State Democratic lawmakers used their supermajorities to pass new legislative district maps out of both chambers Tuesday night. This time, Democrats used data from the 2020 Census instead of relying on outdated information from the 2019 American Community Survey. However, many advocates are still upset and the maps still face legal challenges.
You can find the new House district map here and the new Senate district map here.
Barickman: Democrats’ Political Machinations Laid Bare
State Senator Jason Barickman (R-Bloomington) released the following statement after Democrats passed their updated legislative maps.
“The recent census data made one thing clear, that the map passed in April was unconstitutional and invalid. It also showed how little the majority party actually cared about representing and protecting the diverse communities of Illinois.”
“The actions of Democratic map-makers over the last few days laid bare their intention all along, which was to feign interest in transparency and public input, while solely focusing on one thing only, protecting their iron grip on the levers of power in Illinois.”
“Now this process again lies in the hands of Governor JB Pritzker, who has one more opportunity to finally live up to his clear promise to voters, which was to veto any map drawn by lawmakers.”
Barickman Speaking From the Senate Floor:
Senator Turner on partisan maps passage:
Springfield, IL – State Senator Sally Turner (R-Beason) issued the following statement after Democrat lawmakers pushed their adjusted partisan maps through the Illinois Senate:
“Throughout the entire spring legislative session, we and several good government and community organizations begged the majority party to make the redistricting process more open and wait for U.S. Census Data before drawing legislative maps just like 48 other states.
“Despite those calls, the Democrats rammed through an inaccurate and unconstitutional map, which forced them to come back to Springfield and try again.
“Rather than learning from their mistakes, the majority has yet again decided to use the same legislative tactics and push yet another partisan map through the General Assembly.”
State Representative Tom Bennett (R-Gibson City) recorded the attached comments this evening after Democrats forced a new set of gerrymandered redistricting maps through the House despite calls against it from dozens of advocacy organizations:
