tutional qualifications required of the governor are that he shall have attained the age of thirty years and have been for five years a citizen of the United States and of the state.1 In addition the candidates must, of course, have been nominated in the primaries. The introduction of the method of nominating candidates for governor through primary elections has tended somewhat to increase the number of candidates and increased the opportunities of independents. Candidates, however, who have the backing of a party organization and who are able to spend money liberally still have the advantage under the primary system. In practice, eligibility for the governorship usually consists also in the holding of some public office which brings the candidate prominently to the notice of the people of the state. Recent governors, for example, have previously to their election, held such offices as states attorney of Cook county, mayor of Chicago, and member of congress. Under the constitution the governor is ineligible to any other office during the period for which he shall have been elected, but this is not held to prevent him from serving as ex officio member of various state boards and commissions.2 In giving the governor a four-year term, Illinois has aligned itself with about half of the states of the union, which believe in allowing the chief magistrate a long enough term to become reasonably acquainted with the duties of the office. The governor of Illinois is also legally eligible to succeed himself for one or more terms and is frequently renominated for a second term; but during the last three decades, only one governor, Deneen, has been reëlected.

The term of the governor is stated in the constitution to extend for four years beginning on the second Monday in January next after his election and until his successor is elected and qualified. In practice the terms of some governors have been lengthened and that of others correspondingly shortened on account of a deadlock in the organization of the legislature,

1 Constitution, article v, section 4, 5; Hurd's Revised Statutes, chapter 46, section 94.

2 Thus the governor is president of the board of commissioners for the management of the state library. Ibid., chapter 128, section 1.

through a prolonged contest over the election of a speaker of the house. Until the speaker is chosen the new governor cannot be declared elected nor inaugurated, and meanwhile the preceding governor continues to hold office. In 1913 Governor Dunne was not inaugurated until three weeks after the date specified in the constitution for the beginning of the governor's term.3

The plan adopted in the constitution of 1848 of assigning the governor a salary, the amount of which was fixed in that document, was abandoned in 1870; and the exact amount of the governor's compensation is now determined by legislative enactment, subject to the requirement that it shall not be increased nor diminished during his term of office. The amount as now fixed is $12,000 per annum which is greater than that paid the governor of any other state, but is considerably less than that paid the mayor of Chicago and is the same as that received by the states attorney and the circuit and superior court judges of Cook county. The governor is also granted the use of the executive mansion and has a contingent fund for unforeseen needs placed at his disposal.

The office of governor may become vacant by his resignation, absence from the state, conviction on impeachment, or other disability. Under these circumstances the lieutenant governor succeeds to the powers, duties, and emoluments of the office for the remainder of the term or until the disability is removed. No case of impeachment of the governor has yet occured in Illinois, and the office has very seldom been vacated through any cause.

The powers, duties, and functions of the governor may be classified into legislative or political, administrative, and special. Among his powers in relation to the legislature is that of issuing writs of election to fill vacancies occuring in the general assembly. Members of the latter body desiring to resign should, consequently, present their resignations to the gover

3 Constitution, article v, section 1; Report of the Attorney-General, 1912, p. 1237-1240. * Constitution, article v, section 17.

nor. The writ of election is issued to the county clerk of the county in which the member resided, and the time fixed is that of the next general election, unless a special election is necessary to fill the vacancy."

Over the organization of the legislature the governor has no legal power of control. The governor may, however, and sometimes has exerted his personal influence to secure an organization of the legislature which will be in the interest of his legislative program. This is particularly apt to be the case where the governor is considered to be the political leader of his party. A governor who takes a hand in the organization of the legislature runs the risk of being accused of undue interference and usurpation, and this has doubtless deterred some governors from doing so. Governor Lowden announced publicly that he would keep hands off the organization of the legis lature. Governor Yates maintained neutrality in regard to the selection of the speaker of the house, but took a hand in organizing the senate in the interests of party harmony. In 1908 Governor Deneen exerted his influence in the organization of the senate and in preventing the reëlection of Speaker Shurtleff in the forty-sixth general assembly.

The governor is authorized by the constitution to adjourn or prorogue the general assembly in case of disagreement between the two houses with respect to the time of adjournment. Before acting, the governor must first be notified of such disagreement by the house first moving the adjournment, and then he may adjourn the legislature to such time as he sees fit, but not, of course, beyond the first day of the next regular session. The power of the governor, upon receiving the properly authenticated notification of disagreement, is a discretionary political power, not subject to judicial review. Only twice, in

Report of the Attorney-General, 1910, p. 507-508, 1913, p. 99-100; Hurd's Revised Statutes, chapter 46, section 129.

6 Chicago Herald, November 11, 1916; Chicago Tribune, January 8, 1901, November 11, 27, 1908.

7 Constitution, article v, section 9; People v. Hatch, 33 Illinois, 9; Debates and Proceedings of the Constitutional Convention, 1870, 1:776; Report of the Attorney-General, 1912, p. 73-83.