Pritzker on Texas
Thursday, Aug 7, 2025 - Posted by Rich Miller
* Gov. JB Pritzker was asked again yesterday about the Texas special session to redraw congressional district lines…
You all know that there is a decennial census that takes place in this country. And right after the decennial census, you redraw the maps in a state, it happens. Sometimes it gets done more politically. Sometimes it gets done by an independent commission, but it happens usually. In this case, it was in 2021.
The truth is that now you’ve got Donald Trump and Greg Abbott and Ken Paxton and John Cornyn all saying that, ‘Oh no, we’re going to break the rules. We’re going to go in the middle of the decennial, the decade that we’re in, and we’re going to redistrict in 2025.’
They’re only doing that for one reason. It’s because they know they’re going to lose in 2026 if they don’t breach the rules, if they don’t cheat. And we know that especially, Donald Trump is a cheater. He’s cheated people out of money. He’s defrauded people out of money. He’s cheated on his wives. He’s willing to cheat the American people out of their votes.
Obviously, there is no such rule, written or unwritten. And Texas has done this before. But the pitch is easy to understand, I suppose, so he’s using that argument a lot.
* The rest of his argument is more difficult to understand for many people, but it’s also more accurate…
Look, there are five districts in Texas that Donald Trump says he is entitled to have turned over to Republicans. You know what those five districts are? There are five districts that are legal under the Voting Rights Act, that are represented by Black and Brown people who represent Black and Brown people.
And I might say that when we passed our maps here, fully legal, compliant, constitutionally with the Voting Rights Act. So I’m very proud of that fact.
Illinois is, indeed, intensely gerrymandered. But those gerrymanders have stayed within the confines of the Voting Rights Act.
Also, click here for a list of states with independent redistricting commissions.
* This isn’t totally wrong, either, except Budzinski’s district is not nearly as competitive as Sorensen’s…
Let me remind you that when Nikki Budzinski was running in her district for the very first time, when Eric Sorensen was running, these are all in 2022 everybody said those were competitive races. So you can’t tell me that these were drawn so that only Democrats could win. There are often races. There are certainly areas where you’re probably not going to have a lot of competition because there are, there is no way to draw a map that is hyper competitive. But those are two examples of even you reported on the competitive nature of those races.
President Trump lost Sorensen’s district last year by just 3.6 percentage points. Kwame Raoul and Alexi Giannoulias both lost the district by low single figures in 2022. The numbers in Budzinski’s district weren’t nearly that close.
* Meanwhile, more news on yesterday’s bomb threat from the Tribune…
St. Charles police responded to a report of a potential bomb threat at the Q Center hotel and convention complex shortly after 7 a.m. Wednesday, but no device was found, the department said. As bomb squad units conducted their investigation, 400 people were evacuated from the area, but guests and employees later returned to the premises, the department said.
According to the Kane County state’s attorney’s office, one person made multiple bomb threats during the incident but no arrests have been made. Illinois State Police spokesperson Melaney Arnold said the agency “has been in contact with local law enforcement, which responded swiftly and cleared the building.”
* And in related news…
As some Texas Democratic lawmakers seek refuge in the Chicago suburbs to block the Texas Legislature from voting on a mid-decade redistricting plan, Indiana could be facing one of its own.
Vice President JD Vance will visit Indianapolis Thursday to meet with Republican Indiana Gov. Mike Braun, and is expected to push state lawmakers to redistrict the only two Congressional seats that are occupied by Democrats, the 1st and the 7th districts.
It’s part of a nationwide effort led by Republicans and backed by President Donald Trump to redraw the congressional map ahead of next year’s mid-term elections.
- Demoralized - Thursday, Aug 7, 25 @ 9:54 am:
For a party who has complained loudly about elections being “stolen” they sure are doing a good job of doing what they can to steal elections themselves. States better get on board with going all out on redistricting right now to gerrymander as many Republicans out of office that they can. The Republicans have declared war. The Democrats need to fight back.
- Candy Dogood - Thursday, Aug 7, 25 @ 10:07 am:
Illinois has a great opportunity to change our congressional district maps so that there is better representation for people who live in rural areas by increasing the number of members of congress that represent those rural areas.
- Bonitas - Thursday, Aug 7, 25 @ 10:14 am:
A whole new monkey wrench is thrown in if the Supreme Court ends race-based districts. They recently asked for new briefs
- Friendly Bob Adams - Thursday, Aug 7, 25 @ 11:00 am:
The Voting Rights Act is on life support. SCOTUS will pull the plug soon. Very sad that we as a country have reached this point.
- JoanP - Thursday, Aug 7, 25 @ 11:00 am:
Even the armadillos are fleeing Texas for Illinois: https://news.wttw.com/2025/08/06/armadillos-are-coming-chicago-ready
- Excitable Boy - Thursday, Aug 7, 25 @ 11:14 am:
- And I might say that when we passed our maps here, fully legal, compliant, constitutionally with the Voting Rights Act. -
This all day long. Texas is looking to disenfranchise minorities at the behest of their wannabe dictator leader.
- Tequila Mockingbird - Thursday, Aug 7, 25 @ 11:28 am:
Demoralized- fun fact
both parties have complained about stolen elections.
- Here - Thursday, Aug 7, 25 @ 11:32 am:
Exactly on Sorensen and Budzinski’s districts. It was disingenuous for folks to claim the 13th is somehow a “Trump District”. It was drawn to be at least plus 8-9 Dem.
