Illinois. Office of Secretary of State. Index Division

The Executive Section of the Index Division has held unique responsibilities in the Secretary of State's office, which was required by the Constitution of 1818 to maintain official papers and registers of the acts of the Governor. A separate statutory appropriation for an executive clerk to perform these duties was first enacted in 1895. The Executive Section affixes the Great Seal of Illinois to official acts of the Governor (e.g., extradition writs petitions, requisitions, pardons, and citizenship rights restoration). It also files commissions (e.g., notaries public); oaths; state and county officers bonds; gubernatorial appointments (e.g., public administrators; deputies of county offices) and their Senate confirmations; proclamations of the Governor; executive orders; sentence commutations; and executive clemency denials.