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Illinois General Assembly· HB 3359Governor Approved

PEREMPTORY CHALLENGES-JURORS, the official text

Shown verbatim: the complete text as captured from the official PDF posted by the Illinois General Assembly, fetched 2026-09-25. Page and line markers are part of the official record; nothing is edited or removed. This is the current version. The official bill page.
HB3359 Enrolled                      LRB104 11958 JRC 22051 b

1  AN ACT concerning courts.

2  Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,

3 represented in the General Assembly:

4  Section 5. The Jury Act is amended by changing Section 20

5 as follows:

6  (705 ILCS 305/20) (from Ch. 78, par. 20)

7  Sec. 20. (a) It shall be the duty of the clerk of the court

8 at the commencement of each week at which any cause is to be

9 tried by a jury to write the name of each petit juror summoned

10 and retained for that week on a separate ticket, and put the

11 whole into a box or other place for safekeeping; and as often

12 as it shall be necessary to impanel a jury, the clerk, sheriff

13 or coroner shall, in the presence of the court, draw by chance

14 12 names (or from 14 up to and including 16 where alternate

15 jurors are required) out of such box or other place, which

16 shall designate the persons to be sworn on the jury, and in the

17 same manner for the second jury, in their turn, as the court

18 may order and direct. The attorney for any party litigant in

19 any cause assigned to jury trial shall have the right to be

20 present in person at the time and place when the random

21 selection of jurors for trial of said cause is drawn by lot to

22 be assigned to the trial judge for voir dire examination; a

23 party litigant whose attorney is present at the selection
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1 process waives any objection to the selection procedure unless

2 the same is asserted prior to the time any prospective juror is

3 called for voir dire examination.

4   (b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a),

5 names of jurors may be randomly drawn by computer.

6   (c) The changes made to this Section by this amendatory

7 Act of the 104th General Assembly apply to actions commenced

8 or pending on or after January 1, 2026.

9 (Source: P.A. 86-1053.)

10  Section 10. The Code of Civil Procedure is amended by

11 changing Section 2-1106 as follows:

12  (735 ILCS 5/2-1106) (from Ch. 110, par. 2-1106)

13  Sec. 2-1106. Peremptory challenges - Alternate jurors. (a)

14 Each side shall be entitled to 5 peremptory challenges. If

15 there is more than one party on any side, the court may allow

16 each side additional peremptory challenges, not to exceed 3,

17 on account of each additional party on the side having the

18 greatest number of parties. Each side shall be allowed an

19 equal number of peremptory challenges. If the parties on a

20 side are unable to agree upon the allocation of peremptory

21 challenges among themselves, the allocation shall be

22 determined by the court.

23  (b) The court may direct that up to and including 4 1 or 2

24 jurors in addition to the regular panel be impanelled to serve
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1 as alternate jurors. Alternate jurors, in the sequence in

2 which they are ordered into the jury box, shall replace jurors

3 who, prior to the time the jury retires to consider its

4 verdict, become unable to perform their duties. Alternate

5 jurors shall be drawn in the same manner, have the same

6 qualifications, be subject to the same examination and

7 challenges, take the same oath, and have the same functions,

8 powers, facilities, and privileges as the principal jurors. An

9 alternate juror who does not replace a principal juror shall

10 be discharged at the time the jury retires to consider its

11 verdict. If alternate jurors are called each side shall be

12 allowed one additional peremptory challenge, regardless of the

13 number of alternate jurors called. The additional peremptory

14 challenge may be used only against an alternate juror, but any

15 unexercised peremptory challenges may be used against an

16 alternate juror.

17  (c) The changes made to this Section by this amendatory

18 Act of the 104th General Assembly apply to actions commenced

19 or pending on or after January 1, 2026.

20 (Source: P.A. 83-707.)
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