How many houses make up the Illinois General Assembly?

The Illinois General Assembly is a bicameral legislature, meaning it is composed of two separate chambers. These two houses are the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. This structure is designed to allow for a system of checks and balances within the legislative process, encouraging deliberation and debate from both perspectives on proposed laws and policies. While some states have a unicameral legislature with only one house, Illinois specifically has adopted this two-house system to facilitate a more comprehensive legislative approach. In contrast, options suggesting a single house, three houses, or four houses inaccurately describe the structure of the legislature, as Illinois firmly operates under the established framework of two houses within its General Assembly.