* Press release…
The Illinois House and Senate Redistricting Committees have relaunched an online map making portal which will allow residents to draw and submit proposed congressional boundaries for lawmakers to consider as redistricting efforts continue.
The map making portal can be accessed at www.ilsenateredistricting.com and www.ilhousedems.com/redistricting. Returning users that have previously used the portal do not need to create a new account.
The relaunch of the portal comes ahead of a series of public hearings the committees will hold in October to gather input on the makeup of new congressional districts. Additional details about hearings will be announced in the coming days as Democrats remain committed to a redistricting process centered on public participation with more accessibility than ever before. Members of the public may also submit written testimony or draft congressional maps at any time at redistrictingcommittee@senatedem.ilga.gov and redistrictingcommittee@hds.ilga.gov.
“It’s never been more important that every resident of Illinois has a strong voice in Congress, and that starts with ensuring everyone has a voice in the mapmaking process,” said Rep. Elizabeth Hernandez, D-Cicero, Chairperson of the House Redistricting Committee. “This mapmaking tool gives everyone the opportunity to share their thoughts and help us create districts that reflect our state.”
“Now is the time for residents across Illinois to make their voices heard to ensure our state has strong representation in Washington,” said Sen. Omar Aquino, D-Chicago, Chair of the Senate Redistricting Committee. “We encourage residents to take advantage of these opportunities to directly participate in the map making process, as the best map is one that reflects the diverse voices across our state.”
* Lynn Sweet asked Senate President Don Harmon about the congressional remap process last week. Some of Sweet’s questions are paraphrased here…
LS: Will the congressional remap be passed in the veto session?
DH: Yes. We will be returning to Springfield in October, and the first priority is to pass a congressional map.
LS: Do you have a draft already, or drafts?
DH: We do not. We are just beginning the process, we’re beginning to schedule the public hearings. We want to take testimony from Illinoisans from the top to the bottom, from the east to the west, and make sure that all that public input is factored in to any map that we produce.
LS: Have you had meetings with any of the delegation members to get their views, or when does that happen?
DH: I expect that we will be having subsequent conversations going forward. There have been no formal sit-downs with any members to talk about redistricting.
LS: We have to lose a district, where do you think it will come from?
DH: This is a great question and I wanted to remind folks, in reapportionment, we went from 18 districts to 17 districts. That doesn’t mean that the district disappears so much as all the other districts get a little bit larger, and everybody in Illinois, including the entire congressional district, lives in one district or another. We’re going to follow the population shifts, we’re going to try to draw districts that are fair and reflect the diversity of the state of Illinois, we’re going to follow the Federal Voting Rights Act as well as the Illinois Voting Rights Act, and try to build districts that best represent all of Illinois.
LS: Have you looked at the maps drawn by Cook Political Report US House editor Dave Wasserman?
DH: I have not. I don’t know him. I know that the map caused a fair amount of controversy, but I also knew that nobody in charge of passing the maps, participated in drawing it.
Please pardon all transcription errors.
…Adding… React…
State Representative Tim Butler (R-Springfield) issued the following statement today in response to House and Senate Democrats announcing the relaunch of their much-maligned public map-making portal for new congressional boundaries:
“The sad truth is that this is just another attempt by Democrats to act like this is a free and fair process, but the facts have proven otherwise,” said Butler. “The relaunching of a portal that included a multitude of malfunctions that went unaddressed by them before, I don’t expect much to be different this time around.”
*** UPDATE *** Press release…
The Latino Policy Forum is gravely disappointed in the Illinois legislative maps that were signed into law last week, which do not provide equitable opportunities for Latinos to elect the representatives of their choice. These maps do not accurately reflect the state’s Latino population, nor its true diversity within the halls of government, and they do not bode well for a more equitable future of our election systems.
“Despite Illinois adding 309,832 Latinos to its overall population according to 2020 census data, the state did not add any Latino-majority districts. In fact, we lost one Latino-majority House district, from 14 to 13,” says Latino Policy Forum President and CEO Sylvia Puente. “This is not fair, just, or equitable.”
