With the ratification of the 1848 Illinois Constitution, Legislative and Representative districts were numbered and called by name.

After the passage of the 1872 Apportionment, only Legislative districts were drawn with Representatives elected cumulatively.

[3] After the United States Supreme Court ruled in Reynolds v. Sims (1964) that "both houses of state legislatures must be apportioned according to districts of equal population," new districts were redrawn for the Illinois Senate and Illinois House of Representatives.

Under the 1954 amendment, "a 10-man bipartisan commission appointed by the governor from recommendations made by both parties" were directed to redraw boundaries but failed to do so in 1963.

The 1964 Illinois House election had several candidates running for all 177 seats throughout the state.