Illinois's HOA statute puts a floor under board elections that your declaration can't erase: 765 ILCS 160/1-25(a) requires an election no less often than every 24 months, 765 ILCS 160/1-25(d) caps any board or officer term at 4 years, and if the board simply doesn't hold the required election, and doesn't within a reasonable time after that (capped at 90 days), 765 ILCS 160/1-25(g) lets 20% of the members sue to compel compliance, with attorney's fees if the court finds the missed election was due to the board's bad-faith acts or omissions. Meetings get the same structural floor: 765 ILCS 160/1-40(a) requires 10 to 30 days' notice of a membership meeting, subsection (b)(1) sets a 20% quorum unless your documents set something lower, and subsection (b)(5) keeps meetings open to owners except for a short, specific list of closed-session topics, with any actual vote on those topics required to happen in the open.
A fifth of the membership can force a vote on the big numbers
Illinois gives owners something rarer: a built-in override on the board's largest money moves. Under 765 ILCS 160/1-45(c), if next year's total assessments would run more than 115% of this year's, a petition signed by 20% of the membership within 14 days of the board's action forces a membership meeting within 30 days, and the increase stands only if a majority of those who show up don't vote it down. Condo owners get the parallel version in 765 ILCS 605/18.4(a): a common-element improvement that isn't an emergency or legally mandated, and that costs more than 5% of the annual budget, triggers the same kind of 20%-petition, 30-day-meeting, majority-vote mechanism. And condo rule changes carry their own participation right, 765 ILCS 605/18.4(h) requires the board to hold a members' meeting with the full text of any proposed rule in the notice before adopting it, not just announce a new rule after the fact.
The authority
The statutes behind this
Cited by name as authority, for your own reading. Informational only, not legal advice.
765 ILCS 160/1-25(a)
Requires an HOA board election no less often than every 24 months.
765 ILCS 160/1-25(g)
Lets 20% of members sue to compel a missed election, with attorney's fees if the delay was due to the board's bad-faith acts or omissions.
765 ILCS 160/1-40
Sets HOA meeting notice (10-30 days), a 20% default quorum, and an open-meetings default with a narrow list of permitted closed-session topics.
765 ILCS 160/1-45(c)
Lets a 20% petition force a member vote on an assessment increase that would top 115% of the prior year's total.
765 ILCS 605/18.4(a)
Condo parallel: a 20% petition can force a vote on a common-element expenditure over 5% of the annual budget.
765 ILCS 605/18.4(h)
Requires condo rule changes to go through a members' meeting with the full proposed text included in the notice before adoption.
Step by step
How to use your election, meeting, and voting rights in Illinois
Steps to hold an Illinois HOA or condo board accountable to the statute's election, meeting, and big-spend voting rules.
- 01
Check the election clock
Confirm your board hasn't gone past the 24-month cycle in 765 ILCS 160/1-25(a) or the 4-year term cap in subsection (d).
- 02
Confirm meeting notice and quorum
Measure the notice you got against 765 ILCS 160/1-40(a) (10-30 days) and check quorum against the 20% default in subsection (b)(1) unless your bylaws set a different number.
- 03
Watch for a 115%/5% trigger
If a proposed budget, assessment, or capital project crosses the statutory threshold, 765 ILCS 160/1-45(c) (HOA) or 765 ILCS 605/18.4(a) (condo), start your petition clock immediately; it's 14 days for the HOA rule, 21 for the condo rule.
- 04
Gather your 20%
Both petition mechanisms, and the right to compel a late election, run on a 20%-of-membership threshold. Start collecting signatures as soon as you know you'll need them.
- 05
If the board won't act, use the compel-election right
A lawsuit under 765 ILCS 160/1-25(g) to compel a missed election carries a real attorney's-fee claim if the delay was the board's bad-faith doing.
Straight answers
Common questions
How often does my Illinois HOA have to hold board elections?
No less than every 24 months under 765 ILCS 160/1-25(a), and no board member or officer can serve more than a 4-year term under 765 ILCS 160/1-25(d).
Can I force a vote if the board tries to push through a huge assessment increase?
Yes. Under 765 ILCS 160/1-45(c), if the increase would push total assessments over 115% of last year's, a petition from 20% of the membership within 14 days forces a vote within 30 days.
Is there a condo version of that check?
Yes. 765 ILCS 605/18.4(a) lets a 20% petition force a vote on a non-emergency common-element project that costs more than 5% of the annual budget.
What's the default quorum for an Illinois HOA meeting?
20% of the membership, under 765 ILCS 160/1-40(b)(1), unless your community instruments set a different number.