* Lynn Sweet…
A draft of the proposed new 17-district lllinois congressional map will be released on Friday, several Democratic [US] House incumbents were told on Thursday by representatives of Gov. J.B. Pritzker, Illinois Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, and House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside. […]
The Chicago Sun-Times has learned the new congressional map, based on the 2020 Census, will be drawn to favor voters electing Democrats in 14 districts leaving only 3 where Republicans can easily win.
The current map, based on the 2010 Census has Illinois sending 13 Democrats and 5 Republicans to Congress.
There is only one Hispanic district on the proposed map, which must be approved by the Illinois General Assembly. There was a push to create two. The number of Black Districts will remain at three.
…Adding… SJ-R…
Republicans said Thursday that Democrats are trying to tip local courts in their favor through the once-every-10-years redistricting process and taking actions to bypass Illinois House and Senate committees in the creation of new congressional district maps for the state.
Democratic lawmakers were vague in their responses to the GOP complaints, or they sidestepped or refused to answer the questions, as Tuesday’s kickoff to this month’s six-day veto session approaches.
Democrats who control the General Assembly have said they plan to use the veto session, scheduled for Oct. 19-21 and Oct. 26-28, to approve new district maps for Illinois’ U.S. House districts, and new maps for current judicial subdistricts. […]
State Rep. Tim Butler, R-Springfield, Republican spokesman on the House Redistricting Committee, said at a hearing in Springfield that he is concerned Democrats are considering creating new judicial subcircuits in downstate areas such as those covering Sangamon, Peoria and Champaign counties. No subcircuits currently exist in those areas.
…Adding… Republicans mad!…
- Norseman - Thursday, Oct 14, 21 @ 9:57 pm:
The split doesn’t surprise. I’m still a little surprised by the demo split. We’ll see how it plays in court.
- DuPage Saint - Thursday, Oct 14, 21 @ 10:02 pm:
To the victors belong the spoils. But I think Hispanics got short end of the stick
- Wheaton Warrior - Thursday, Oct 14, 21 @ 10:04 pm:
I’m surprised they didn’t make a latinx district Romeoville-Aurora-Elgin-Carpentersville.
Makes me think they gave Foster Aurora and West to much of his old district. Means Underwood takes Bolingbrook / Joliet / Naperville / Romeoville. Casten likely further north with Raja (old Hultgren/Underwood). hmmm….
- Oswego Willy - Thursday, Oct 14, 21 @ 10:13 pm:
Welp.
The 14-3 split.
Win elections, and you draw the maps. No fault to Dems. Nope.
I’m disappointed… but, “winners make policy”… not much more I have to say
- Amalia - Thursday, Oct 14, 21 @ 10:13 pm:
18.7% Hispanic 12.4% Black. come on.
- Manchester - Thursday, Oct 14, 21 @ 10:17 pm:
Good. The Dems need every possible advantage to hold on the House of Representatives in 2022.
- Frank talks - Thursday, Oct 14, 21 @ 10:50 pm:
Well this should be an interesting upcoming couple of weeks
- Nitemayor - Friday, Oct 15, 21 @ 5:09 am:
Are Davis and Miller now in the same district?
- lake county democrat - Friday, Oct 15, 21 @ 6:04 am:
Of course its the fault of the Dems, who at the national level still insist partisan gerrymandering is unconstitutional and immoral per se and that HR1 is undoing partisan rulings. We’re not born on “Tribe GOP” or “Tribe Dem” and forced to surrender our voting power because from a *party* perspective there should be no “unilateral disarmanement.” That didn’t stop both red and blue state voters in other states from overruling their ruling parties.
Oh yeah, and JB, you lied.
- TJ - Friday, Oct 15, 21 @ 6:22 am:
Still holding out hope for an actual Central Illinois district.
- Nick - Friday, Oct 15, 21 @ 7:30 am:
As has been obvious and predictable for months
The real question in my mind remains how they’ll shore up IL-17.
- NonAFSCMEStateEmployeeFromChatham - Friday, Oct 15, 21 @ 7:44 am:
==I’m surprised they didn’t make a latinx district Romeoville-Aurora-Elgin-Carpentersville.==
Or split the Latinx earmuff in two northern and southern districts, the northern half of current 4th going to Elgin and Carpentersville while the south half extends to Aurora and Romeoville.
