* Press release…
The non-partisan Independent Maps coalition announced Tuesday that it is more than halfway to its goal of collecting 600,000 petition signatures for a state constitutional amendment to create a non-partisan independent commission responsible for drawing state legislative districts.
“In less than five months, more than 300,000 Illinoisans signed petitions to put this important amendment before voters in 2016, and that puts us halfway to our goal of 600,000 signatures,” said Dennis FitzSimons, Chair of Independent Maps.
“Because entrenched political interests don’t want to give Illinoisans an opportunity to vote on this amendment, we know they will challenge the validity of some of our petition signatures,” FitzSimons said. “To be absolutely certain we will meet the Illinois Constitution’s requirement of 290,216 valid signatures, we’re going to collect more than twice that number. Defenders of the current partisan system will not be able to overcome those numbers.”
“We’re ahead of schedule, and that is thanks to the hard work of volunteers giving up weekends and evenings to collect signatures and to voters who signed the petition because they are fed up with the results of rigged legislative maps,” FitzSimons said.
“Voters are frustrated and feel their voices are not being heard in the General Assembly,” said Cynthia Canary, Executive Director of Independent Maps. “The discontent is real, and it stems in part from the fact that 60 percent of the legislators elected last year didn’t have anyone running against them. When legislative districts are designed to maximize partisan advantage, the likelihood of true competitive elections is minimized. Partisan maps discourage competition and give us legislators who cruise into office without having to debate a challenger or even listen to a single voter.
“Volunteers have told us that voters are sometimes so eager to sign petitions that they grab the clipboards out of their hands, sign the petition and ask others around them to sign, too,” Canary said. “We’re very encouraged by the response throughout Illinois, but there’s a lot of hard work ahead of all of us.”
Independent Maps got off to an early and fast start this spring thanks in large part to the Illinois League of Women Voters, which has local and regional Leagues across the state, and to thousands of volunteers engaged in two previous amendment campaigns. Last month, the Illinois Farm Bureau – with more than 400,000 members in Illinois – increased the reach of the coalition and made its 95 offices collection points for volunteers to turn in completed petitions.
From Sept. 20 to 27, Independent Maps is challenging Chicago area volunteers to deliver 10,000 signatures in 10,000 minutes. The #10in10Campaign will use social media to tell the stories of our volunteers’ involvement and encourage others to help us reach our goal of collecting 10,000 fresh signatures by 10 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 27. To learn how to get involved, like us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/MapAmendment) and follow us on Twitter (@mapamendment).
As we’ve discussed before, this particular idea could very well hurt the Democratic Party’s legislative grip, not just because the resulting map would be more fairly drawn, but because the proposal would protect the “geographic integrity” of units of local government, which would likely disadvantage Chicago.
Unless the Democrats believe they have a slam-dunk legal case against this proposal, they need to get out in front of the issue with their own idea or they’re gonna pay a steep price - and they’ll deserve it.
- Snucka - Tuesday, Sep 22, 15 @ 9:31 am:
I’ll believe it when I see the petitions verified and the question on the ballot.
- Norseman - Tuesday, Sep 22, 15 @ 9:37 am:
Rich, I agree with you about the Dems being proactive on an amendment, but so far your advice has fallen on deaf ears. Evidently, they feel lucky.
On the other hand, I’m dubious of the coalitions contention that their latest iteration passes the constitutional hurdles for an initiative.
- Blackhawks fan - Tuesday, Sep 22, 15 @ 9:40 am:
I don’t like the phrase “it would likely disadvantage Chicago”
I know it is probably semantics, but this should really say, “it would likely take away Chicago’s current unfair advantage in the legislature” or “it would force competitive elections in the underrepresented suburbs”
- Mittuns - Tuesday, Sep 22, 15 @ 9:40 am:
Texas first.
- Cassandra - Tuesday, Sep 22, 15 @ 9:55 am:
If a big income tax increase is,indeed, in the works in 2016, as we’ve been hearing from the Illinois press, 2016 is probably the right time
to try to put through an initiative like this. Added to the sales tax increase in Cook, and Mayor Rahm’s big Chicago property tax increase, including his surprisingly controversial garbage pickup tax, folks may actually be paying attention to state governance. This is an opportunity to weigh in for some change, any change.
