Abraham Lincoln began his political career in the Illinois House of Representatives as a member of the Whig party in 1834.

[3] The Democratic Party-led legislature worked to frame a new state constitution that was ultimately rejected by voters[3] After the 1862 election, the Democratic-led Illinois House of Representatives passed resolutions denouncing the federal government's conduct of the war and urging an immediate armistice and peace convention, leading the Republican governor to suspend the legislature for the first time in the state's history.

The use of that system was meant to secure a degree of representation for minority blacks and the non-dominant party through use of multi-member districts and special type of multiple voting.

Since the adoption of the Cutback Amendment, there have been proposals by some major political figures in Illinois to bring back multi-member districts.

A task force led by former governor Jim Edgar and former federal judge Abner Mikva issued a report in 2001 calling for the revival of cumulative voting,[5] in part because it appears that such a system increases the representation of racial minorities in elected office.

[6] The Chicago Tribune editorialized in 1995 that the multi-member districts elected with cumulative voting produced better legislators.

[12] Theresa Mah became the first Asian American to serve in the Illinois House when she was sworn into office January 10, 2017.

[14] A person must be a U.S. citizen and two-year resident of an electoral district of at least 21 years of age to serve in the Illinois House of Representatives.