Oh, this ought to be good
Monday, Aug 8, 2016 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Tribune…
The National Conference of State Legislatures is in town for its annual meeting. Tim Mapes, longtime righthand man to Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan, is scheduled to speak on a panel about redistricting.
- Delimma - Monday, Aug 8, 16 @ 9:59 am:
Personally, I have no problem with fixing the maps, but I get bothered by the partisan demand for it only where the maps don’t favor them. In deeply red states, there is no similar demand by conservatives to fix the maps. If this was really about fairness, then the push should be universal, otherwise, it just seems smarmy and self serving. That said, I’m all for fair maps everywhere, red, blue or any other place, so long as they are fair everywhere, not just where it benefits one party.
- Anonymous - Monday, Aug 8, 16 @ 10:01 am:
That’s always been the rub with me too Delimma. It just seems like unilateral disarmament otherwise, regardless of its merits.
- PublicServant - Monday, Aug 8, 16 @ 10:02 am:
Gah! Me above, sorry.
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Aug 8, 16 @ 10:10 am:
This will be good.
There will be a fine line between redistricting and just gerrymandering beyond the pale.
I’d like to see/hear the remarks.
- Wow - Monday, Aug 8, 16 @ 10:18 am:
He who hath the pen rules.. End of speech, thank you for coming!!
- Belle - Monday, Aug 8, 16 @ 10:24 am:
My neighborhood has been sliced and diced a couple of times in order to assist with Aldermanic elections and keep a specific Federal Congressman in office.
Over 20 years years ago, it was obvious that it favored keeping the Latinos and Ukrainians/Polish within their boundaries. As the area gentrified, new boundaries were drawn and now it is crazier than ever as it snakes through alleys and down the middle of residential streets.
It also serves to emotionally divide the neighborhood groups and render them less powerful when the boundaries are drawn through small neighborhoods.
I can understand altering the boundaries from time to time but I’d like to see some order to the boundaries. It would be great to put an end to the obvious divide between financial differences and the race factor.
- Ron Burgundy - Monday, Aug 8, 16 @ 10:24 am:
State maps are controlled by the states, so it has to be and forever will be a state-by-state decision, subject to Constitutional provisions of course.
- Commonsense in Illinois - Monday, Aug 8, 16 @ 10:28 am:
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- Precinct Captain - Monday, Aug 8, 16 @ 10:37 am:
Let’s call the GOP bluff. Will they support lawsuits to define a court-review standard for partisan gerrymandering that have recently been filed in Wisconsin and North Carolina?
- Century Club - Monday, Aug 8, 16 @ 11:11 am:
Tim Mapes gives the shortest panel speech in NCSL history: Victoribus Spolia.
- Empty Suit - Monday, Aug 8, 16 @ 11:25 am:
Excuse me I can stop laughing..ok I’m better..Not! Bahahaha!!
- Amalia - Monday, Aug 8, 16 @ 11:49 am:
Illinois is different in that the stranglehold is actually helping Dems. wonder how that gets portrayed. I’d rather have Illinois as is than Texas as they are.
- Mama - Monday, Aug 8, 16 @ 1:14 pm:
Will the governor be there for his speech?
- A guy - Monday, Aug 8, 16 @ 3:34 pm:
If the over/under on this talk is 5 minutes, I’ll take the under. lol
- David Starrett - Monday, Aug 8, 16 @ 3:45 pm:
Tim’s remarks on this matter are entirely predictable. I could write them for him in ten minutes.