On the latest episode of Politically Speaking, we talk about the ins and outs of redistricting in Illinois.
During the show, NPR Illinois鈥� Hannah Meisel and 漏 2024 外网天堂鈥檚 Eric Schmid and Jason Rosenbaum discuss how Illinois is one of a few states where Democrats have complete control over the process. And while Illinois Republicans haven鈥檛 exactly set the world on fire in elections in recent years, the decision to go forward with redistricting now is generating controversy for a number of reasons.
Some of the things discussed on the program include:
- How the Illinois Democrats鈥� effort to create favorable maps for themselves conflicts with a national movement, primarily funded by left-leaning donors and groups, for 鈥渇air redistricting.鈥�
- Whether the maps that seem to be on a pathway to completion could be challenged in court because Illinois lawmakers aren鈥檛 using Census data. Those numbers won鈥檛 be available before a constitutionally mandated deadline.
- The impact of redistricting on representation in the Metro East, a topic that Schmid
- Why gerrymandering is not necessarily synonymous with irregularly shaped districts, something that Meisel discussed
- What Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker, that he would 鈥渘ot sign a bill that is gerrymandered,鈥� will do if the legislature sends redistricting plans that clearly help Democrats to his desk.
Missouri and Illinois have similar processes when it comes to congressional redistricting: Lawmakers end up passing a bill with a map, which the governor either signs or vetoes.
But Missouri鈥檚 state legislative process is substantially different: Commissions split evenly between the two parties get first crack at House and Senate maps, and appellate judges get responsibility for the processes if those bodies deadlock. State lawmakers in Illinois are responsible for drawing General Assembly maps.
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