOR SENATORS
The Constitution says that a Senator (1) must be at least
30 years of age, (2) must have been a
citizen of the United States for at least nine years, and
(3) must be an inhabitant of the State from which he or she is elected.
***Unofficially*** Must be an attractive candidate
THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
The size of the House is currently fixed at 435 members.
Seats are apportioned (distributed) among the States on the basis of their respective populations.
Term Length – 2 year, no term length.
All 435 are up for re-election at the same time.
QUALIFICATIONS FOR HOUSE MEMBERS
The Constitution says that a member of the House (1) must be at least 25
years of age, (2) must have been a
citizen of the United States for at least seven years, and
(3) must have been an inhabitant of the State from which he or she is elected.
***Unofficially*** Must be an attractive candidate
REAPPORTIONMENT
Article I of the Constitution directs Congress to reapportion—redistribute—the seats in the House after each decennial census.
Does this cause the number of constituents that each member of the House represents to increase or decrease?
CURRENT APPORTIONMENT
ChangesTexas +3Florida +2Arizona, California, Georgia, Nevada, Utah +1Illinois, Iowa, Lousiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, Pensylvania -1New York, Ohio -2
GERRYMANDERING
Gerrymandering refers to the act of drawing congressional districts to the advantage of a particular group of citizens.