Eric Sorensen truly has a competitive district.
- In Opposite Land - Thursday, Aug 7, 25 @ 11:33 am:
Pritzker is catching some flak, but it could be worse: Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey (D) is calling for Congressional redistricting in her state in response to planned Texas remap. One odd fact escaped Healey: Massachusetts has nine Congressional seats and all nine are held by Democrats.
- levivoted4judy - Thursday, Aug 7, 25 @ 11:35 am:
I get the “whataboutism” debate on gerrymandering, but I’m more concerned about the bomb threat, the death of the Voting Rights Act and now the FBI is trying to locate the AWOL Texas legislators. Why in the world is the FBI involved in this? I never thought I would see a nightmare like this in my life.
- Pundent - Thursday, Aug 7, 25 @ 11:38 am:
=Someone who is concerned about the continued population loss that ensuing tax hikes will bring=
Because Congress said so. They had a chance to resolve the issue in all instances and Senate Republicans put a brick in it. But your outrage continually overlooks that point.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Aug 7, 25 @ 11:39 am:
===both parties have complained about stolen elections.===
And have since the founding.
But there’s only been one Capitol insurrection on the day of certification based on this type of conspiracy theory.
- Pundent - Thursday, Aug 7, 25 @ 11:45 am:
= why it is constitutional to gerrymander districts that disenfranchise lower income Republican rural voters.=
Because Congress said so. They had a chance to resolve the issue in all instances and Senate Republicans put a brick in it. But your outrage continually overlooks that point.
- Baltimore Plot - Thursday, Aug 7, 25 @ 11:50 am:
Pinkerton Detectives had to escort President-elect Abraham Lincoln to Washington, D.C., for his inauguration in 1861. There was a plot to assassinate Lincoln before he could take office.
The conspiracy was the subject of a feature film “The Tall Target.”
- Norseman - Thursday, Aug 7, 25 @ 11:53 am:
The examples of actions taken to gain structural election advantage, nullify votes and limit voting opportunities are asymmetrically performed by the MAGA GOP. And it’s not even close.
- StarLineChicago - Thursday, Aug 7, 25 @ 11:54 am:
===better representation for people who live in rural areas by increasing the number of members of congress that represent those rural areas===
Census Bureau says that 11.37 million of Illinois’s 12.83 million residents live in urban areas. If our 17 Congressional districts were drawn proportionally to that 89% urban/rural split, Illinois should have only two rural districts, which honestly the current map handles pretty well.
- Steve - Thursday, Aug 7, 25 @ 12:09 pm:
-And it’s not even close.-
Should the Wilmette Golf Club be in 3 Congressional districts instead of 2?
- Pundent - Thursday, Aug 7, 25 @ 12:27 pm:
=Why in the world is the FBI involved in this? I never thought I would see a nightmare like this in my life.=
The same reason the National Guard was in Los Angeles - theater. And like the Guard they can’t actually do anything. Are they going to “arrest “ Texas Legislators? What federal crimes have they committed? And will this happen before or after they’re done arresting Oprah and Beyoncé?
- Leap Day William - Thursday, Aug 7, 25 @ 12:46 pm:
== Should the Wilmette Golf Club be in 3 Congressional districts instead of 2? ==
I didn’t realize the Wilmette Golf Club was in danger of being disenfranchised or that it held so much sway its members could control multiple congressional representatives.
- Demoralized - Thursday, Aug 7, 25 @ 1:26 pm:
==both parties have complained about stolen elections.==
As Rich said, I guess you conveniently forget about the insurrection where one party actively tried to stage a coup.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Aug 7, 25 @ 1:32 pm:
===both parties have complained about stolen elections.===
I’m also not sure that any administration has hired a “senior adviser for the Department of Justice” who said this during aforementioned insurrection…
https://www.npr.org/2025/08/07/nx-s1-5493197/doj-trump-jan-6-defendant-jared-wise-capitol-riot
- SouthSide Markie - Thursday, Aug 7, 25 @ 1:48 pm:
Am I the only one who didn’t think that the guy in the guard shack and the 2×4 sized gate screamed “lockdown”?
- Shytown - Thursday, Aug 7, 25 @ 2:41 pm:
== Illinois has a great opportunity to change our congressional district maps so that there is better representation for people who live in rural areas ==
Not sure I understand the logic behind creating more districts in rural areas when 9.5 million live in the Chicagoland area and another 3 million everywhere else? And not all of those areas outside Chicago are rural, so I don’t think that’s going to help better engage rural voters if that’s your point.
- JoeMaddon - Thursday, Aug 7, 25 @ 2:54 pm:
**Should the Wilmette Golf Club be in 3 Congressional districts instead of 2?**
Maybe.
But honestly, why would anyone care that a piece of property that has no residents might be split into multiple congressional districts?
- JS Mill - Thursday, Aug 7, 25 @ 3:59 pm:
Rural Illinois is currently over represented not under represented.
- Gerry Mander - Thursday, Aug 7, 25 @ 6:27 pm:
I do not completely understand the comment about the Wilmette Golf Course as point of reference in terms of mapping, but the same geographic vicinity used to be competitive for Republican candidates, including John Porter, Mark Kirk, Bob Dold. Under the current map, not so much.
- Rich Miller - Friday, Aug 8, 25 @ 12:06 am:
===Under the current map, not so much===
It ain’t the map