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IFB: Legal action ‘likely’ over legislative redistricting
 
By Tim Alexander
Illinois Correspondent

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. – Illinois Democrats say that newly redrawn state congressional district maps reflect population shifts that haven’t been adjusted since the early 1960s. The state’s Republicans are calling the redistricting effort, passed on May 28 by party line vote, a power grab that will lessen the number of GOP lawmakers in Congress by reducing the number of districts that would have multiple Republican incumbents.
The latest version of the legislative map for Illinois was approved and passed despite criticism from rural Illinoisans as well as urban ethnic and religious groups who claimed the new maps dilute minority voting power. Kevin Semlow of the Illinois Farm Bureau (IFB) said there are issues with the legality of the legislative remap, beginning with the data used to determine populations of congressional districts.
“We fully realize the difficult situation our lawmakers were put in with the delay of the U.S. 2020 Census data for redistricting purposes, therefore having to look for other reliable data. The unfortunate situation that Illinois finds itself in is that they have chosen to rely on American Community Survey (ACS) sampling data from the U.S. Census Bureau, which is estimated by some groups to be 41,877 lower than the initial 2020 Census counts. This puts our maps in a precarious legal situation, undoubtedly leading to time-consuming and costly legal challenges,” Semlow said in an email.
“We also want to highlight the fact that these maps were drawn using an archaic, troubling and partisan process where the legislators on one side of the aisle are drawing the maps affecting the whole state. This process neglects many, including our rural communities.”
Farm bureau policy calls for redistricting to be determined by an independent board using an unbiased process, with districts drawn in a manner that follows county, township and municipal boundaries as faithfully as possible. Above all, the process should be conducted in a way that is impartial to party or incumbency, according to Semlow.
To that end, the IFB is calling on the Illinois General Assembly to approve a ballot vote asking voters whether to amend the Illinois State Constitution to reform the state’s redistricting process.
“We now await to see what the governor will do with HB 2777 (which) contains the Illinois General Assembly new districts,” Semlow said. “He has 60 days (beginning May 30) to review and take action. It is assumed once these maps are approved, their legality in regards to the requirements of the Illinois Constitution that they are drawn in a (way that is) compact, contiguous and substantially equal in population (adhering to) the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 will be challenged in a court of law.”
Semlow noted that Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker will also be asked to review and act upon SB 825, which delays the 2022 Illinois primary election from March until May 28. If SB 825 is passed into law, candidates seeking election to the General Assembly and all other offices would not have to start collecting signatures for their petitions to run until Jan. 13, 2022.
“This has been approved to allow the General Assembly to draw the congressional maps using 2020 U.S. Census data, which is supposed to be released in August or September. This bill also moves the deadline for county governments to perform their redistricting requirements to Dec. 31, 2021,” he explained.
Some critics of the new map are accusing Democrats of having another ulterior motive for redistricting: to retain their political advantage on the Illinois Supreme Court. Currently, the seven-jurist panel is composed of four Democrats and three Republicans, with the three GOP members hailing from the 2nd, 4th and 5th districts.
The new map, based on the ACS and election data, redraws the 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th districts, which each have one elected justice, while three justices are elected from the 1st District, which spans Cook County. It extends the 4th District, which currently runs across central Illinois from Kankakee County to the Quad Cities, to include some counties within the current 2nd and 3rd Districts.
The new 4th District would gain Peoria County and the Quad Cities region, which are both currently in the 3rd District. It would also acquire Winnebago County and DuPage County, which are currently in the 2nd District. The 5th District, which currently spans more than 30 counties downstate, would gain Champaign County and Macon County, which were previously within the 4th District, Capitol News Illinois reported.
Rep. Dianne Mazzochi (R-Elmhurst) said the new legislative map reflects the Democratic Party’s attempt to manipulate the Illinois Supreme Court “as they’ve done in every other branch of government.”
Democratic Rep. Elizabeth Hernandez, chair of the House Redistricting Committee, defended the new map, saying that concerns expressed by ethnic groups, Republicans and others were considered. “After 50 public hearings across the state and listening to hours of testimony, the House and Senate Democrats have put together a product our state can be proud of,” Hernandez said in a news release. “What should stand out about this proposed map is how similar districts look compared to our current map.”
6/14/2021