“The map signed into law by the Governor, after having had a second opportunity to get it right and after an increase in the state Latino population that should result in an increase in Latino-majority districts, falls very short,” says former State Senator and former Chicago City Clerk Miguel del Valle, who testified alongside the Forum in hearings on redistricting this year. “I’m very disappointed that the general assembly and the Latino caucus voted for this inequitable map, which is an injustice to Latinos statewide.”
- Disappointed Female Suburban - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 1:51 pm:
Comically sad.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 1:58 pm:
“Look… we want your input, time, thoughts, we want it all in one place, for you… so we can systematically ignore it and look like we cared. K? Good”
- Dems, maybe
- Hahaha - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 2:06 pm:
Do other folks in charge of redistricting in other states that have gerrymandering by a ruling party also slap their constituents in the face by pretending to have an open and honest process that would respect their input? That is an honest question. This is genuinely sad.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 2:07 pm:
=== Do other folks in charge===
I’d start in Texas and Ohio…
- twowaystreet - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 2:15 pm:
==Do other folks in charge==
I would start the list with states that don’t do that. It’s a much shorter list.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 2:19 pm:
=== I would start the list with states that don’t do that. It’s a much shorter list.===
Concur.
Until a National way of fair maps can be achieved or a mechanism that all agree on exists and used universally, a single state here or there being “fair”… is gonna be rare.
- Pot calling kettle - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 2:22 pm:
There are an infinite number of possible maps. Teasing someone with a “make your own gerrymander” is cute. Maybe they could have a “March Madness”-style bracket competition to make it more interesting. Or, a pool to see who gets the closest to what the Dems create. (No pool for the Republican version, because they never show their “ideal” map.)
- John Lopez - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 2:24 pm:
=== “We’re going to follow the population shifts, we’re going to try to draw districts that are fair and reflect the diversity of the state of Illinois…” ===
And if anyone believes that, I got a bridge over Lake Michigan to sell you!
Dems will go-for-broke to attain 14D-3R map, with Adam Kinzinger and Rodney Davis losing their districts and their seats.
Kinzinger will run for U.S. Senate
Davis will run for governor in a top-of-ticket Pat Brady will love.
- ArchPundit - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 2:31 pm:
On the plus side, the tool is fun to play with. It’s pretty cynical though.
- Pot calling kettle - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 2:32 pm:
=== Do other folks in charge===
Another fun question. How often do the folks in the minority party share their “better, fairer” versions?
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 2:50 pm:
=== Dems will go-for-broke to attain 14D-3R map===
It’s one thing for Pritzker to break his promise “twice” for maps drawn under the auspice of the Voting Rights Act, it’s another to draw a blatant 14-3 map and expect Pritzker to sign.
Doubtful.
===Kinzinger will run for U.S. Senate===
Against a Dem disabled veteran who is not polling under water?
===Davis will run for governor in a top-of-ticket Pat Brady will love.===
You want a candidate Mary Miller would love? I thought the goal of the exercise is to win, not be humiliated with the already announced silly.
- Rich Miller - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 2:51 pm:
===it’s another to draw a blatant 14-3 map and expect Pritzker to sign. ===
lol
He’ll sign whatever they put on his desk.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 2:54 pm:
=== He’ll sign whatever they put on his desk.===
The third lie is the charm.
lol
- John Lopez - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 2:56 pm:
=== It’s one thing for Pritzker to break his promise “twice” for maps drawn under the auspice of the Voting Rights Act, it’s another to draw a blatant 14-3 map and expect Pritzker to sign.
Doubtful.
- John Lopez - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 3:06 pm:
Rich took words right out of my mouth, and yes, Prtizker will break his promise again and sign a 14D-3R map.