- Streator Curmudgeon - Tuesday, Sep 22, 15 @ 9:55 am:
When the government won’t govern, the people have to.
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Sep 22, 15 @ 9:55 am:
The best thing Mike Madigan’s decades of influence have given us is this current desire for change. Pushing the state to this point may be the best, most unintentional part of his legacy.
- Wordslinger - Tuesday, Sep 22, 15 @ 9:55 am:
The governor should take this news as victory for the Turnaround Agenda and move on to the fiscal crisis.
- Lucky Pierre - Tuesday, Sep 22, 15 @ 9:58 am:
Evidently this is not just a Republican idea as we have heard Speaker Madigan say. Now for a petition on term limits
- ColorsofFall - Tuesday, Sep 22, 15 @ 10:00 am:
Yep. Should probably be concerned about challenges to validly collected signatures when publicly admitting petitions are just grabbed out of their hands by people on the street who ask others to sign petition.
- Tequila Mockingbird - Tuesday, Sep 22, 15 @ 10:01 am:
Where do I sign?
- Honeybear - Tuesday, Sep 22, 15 @ 10:04 am:
Disadvantage Chicago? I’m in on that!
- Apocalypse Now - Tuesday, Sep 22, 15 @ 10:06 am:
Madigan will put forward a plan, when Rauner is re-elected in 2018 and any hope for a Democratic skewed map is gone.
- lake county democrat - Tuesday, Sep 22, 15 @ 10:08 am:
I’m not a big fan of term limits, but polls show it is overwhelmingly popular in the state. The Paul Simon Institute (that Republican bastion!) had a poll showing support running 60-15%. In this state, you can be a big-D Democrat or a little-d democrat, but it’s hard to be both.
- A guy - Tuesday, Sep 22, 15 @ 10:08 am:
Long time coming. It’s really as much about representation that makes sense as any particular partisan advantage. When you look at the shapes of districts, it would be amusing if it weren’t so serious.
- Team Sleep - Tuesday, Sep 22, 15 @ 10:11 am:
I spent a lot of time in my younger days around guys like David Reis and John Cavaletto. Both of those fine gentlemen required more than one crack to get elected to the statehouse. So did Dwight Kay. Neil Anderson got his clock cleaned in 2012 and came back with a resounding victory in 2014. My point is that sometimes it takes losing - and sometimes losing badly - to figure out the best way to do things. The effort suffered an embarrassing defeat in 2014. Assuming the leadership and staff learned its collective lesson, I think Rich’s analysis and advice that the Dems get their act together is spot on and likely fortuitous.
- Michael Westen - Tuesday, Sep 22, 15 @ 10:13 am:
How much are they paying their “volunteers?”
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Sep 22, 15 @ 10:15 am:
===Madigan will put forward a plan, when Rauner is re-elected in 2018 and any hope for a Democratic skewed map is gone.===
What does that even… mean?
To the Post,
It msy not make it this time to the ballot, who knows, but I know it will make it to the voters at some point, and the Democrats, with most of the organizing advantages should try to get ahead of it to keep the curve favoring them.
Otherwise, Raunerite Caucuses will be the order of the day.
Count on it. That’s Rauner’s hope, when he’s not ginning up “maps” and it “fails” so he can blame Madigan in the farce Rauner calls an “honest attempt” when the language of the petitions themselves won’t pass muster.
It’s only an advantage to Rauner if the process is put at the only disadvantage of the monetary commitments of the actors involved.
- Apocalypse Now - Tuesday, Sep 22, 15 @ 10:20 am:
====Madigan will put forward a plan, when Rauner is re-elected in 2018 and any hope for a Democratic skewed map is gone.===
What does that even… mean?=
Not surprised you have difficulty understanding a simple sentence.