- ZC - Friday, Oct 15, 21 @ 8:46 am:
IL-17 has looked comparatively normal, for a couple of cycles, compared to its previous “Rabbit on a skateboard” configuration. Interesting to see what happens to it next.
- Blue Dog - Friday, Oct 15, 21 @ 8:51 am:
Its only 14-3 on paper. Rember my 2022 prediction.
- Lake Villa township - Friday, Oct 15, 21 @ 8:52 am:
Pritkzer shouldn’t sign a 14-3 map, period. Bad for democracy
- Lynn S. - Friday, Oct 15, 21 @ 9:20 am:
A 14-3 map is bad for democracy?
Republicans are becoming more concentrated in rural and downstate areas, which are losing population.
Democrats dominate (for now, at least) in Chicago and the collars; and what’s considered a “collar county” has expanded somewhat, to include Grundy and McHenry.
Illinois voters are rejecting the ideas the Republican Party of Illinois is selling, and the way the national Republican party has turned Trumpist has practically guaranteed that the Illinois Republican party will be a minority for another generation or two.
So the Republican Party of Illinois either needs to have a “come to Jesus” breakthrough and accept sanity and rationality, or they can accept their declining status they currently have.
(My personal prediction is that Illinois and several other states will go down the path California is on, where Democrats and undecideds are 70-80% of the electorate, and the Republicans would rather whine about the scraps than join the 21st century of ideas, science, and progress.)
- lake county democrat - Friday, Oct 15, 21 @ 9:27 am:
Lynn S. - It’s bad for democracy by definition: it’s politicians doing their best to make as many votes as possible irrelevant. And it’s not simply about D v. R: the reason there are so many extremists in office is because there are fewer purple districts and more deeper red/deeper blue districts squeezing the centrists out.
- Lynn S. - Friday, Oct 15, 21 @ 9:28 am:
The marketplace of ideas has spoken.
Voters aren’t buying what Republicans are selling.
And Americans really aren’t interested in the minoritarian policies Republicans are trying to ram through, especially at the federal level.
Thus, a 14-3 map.
And let’s don’t kid ourselves. If the shoe was on the other foot, we’d be talking about a map where the boundaries are different, but the Republicans had the greater number of districts.
- Oswego Willy - Friday, Oct 15, 21 @ 9:33 am:
===It’s bad for democracy by definition:===
When Republicans have rejected candidates, that’s on the GOP not voters.
See: Ives, Jeanne
- TJ - Friday, Oct 15, 21 @ 9:36 am:
Republicans: This map favoring the major party is bad…. in Illinois!
- Jocko - Friday, Oct 15, 21 @ 9:42 am:
==Of course its the fault of the Dems==
For what? Trouncing their republican opponent every two years?
- Dan Johnson - Friday, Oct 15, 21 @ 10:45 am:
For the next round, hopefully the Illinois Senate’s idea to create a compact for fair representation can take hold so blue states and red states both end up with congressional delegations that reflect the statewide partisan split. Check out SB322 from the 99th. It passed the Senate with 42 votes. Raoul-McCann-Harmon-Collins and in the House Cassidy-Batinick. The bill provides that Illinois would implement independent congressional maps if (and only if) every other state does it too.
https://ilga.gov/legislation/fulltext.asp?GAID=13&SessionID=88&GA=99&DocTypeID=SB&DocNum=322&LegID=84283&SpecSess=&Session=
If Texas, Indiana, Ohio etc had a fair split, then it would make sense for California, New York, Illinois etc to have a fair split too.
Hopefully for the next decade. Maybe Illinois can (continue to) lead this effort. No other state chamber passed such a substantive, direct solution to the prisoners dilemma of drawing congressional maps. (Perhaps the reform groups can include this as a solution to work toward).
- Lake Villa township - Monday, Oct 18, 21 @ 1:13 pm:
@thisgirlfriday my bad just east Livingston county is in Robin Kelly’s district, if the Amtrak line’s borders as a whole were taken into account maybe that’d be cool but as far as I know that’s not the case. In my opinion Chicagoland based districts should only go to lasalle county, that’s as far as the Chicago media market goes.