=== Against a Dem disabled veteran who is not polling under water? ===
Unless Dems somehow draw Kinzinger’s Channahon home into Mary Miller’s district, Kinzinger runs against Duckworth next year for Senate, with his $4 million+ FEC campaign cash burning in his pocket. Frankly, where else will he go? Duckworth needs to get well over $15-$20 million cash-on-hand (she had just under $5 million June 30) to scare Kinzinger out of running for U.S. Senate.
=== You want a candidate Mary Miller would love? I thought the goal of the exercise is to win, not be humiliated with the already announced silly. ===
Miller will win reelection next year, and between Sully, Schimpf, Rabine and Bailey splitting the Mary Miller vote, Davis wins Gov’s nod in June.
As I said, the Pat Brady wing of the Republican Party will prevail in the top 2 statewide races for the primary, which will keep the Trump-base at home in November.
- Hahaha - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 3:14 pm:
Some here seem to think just a couple states do this the right way. Wrong. 10 states have processes dominated by independent commissions for congressional maps, 14 states for state legislative maps. Good Democratic states like New York and Washington have commissions. Not all partisans lie about supporting such a commission and then pretend they are conducting an open and honest process when they go back on their word. It’s okay to admit that Illinois Democrats have a extra degree of shamelessness not often seen elsewhere.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 3:28 pm:
- Hahaha -
That’s not even a majority, “ha ha”
=== As I said, the Pat Brady wing of the Republican Party will prevail in the top 2 statewide races for the primary, which will keep the Trump-base at home in November.===
(Sigh)
What I asked you;
===You want a candidate Mary Miller would love?===
You’d support Davis? Why or why not? (Pat Brady wing)
===Miller will win reelection next year===
If she gets Davis, then that’s what Davis already fears.
===Davis wins Gov’s nod===
I have already written about the Davis path; lots and lots of candidates, big primary. Yep
- Demoralized - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 3:29 pm:
==and sign a 14D-3R map==
What kind of map is he supposed to sign?
- Demoralized - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 3:30 pm:
==not often seen elsewhere==
You’re not looking very hard then when it comes to map making.
- ArchPundit - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 3:35 pm:
===Kinzinger runs against Duckworth next year for Senate,
For the people proposing this–why do you think he can get through a GOP primary?
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 3:37 pm:
=== Good Democratic states like New York===
Hmm.
“Redistricting Commission Fails its Core Mission, Threatens Creation of Fair District Maps” - September 15th, 2021
https://www.nyic.org/2021/09/redistricting-commission-fails-its-core-mission-threatens-creation-of-fair-district-maps/
From the link;
===Murad Awawdeh, Executive Director, New York Immigration Coalition:
“Immigrant community members and other stakeholders took time off work to attend commission hearings across the state to share their concerns about the impact of unfair districts on their families and communities. Today, the commission delivered a slap in the face to these concerned community members by failing to present New Yorkers with one draft map inclusive of public input. The release of two maps creates confusion and negates the entire purpose of having an independent commission.
This commission was created to put politics aside and build the fairest maps possible. That this commission could not even come to a consensus on the first draft of its maps leaves us with deep concerns about its ability to draw fair maps and ensure fair representation.”===
If it were easy…
- Just Me 2 - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 3:38 pm:
OW - the justification of, “They’re corrupt so we can be corrupt too” doesn’t work as well as you think it does.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 3:46 pm:
===“They’re corrupt so we can be corrupt too” doesn’t work as well as you think it does.===
What I wrote;
=== Until a National way of fair maps can be achieved or a mechanism that all agree on exists and used universally, a single state here or there being “fair”… is gonna be rare.===
Keep up, please.
=== What kind of map is he supposed to sign?===
A 13-4 kinda map that becomes tossup then Dem in 2 cycles, (14-3) while pretending it’s “just” a 13-4 map…
… but that’s the romantic in me.
- John Lopez - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 3:49 pm:
=== For the people proposing this [Kinzinger running for U.S. Senate]–why do you think he can get through a GOP primary? ===
That’s easy. First, Kinzinger had over $3 million cash-on-hand June 30, and will likely have over $4 million at end of this year.
Second, have you seen the Republican primary field?