- burbanite - Tuesday, Sep 22, 15 @ 10:21 am:
I wish someone would put in this effort to change the tax section of the constitution.
- OneMan - Tuesday, Sep 22, 15 @ 10:22 am:
If I were them I would submit the maximum number of signatures possible since I am sure it is going to get challenged in every way possible.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Sep 22, 15 @ 10:24 am:
===Not surprised you have difficulty understanding a simple sentence.===
So… You don’t know what it means, or can’t explain it?
If you are “trying” to cobble words that indicate a Rauner re-election puts into play a compromise map needing a possible Democratic majority and a possible Raunerite governor working together…
… I helped you by using words that strung out a thought.
- Demoralized - Tuesday, Sep 22, 15 @ 10:38 am:
==any hope for a Democratic skewed map is gone==
I’d like to know what that means as well. You’re tying the re-election of Governor Rauner to the end of a Democratic advantaged map? Want to clue us all in on that conclusion? I suspect you don’t have any idea what you mean either.
- Amalia - Tuesday, Sep 22, 15 @ 11:01 am:
election lawyers and helpers working in overdrive now.
- AlabamaShake - Tuesday, Sep 22, 15 @ 11:31 am:
**If I were them I would submit the maximum number of signatures possible since I am sure it is going to get challenged in every way possible.**
Brilliant… I’m sure that they haven’t thought of that.
- AlabamaShake - Tuesday, Sep 22, 15 @ 11:32 am:
**I wish someone would put in this effort to change the tax section of the constitution.**
You can’t — the IL constitution puts very strict limits on what can be changed via a citizen-initiated constitutional amendment. The constitutional amendment to the tax section needs to go through the General Assembly.
- Century Club - Tuesday, Sep 22, 15 @ 11:47 am:
One Man - If I remember correctly from last go ’round, the Board of Elections takes a random sample of the signatures to determine if there are enough valid ones. Yes, they need to go way over the minimum number, but they can’t afford to boost the numbers with poor quality signatures/sheets or they’ll run the risk of having too many bad signatures in their sample.
- Ahoy! - Tuesday, Sep 22, 15 @ 11:53 am:
I need to find a volunteer so I can sign the petition, I believe this is the most important issue in our state right now and this will fix a lot of other problems.
I do however believe the bench (judges) is rigged and they will most likely find a way to keep this off the ballot and out of the hands of voters.
- Tyrone - Tuesday, Sep 22, 15 @ 12:28 pm:
I wish we could do this nationally. These reforms tend to be carried out in blue states and fail in red states. It’s because of that flaw, I declined to sign the petition. I wish not to empower the reactionary Republican movement.
- Precinct Captain - Tuesday, Sep 22, 15 @ 12:29 pm:
==As we’ve discussed before, this particular idea could very well hurt the Democratic Party’s legislative grip, not just because the resulting map would be more fairly drawn, but because the proposal would protect the “geographic integrity” of units of local government, which would likely disadvantage Chicago.==
Could mapmakers run into the problem of grossly unbalanced districts because of this provision, invalidating their proposal?
- Quiet Sage - Tuesday, Sep 22, 15 @ 1:30 pm:
This is the one part of the turnaround agenda that every reasonable person should support.
- Wadeiea - Tuesday, Sep 22, 15 @ 3:36 pm:
Who selects this “independent nonpartisan ” map drawing commission?
- GerryManderXVI - Tuesday, Sep 22, 15 @ 4:07 pm:
Bet’cha that petition does not survive a challenge -^^
- Very fed up - Tuesday, Sep 22, 15 @ 8:59 pm:
Madigan has already said any setup other than himself having 100% control over the process is just “playing politics” you can count on him sending his snakeoil attorney in to try and get this blocked again.
- Late to the Party - Wednesday, Sep 23, 15 @ 3:29 am:
Tequila Mockingbird & AHOY :
send an email to info MapAmendment.org
asking to get you in touch with a volunteer with a petition or get your own petitions.
- Late to the Party - Wednesday, Sep 23, 15 @ 3:30 am:
hmmm let me try again
info [at] MapAmendment.org