Illinois Democrats OK new legislative maps over criticism | Govt-and-politics

Lawmakers on Tuesday accredited a do-over of legislative maps that majority Democrats accredited and Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed earlier this 12 months. These maps prompted lawsuits from prime Illinois Republicans and the Mexican American Authorized Protection and Academic Fund, a Latino civil rights group, who argued that the maps have been flawed and unconstitutional as a result of they have been based mostly on inhabitants estimates from the American Group Survey fairly than the 2020 census.

With new census knowledge launched in August, Democratic leaders referred to as lawmakers again to Springfield to move new maps. The transfer might guarantee Democrats proceed to regulate the map-making course of, fairly than danger having a decide throw out the maps or enable a bipartisan fee to take over the job — a course of that might finish with Republicans having the ultimate say.

The brand new maps, which Home and Senate Democrats posted on-line for the primary time Monday afternoon, will likely be utilized in state legislative elections for the subsequent decade. The state Home and Senate handed the measure late Tuesday with no GOP “sure” votes. It now heads to Pritzker’s desk, the place it is anticipated to be signed into legislation.

Illinois Democrats haven’t but voted on new congressional district boundaries, however with the state dropping a congressional seat attributable to inhabitants loss, they’re anticipated to remove a GOP-held district and attempt to make different districts extra pleasant to Democrats. Illinois is among the few states the place Democrats absolutely management the redistricting course of, and it’ll play a key function in Democrats’ efforts to maintain the U.S. Home majority subsequent 12 months. The social gathering’s method to state legislative map-making — barreling forward even amid opposition from typical allies — suggests they are going to be equally aggressive with congressional boundaries.

Rep. Elizabeth Hernandez, a Democrat from Cicero who leads the Home Redistricting Committee, stated the brand new legislative boundaries “higher replicate the information we not too long ago obtained from the U.S. Census and guarantee communities are represented by the folks of their alternative.”

Republicans blasted Democrats, saying rapidly referred to as and sparsely attended public hearings held over the previous week have been a sham as a result of boundaries have been already being drawn in a secret, Democrat-controlled course of.

Witnesses who testified at these hearings urged Democrats to submit proposed maps and provides the general public as a lot as 30 days — or extra — to weigh in earlier than a vote is taken.

Ami Ghandi, senior counsel for the Chicago Attorneys’ Committee for Civil Rights, informed members of the redistricting committees that it was “unreasonable” to count on voters to supply enter with out maps to react to. The Rev. Robin Hood, representing Black voters in Chicago, stated folks felt “disgust” at being omitted of the method.

Jay Younger, government director of Widespread Trigger Illinois, stated the maps the Legislature will vote on Tuesday “won’t be crafted of public enter, however of pure politics.”

“At every alternative on this redistricting course of, it is as if lawmakers went out of their method to make sure the creation of those maps had as little public enter as potential,” Younger stated.

Legislators have traditionally used census knowledge for redistricting, or the method of redrawing political maps each 10 years to replicate adjustments in inhabitants and guarantee, amongst different issues, that districts are roughly equal in inhabitants. However with the discharge of 2020 census knowledge delayed this 12 months due to the pandemic, Democrats opted to make use of the American Group Survey to fulfill a June 30 deadline set within the state structure.

If the Legislature did not meet that deadline, an eight-member fee can be created with an equal variety of Democrat and GOP lawmakers. If that group have been unable to approve a map, a ninth member can be picked at random to interrupt the tie.

Republicans are nonetheless hoping {that a} federal decide will throw out Democrats’ maps and order that course of start.

The Illinois Structure does not set a deadline for congressional district maps to be accredited, so legislators opted to attend for the census knowledge earlier than drawing these maps.