- Tim Arview (less than $1 cash on hand June 30)
- Peggy Hubbard (her again?)
- Casey Chlebek (him again?)
- Eric Wallace, PhD (him again? Ran against Joyce in 40th Senate District last year)
- Bobby Piton (already branded QAnon by MMFA)
Unless Piton, a 1st time candidate, can show he can raise money on his FEC quarterly for 3rd Quarter, Kinzinger wins U.S. Senate primary for a song.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 3:55 pm:
Winning a primary and winning a general election are two different things.
Ask; Oberweis, Jim
- John Lopez - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 4:04 pm:
=== Winning a primary and winning a general election are two different things.
Ask; Oberweis, Jim ===
When was the last 1st term U.S. Senator to win reelection to a 2nd term from Illinois? Dick Durbin, 2002.
When was the last time ANYONE won reelection to the U.S. Senate seat now occupied by Senator Duckworth?
Alan Dixon, 1986.
Kinzinger is no Oberweis. And Duckworth is no Durbin or Obama.
- Norseman - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 4:05 pm:
=== They’re corrupt so we can be corrupt too ===
The current Supreme Court is ok with partisan mapmaking. So they don’t define it as corrupt. I would like to see the process changed, but without a change applied throughout the country we’re only enabling a more egregious corruption that disenfranchises minorities and is revising electoral processes to enable the theft of future elections. Our democracy is on the precipice waiting for the GOP to push it off. I for one want to keep this from happening and IL is an important battleground. Sign JB, sign.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 4:11 pm:
Mosley-Braun - lost
Fitzgerald - did not seek re-election
Obama - “elevated”
Burris - “appointed”
Kirk - stroke, never the same candidate.
Disingenuous to why the seat has flipped.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 4:14 pm:
===Kinzinger is no Oberweis. And Duckworth is no Durbin or Obama===
Duckworth will probably have Durbin and Obama support…
You just made a point about Trunpkins stating home, didn’t you?
===… which will keep the Trump-base at home in November.===
You did.
- lake county democrat - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 4:24 pm:
Many states, both red and blue, got rid of partisan gerrymandering without waiting for a national law or uniform method - a minority, to be sure, but I wouldn’t say “rare.”
Anyway, Governor Pritzker promised not to sign a partisan map. Governor Pritzker lied.
- John Lopez - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 4:35 pm:
=== Disingenuous to why the seat has flipped. ===
Nothing disingenuous, just telling the truth, and you left out Dixon lost in primary, and appointed Burris chose/forced not seek election.
Yup, I said Trump supporters will stay home if Davis and Kinzinger top the ticket. I stand by that, and that won’t stop Kinzinger from cake walk to nomination for U.S. Senate, given the primary field.
And the Trumpkins wouldn’t vote for Kinzinger anyway.
- Pundent - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 4:39 pm:
=Kinzinger is no Oberweis. And Duckworth is no Durbin or Obama.=
How does Kinzinger appeal to and get what constitutes the current Republican base to turn out and vote for him? Equally, how does he prevent those same voters from voting for Duckworth simply out of spite? See that’s the problem when your party is taken over by an irrational mob. They tend to act in unpredictable ways. And it makes history kind of irrelevant.
- Wheaton - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 4:48 pm:
==When was the last time ANYONE won reelection to the U.S. Senate seat now occupied by Senator Duckworth? Alan Dixon, 1986==
We all know that Illinois in 1986 is exactly like Illinois 2022. Come to grip with the fact that once the uber-right stops trying to “Mark Kirk” people out of the party, the Democratic candidate gets a pass in November.
- Proud Sucker - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 4:54 pm:
“Against a Dem disabled veteran who is not polling under water?”
In a State that was Biden +14.
Adam will resemble poor Justin in Cleveland last Sunday.
- TJ - Tuesday, Sep 28, 21 @ 6:09 pm:
All I want is for them to draft a meaningfully competitive Central Illinois district. I absolutely believe that a district built around Champaign-Urbana and Bloomington-Normal could be a good battleground.