(The Center Square) – Democrat state legislators say they are one step closer to standing against attacks on voting rights after the Illinois House passed a proposed constitutional amendment Wednesday. Republicans say the bill will lead to even further gerrymandered districts.
HJRCA 28 is a proposed state constitutional amendment that would change what needs to be considered when drawing electoral district maps in Illinois. It now heads to the state Senate before it can be put to voters on the ballot in November.
Republican lawmakers say the proposed amendment would further enshrine Democrats’ control over state politics.
According to the filing, the priorities in order are for all districts to have near-equal populations; to provide equal opportunity for all citizens, regardless of race; the creation of districts with racial minority influence; and for district borders to be unbroken and compact.
House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch introduced the proposal only a day before it passed Wednesday. He said his party’s goal is to protect voters who fall within racial minorities from any changes to voting rights from the federal government.
“It is undeniable that the US Supreme Court is poised to dismantle these protections, and when it does, some states will quickly undertake new gerrymandering schemes aimed at stripping away Black and Latino and other minority representation,” Welch said.
Republican legislators see the proposal much differently.
Leader Dan Ugaste, R-St. Charles, said despite the current system creating what he characerizes as illegally gerrymandered maps, the process has already worked in creating a diverse, representative legislature.
“I say that we leave the Constitution alone as it’s written, as it’s been since it was put forth in about 1970, and let the voters pick their elected representatives,” Ugaste said. “It is clear that they will pick a diverse group here in the state of Illinois, you can look at this chamber, and it is a perfect example.”
Republican legislators also criticized the proposal over vague language in the text, which they say could allow for certain priorities – such as unbroken and compact borders – to be thrown to the wayside.
Rep. Will Guzzardi, D-Chicago, pushed back, saying nothing in the language allows any of the priorities to be set aside, but all priorities must be considered in order.
“It [compactness] is just a requirement that falls below other requirements in the order of priority,” Guzzardi said. “The plain language of the amendment says that we must consider the interests of communities of color in drawing legislative maps. That’s not in our constitution today, the federal law that protects that right is about to be taken away from us.”
Receiving beyond a two-thirds supermajority vote, the proposal passed the house 74 to 38.
It is expected to be taken up by the state Senate next week, where it must pass before May 3 to be eligible to be placed on the ballot in November.
