Capitol Fax.com - Your Illinois News Radar » Pritzker says his threat to veto unfair maps will take care of the problem
SUBSCRIBE to Capitol Fax      Advertise Here      About     Exclusive Subscriber Content     Updated Posts    Contact Rich Miller
CapitolFax.com
To subscribe to Capitol Fax, click here.
Pritzker says his threat to veto unfair maps will take care of the problem

Thursday, Jan 30, 2020 - Posted by Rich Miller

* The governor was asked today about the fact that he didn’t mention remap reform in his State of the State speech. As we’ve discussed, several Republicans and reformers were upset at the omission. His reply

Well, as you know the remap process occurs, we have a census that’s taking place. And I want to remind everybody here, students, everybody in the room and everybody you know, that that census is taking place and that you need to take part in it, needed to encourage your neighbors and your friends and everybody else to take part in it. It’s very important for the state for the future of the state, for making sure that we get the proper number of congressional districts and the proper federal funding that comes from the number of people who are counted in the census, lots of undercounted people 10 years ago, we don’t want that to happen again. So that’s my first entreaty to all of you.

I, you know, ran a campaign in which I talked a lot about making sure that we had a fair mapping process, that we ended up with a fair map. And and I really believe that I think we should have compact contiguous districts as best we can.

Not to get into the weeds of it. As you know, when you start on a map, you start with the Supreme Court’s rulings around civil rights, you have to draw those districts first. And then you have to draw everything else around them. So it starts out a little bit gerrymandered by the Supreme Court. And appropriately so, if you ask me, but then, you know, we can have compact contiguous districts.

So look, I am going to veto any unfair map that gets presented to me. And yeah, and I believe that we’ll be able to take care of it that way. Thank you.

Discuss.

…Adding… This is the question I asked all gubernatorial candidates in March of 2018

This requires only a simple yes or no response: Will you pledge as governor to veto any state legislative redistricting map proposal that is in any way drafted or created by legislators, political party leaders and/or their staffs or allies? The exception, of course, would be the final official draft by LRB.

Pretty darned specific.

Pritzker’s response

Yes, I will pledge to veto. We should amend the constitution to create an independent commission to draw legislative maps, but in the meantime, I would urge Democrats and Republicans to agree to an independent commission to handle creating a new legislative map. That designated body should reflect the gender, racial, and geographic diversity of the state and look to preserve the Voting Rights Act decisions to ensure racial and language minorities are fully represented in the electoral process.

       

28 Comments
  1. - Just Me 2 - Thursday, Jan 30, 20 @ 3:53 pm:

    Is he for real or is this snark?


  2. - Shytown - Thursday, Jan 30, 20 @ 3:53 pm:

    “So look, I am going to veto any unfair map that gets presented to me. And yeah, and I believe that we’ll be able to take care of it that way. Thank you.”

    Mic. Drop.


  3. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Jan 30, 20 @ 3:54 pm:

    === Not to get into the weeds of it. As you know, when you start on a map, you start with the Supreme Court’s rulings around civil rights, you have to draw those districts first. And then you have to draw everything else around them. So it starts out a little bit gerrymandered by the Supreme Court. And appropriately so, if you ask me, but then, you know, we can have compact contiguous districts.===

    If you don’t fully comprehend the total honesty here to the challenges of drawing any map… then you are a lost cause and too partisan to grasp what’s really going on.

    Yikes that’s top shelf.

    That’s how you answer. That’s being prepared, that’s calling out the phonies hoping for daylight.

    Well done.


  4. - Birdseed - Thursday, Jan 30, 20 @ 3:55 pm:

    Thinking Big Again


  5. - Ron Burgundy - Thursday, Jan 30, 20 @ 3:57 pm:

    Well that’s great for now, but what about, you know, when he’s no longer Governor?


  6. - Conway All Day - Thursday, Jan 30, 20 @ 3:57 pm:

    I, you know, will veto the first map.

    Then, you know, the legislature will override me. And, you know, I will be able to say I tried to do something.


  7. - Tawk - Thursday, Jan 30, 20 @ 3:58 pm:

    By executive order — or even as a private citizen — he can put together a commission that draws a map or multiple maps for consideration. He’s leaving far too much daylight here for the speaker.


  8. - Rich Miller - Thursday, Jan 30, 20 @ 4:06 pm:

    ===Then, you know, the legislature will override me===

    That’s a dangerous game. If he sustains the veto it gets truly messy for the Dems.


  9. - SpfdNewb - Thursday, Jan 30, 20 @ 4:07 pm:

    I’ll give the Gov. credit, this is the simplest way I have ever heard someone discuss legislative district mapping.

    -Well that’s great for now, but what about, you know, when he’s no longer Governor?-

    Good point, but the census results will be known by December 2020, the legislature has 2021 to draw a new map and send it to the Gov’s desk, and Pritzker’s term expires in 2022.


  10. - fs - Thursday, Jan 30, 20 @ 4:18 pm:

    “Don’t worry, hens, I’ll make sure your house is secure.”

