Democrats Ask Court if September Map is Still Valid
The Illinois House of Representatives chamber in Springfield.
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In a motion filed Thursday in federal court, attorneys for House Speaker Chris Welch and Senate President Don Harmon asked the three judge panel that invalidated the June version of legislative maps for clarification on the status of the September redo of the maps.
Attorneys, led by longtime Democrat election lawyers Michael Kasper and Heather Wier Vaught, write the order filed by the court earlier this week doesn’t allow for a trial on the validity of the September version of the map, potentially already declaring it invalid.
“Rather than continuing to litigate the validity of the September Map now pursuant to the Federal Rules (including through discovery and dispositive motions), the Court has designated the current phase of proceedings as “the remedial phase” that follows the Panel’s finding that the June Map is invalid,” attorneys wrote. “Second, Defendants request the Court’s clarification that the September Map has not been held invalid.”
In layman’s terms, it seems as if Democrats don’t even know if their September map is valid anymore or if the court is already planning to take the September map and use it as the basis for changes.
Obviously, if the court is effectively throwing out the September map with the way it worded the ruling this week, it changes the game.
Democrat attorneys didn’t comment, but we’re told Democrats don’t actually believe the court invalidated the map, but are just trying to find direction from the court on next steps.