Illinois Loses Population and Congressional Seat in Initial Census Data
The current Illinois congressional map will look different in 2022, not just because of redrawn district lines, but because the state will drop from 18 to 17 congressional districts.
The U.S. Census Bureau announced Monday Illinois would lose a congressional district beginning in the 2022 election cycle.
The result was long expected, especially as Illinois lost population in the last decade. Though, the loss of a congressional seat has more to do with other “Sun Belt” states, like Texas, Florida, and North Carolina, growing at a faster pace than other states. The population in the state only fell by about 8,000 of around 12.8 million.
2021 will mark the fifth census in a row Illinois has lost at least one congressional seat. There were 24 seats in the 70’s. Illinois proceeded to fall to 22 in 1981, 20 in 1991, 19 in 2001, and 18 in 2011.
Illinois will have lost seven seats in 40 years.
“I’m concerned about it. Over a decade, we’ve lost population,” Governor JB Pritzker said We’ve gotta turn that around.”
But, Republicans were quick to pounce on the political aspects of the data.
“It’s unfortunate, yet unsurprising, that Illinois lost population over the past decade,” said Congressman Rodney Davis (R-Taylorville), who may run for Governor if Democrats choose to draw him out of his congressional district. “Democrats continue to push corruption, tax hikes, and job-killing policies, which have only made our outmigration problems worse. Governor Pritzker has done nothing to stem the flow of families and has only made it worse by encouraging the tax-and-spend habits of the Democrats in the General Assembly.”
Meanwhile, Democrats in charge of the redistricting process confirmed they will continue toward passing redistricting maps before the June 30th date outlined in the state constitution, even though full census data won’t be available until at least August.
In a statement issued by Senate Redistricting Committee Chair Sen. Omar Aquino (D-Chicago) and Vice Chair Sen. Elgie Sims (D-Chicago), they continued to claim they will create a “diverse” map, but don’t say they’ll include an “accurate” map.
“We are reviewing the information released today by the U.S. Census Bureau and remain committed to working with our partners in Washington to ensure Illinois continues to receive the federal resources and support our communities need,” the statement read. “While the Census Bureau confirmed full redistricting information may not be released until September, we will not abandon our duty to craft a map by June 30 as required by the Illinois Constitution. As others seek to delay and distract, we are focused on gathering input from communities of interest across Illinois to create a fair map that reflects the diversity of our great state.”
Rep. Avery Bourne (R-Morrisonville), who sits on the House Redistricting Committee, says the American Community Survey sample, which it appears Democrats will base their maps on, isn’t accurate for redistricting.
“We have heard testimony that using the ACS data has the tendency to undercount rural populations, particularly in small towns,” she said. “If we’re seeing the population shifts in Illinois away from the rural parts of Illinois, it would not serve our smaller areas well if we use data that we know would skew the wrong direction from rural parts of the state.”
Senate President Don Harmon told the Chicago Tribune in March the legislature would focus on passing legislative maps first before the congressional maps, meaning there likely won’t be a vote on the congressional map until after May 31.