    - Fox


  11. - Boog Alou - Thursday, Jan 30, 20 @ 4:23 pm:

    ==Then, you know, the legislature will override me==

    Maybe, but I don’t think many Tier One targets will be rushing to vote a second time for a map that their own Governor just called unfair.


  12. - Three Dimensional Checkers - Thursday, Jan 30, 20 @ 4:25 pm:

    Sounds like backsliding to me. Who gets to decide what’s a fair map? The legislative leaders can draw and map and the Governor would say, “no this is fair so I’m not going to veto it.” I mean, I’m kind of for it, but he is clearly loosening his position from before the primary.


  13. - Tominchicago - Thursday, Jan 30, 20 @ 4:36 pm:

    Tawk - unless he funds the commission’s work himself, he’s going to need an appropriation from the GA to pay for the commissions work and even then, there is nothing that requires the GA to adopt any of the commission’s maps.


  14. - F.S. - Thursday, Jan 30, 20 @ 4:40 pm:

    There have been a couple of metrics developed to determined whether a map has been excessively gerrymandered. One is the “Efficiency Gap,” which grew out of a federal court case in Wisconsin. Pritzker could demand legislators employ one of those filters, which could credibly allow him to call the map fair. And, BTW, a “fair map” in Illinois should naturally elect a healthy majority of Democrats. In fact, when the current Illinois map was run through the “Efficiency Gap” metric used in the Wisconsin case, it was determined to not be excessively gerrymandered.


  15. - walker - Thursday, Jan 30, 20 @ 4:41 pm:

    What we need is an agreed Resolution on what metrics and standards are to be applied to any proposed map, in judging whether it meets our constitutional and “political fairness” requirements. There have been such metrics proposed and argued in court cases on compactness, contiguousness, political bias, and civil rights — some are very clear, and others necessarily pretty fuzzy. The Supremes have not fully accepted any of them, and generally pushed mapping standards back on the state legislators. If we are good enough on our criteria for Illinois maps, we can again lead the nation in establishing such standards, and the issue of who draws the map can be somewhat mitigated. Incidentally, some of the independent commission drawn maps do not appear to meet the highest political bias standards, for various reasons.

    I refuse to accept the widely-held belief that politicians, by definition, cannot do the right thing. In the end, perception will become reality.

    As an aside, today’s argument at the ethics hearing that all corrupt acts (like bribery) begin with a corrupt mapping process, is quite an amazing stretch.


  16. - Dance Band on the Titanic - Thursday, Jan 30, 20 @ 4:46 pm:

    Governor Pritzker should force the issue to appoint that independent commission. Then he sppoint Mike Fortner and Susan Garrett as the co-chairs. Then get out of their way.


  17. - TominChicago - Thursday, Jan 30, 20 @ 4:52 pm:

    I am still at a loss to understand why Democrats should unilaterally disarm when you have states like Wisconsin and NC that have actively sought to weaponize gerrymandering to minimize the political power of African Americans and maximize the vote share of white republicans. I am fine with fair maps if everyone plays.


  18. - Davesurance.com - Thursday, Jan 30, 20 @ 5:02 pm:

    Well I’ll be damned…

    https://imgur.com/a/RdOhh21


  19. - walker - Thursday, Jan 30, 20 @ 5:10 pm:

    See Davesurance cite above at 5:02.

    Shown are three of the most accepted political bias metrics that have been applied by independent third parties in judging maps. Quite surprising findings.


  20. - Pundent - Thursday, Jan 30, 20 @ 5:17 pm:

    =Then, you know, the legislature will override me.=

    Yeah, that’s a good look.

    =I am still at a loss to understand why Democrats should unilaterally disarm when you have states like Wisconsin and NC that have actively sought to weaponize gerrymandering to minimize the political power of African Americans and maximize the vote share of white republicans.=

    How about we do the right thing in our state and use that as an opportunity to call out those that don’t. Telling Republican voters that they’re going to be disenfranchised in IL because of NC only adds to the divisiveness. And hopefully the courts rectify this problem in the long term.


  21. - Candy Dogood - Thursday, Jan 30, 20 @ 5:20 pm:

    ===Quite surprising findings.===

    I believe the concern in Illinois is specifically regarding state legislative districts, however — yes — Democrats have historically for many decades now favored fair redistricting processes.

    This is in part because Democrats actually have an overwhelming tendency to at least try to govern in a fashion that resembles the values they say they have.

    That’s how you get to the GOP being the thing that it is today where proponents now sound more disconnected from reality than the proverbial uncle at Thanksgiving.

    ===should unilaterally disarm===

    One might think that the 51st Staters would be largely in favor of a congressional map that condenses much of their area into one or two US House districts. It would be just like electing their own representative while urban areas down state can enjoy electing a representative that prioritizes issues that matter to them.

    ===Mike Fortner===

    I don’t think we should be throwing folks that are on the record suggesting people don’t have the right to organize unions onto commissions intended to arrive at something that protect people’s rights.


  22. - Yellow Dog Democrat - Thursday, Jan 30, 20 @ 5:24 pm:

    Bruce Rauner promised to win back majority control of both the Senate and the House on the current map. What JB will do in 2022 with the Durkin-Brady map seems like an issue that is not quite ripe for discussion. The fact that Rauner and the Republicans honestly believe they can not only pick up seats, but win back the majority on the current map suggests the current process is much, much fairer than they have admitted.


  23. - Captain Obvious - Thursday, Jan 30, 20 @ 5:52 pm:

    MM: Here is the map.
    JayBob: Looks perfectly fair. Where do I sign?


  24. - JS Mill - Thursday, Jan 30, 20 @ 6:14 pm:

    @Captian Obvious- waaaay back when the GOP controlled the map, how did they draw it? I am pretty sure they wouldn’t say one word about it id they were in the majority.

    So when Pritzker says he will support a fair map their is no reason to doubt him. He does what he says he is going to do and his ability to support the party will keep many in line.


  25. - Bigtwich - Thursday, Jan 30, 20 @ 6:24 pm:

    Davesurance, it looks like Illinois has one of the fairest maps around.


  26. - Captain Obvious - Thursday, Jan 30, 20 @ 6:55 pm:

    Thanks for lecture. Doesn’t change reality.


  27. - JS Mill - Friday, Jan 31, 20 @ 8:10 am:

    =Thanks for lecture. Doesn’t change reality.=

    What reality? The poor me, life is unfair unless you do as I want even though my party can hardly win an election reality?

    “Continuous whining” is the new GOP slogan.


  28. - 588-2300 - Friday, Jan 31, 20 @ 8:44 am:

    Promises a constitutional amendment and an independent commission, then argues that a hollow veto threat demonstrates his commitment to the issue. It’s like a fat guy who promises to eat better and go to the gym, then pops open a Diet Coke and complains how no one recognizes the sacrifices he’s made.


Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.


* Buried nugget and magic beans
* Open thread
* SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Supplement to today’s edition and some campaign stuff
* SUBSCRIBERS ONLY - Today's edition of Capitol Fax (use all CAPS in password)
* Live coverage
* Selected press releases (Live updates)
* Yesterday's stories

Support CapitolFax.com
Visit our advertisers...

...............

...............

...............

...............

...............

...............


Loading


Main Menu
Home
Illinois
YouTube
Pundit rankings
Obama
Subscriber Content
Durbin
Burris
Blagojevich Trial
Advertising
Updated Posts
Polls

Archives
October 2024
September 2024
August 2024
July 2024
June 2024
May 2024
April 2024
March 2024
February 2024
January 2024
December 2023
November 2023
October 2023
September 2023
August 2023
July 2023
June 2023
May 2023
April 2023
March 2023
February 2023
January 2023
December 2022
November 2022
October 2022
September 2022
August 2022
July 2022
June 2022
May 2022
April 2022
March 2022
February 2022
January 2022
December 2021
November 2021
October 2021
September 2021
August 2021
July 2021
June 2021
May 2021
April 2021
March 2021
February 2021
January 2021
December 2020
November 2020
October 2020
September 2020
August 2020
July 2020
June 2020
May 2020
April 2020
March 2020
February 2020
January 2020
December 2019
November 2019
October 2019
September 2019
August 2019
July 2019
June 2019
May 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
January 2019
December 2018
November 2018
October 2018
September 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
December 2017
November 2017
October 2017
September 2017
August 2017
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017
December 2016
November 2016
October 2016
September 2016
August 2016
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
December 2015
November 2015
October 2015
September 2015
August 2015
July 2015
June 2015
May 2015
April 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015
December 2014
November 2014
October 2014
September 2014
August 2014
July 2014
June 2014
May 2014
April 2014
March 2014
February 2014
January 2014
December 2013
November 2013
October 2013
September 2013
August 2013
July 2013
June 2013
May 2013
April 2013
March 2013
February 2013
January 2013
December 2012
November 2012
October 2012
September 2012
August 2012
July 2012
June 2012
May 2012
April 2012
March 2012
February 2012
January 2012
December 2011
November 2011
October 2011
September 2011
August 2011
July 2011
June 2011
May 2011
April 2011
March 2011
February 2011
January 2011
December 2010
November 2010
October 2010
September 2010
August 2010
July 2010
June 2010
May 2010
April 2010
March 2010
February 2010
January 2010
December 2009
November 2009
October 2009
September 2009
August 2009
July 2009
June 2009
May 2009
April 2009
March 2009
February 2009
January 2009
December 2008
November 2008
October 2008
September 2008
August 2008
July 2008
June 2008
May 2008
April 2008
March 2008
February 2008
January 2008
December 2007
November 2007
October 2007
September 2007
August 2007
July 2007
June 2007
May 2007
April 2007
March 2007
February 2007
January 2007
December 2006
November 2006
October 2006
September 2006
August 2006
July 2006
June 2006
May 2006
April 2006
March 2006
February 2006
January 2006
December 2005
April 2005
March 2005
February 2005
January 2005
December 2004
November 2004
October 2004

Blog*Spot Archives
November 2005
October 2005
September 2005
August 2005
July 2005
June 2005
May 2005

Syndication

RSS Feed 2.0
Comments RSS 2.0




Hosted by MCS SUBSCRIBE to Capitol Fax Advertise Here Mobile Version Contact Rich Miller