Republicans Again Ask for Redistricting Reform, Democrats Allege GOP Discrimination
Rep. Avery Bourne (R-Morrisonville) and Rep. Tim Butler (R-Springfield) speak at a news conference last year. Monday, the two were joined by Congressman Rodney Davis (R-Taylorville) to again request Democrats adopt an independent redistricting plan.
Republicans know they are fighting an uphill battle in their attempts to stop Democrats from drawing new legislative and congressional district maps without current census data. So, they’re attempting to use the previous statements of top Democrats against them.
Rep. Tim Butler (R-Springfield), the top Republican on the House Redistricting Committee, Rep. Avery Bourne (R-Morrisonville) and Congressman Rodney Davis (R-Taylorville) called on Governor JB Pritzker, who said in 2018 he would veto a partisan map, to clarify his position.
(Disclosure: I was Communications Director on Davis’ first race for Congress in 2012. Butler also worked on that campaign.)
“If the Governor holds to his promise to veto any partisanly drawn map, then he needs to come out and say that now so that the legislature knows that this is a fool’s errand to keep going with this redistricting process in a partisan way,” said Bourne. “We can set up an independent an independent process. Today, we have a real opportunity to set forth a new path for redistricting and provide a fair map for Illinoisans.”
The Governor’s office did not respond to a request for comment from The Illinoize, but the Governor’s spokesperson told WCIA-TV Pritzker “believes legislative maps should reflect Illinois’ gender, racial, and geographic diversity, along with preserving the Voting Rights Act decisions that help ensure racial and language minorities are fully represented in the electoral process.”
Her statement left out the first half of Pritzker’s quote on vetoing partisan maps.
“Yes, I will pledge to veto. We should amend the constitution to create an independent commission to draw legislative maps, but in the meantime, I would urge Democrats and Republicans to agree to an independent commission to handle creating a new legislative map,” Pritzker responded to Capitol Fax during the 2018 campaign.”
“It seems we’re doing the same old thing,” said Butler.
Meanwhile, Senate Democrats appear to be doubling down on their efforts to draw the map without the current census data, including alleging Republicans are bringing race into the equation.
In a statement provided by an outside Chicago PR firm, Senate Redistricting Committee Chairman Sen. Omar Aquino (D-Chicago) and Vice Chairman Sen. Elgie Sims (D-Chicago) attacked Republicans for their statements.
“As Republicans nationwide seek to silence Black and Brown communities, Democrats in Illinois remain committed to the creation of a fair map that reflects the great diversity of our state. We have invited communities of interest across Illinois to participate in this process, including establishing an online portal that allows anyone to draw and submit their own proposed maps. Meanwhile, Republicans are presenting the public with a false choice by promoting legislation that is legally unsound. They know a bill cannot supersede the Illinois Constitution, which requires the General Assembly to undertake the redistricting process every ten years. Democrats are focused on inclusion, not legally questionable distractions.”
When asked if “seek to silence Black and Brown communities” was meant to accuse Republicans of being racist, the PR firm for Senate Democrats did not return our message.
If Democrats plan to pass a map without accurate census data, a prior estimate called the “American Community Survey,” Butler says they won’t be drawing precise maps.
“The use of ACS data is flawed. It does not give a true representation and it actually undercounts minority populations and rural communities under 65,000 [people],” he said.
In a letter to Senate Redistricting Chairman Aquino and House Redistricting Chair Rep. Lisa Hernandez (D-Cicero), both Butler and Senate GOP Redistricting spokesperson Sen. Jason Barickman (D-Bloomington) asked for the Governor or a “high ranking” official in the administration to testify at a hearing in East St. Louis next Monday.
We’ve been unable to confirm whether Democrats or the Governor will heed the request.
Bourne says maps need to stop protecting political incumbents.
“We have these decades-old systems that are made to protect incumbents, that are made to protect political machines, and that’s just not what millennials and the newer generation support,” Bourne said. “We have bipartisan support for a commission, and I believe that the real way to get away from these archaic old systems of protecting the party or the machine is to bring new people into the fold. When young people see a reason to get involved and think that they can make a change, that’s why they step up.”
We’ve requested multiple interviews with Aquino and Hernandez, and have yet to be granted one.