News Coverage
MAY 26, 2021: State Of Illinois Releases Proposed Redistricting Maps
MAY 26, 2021: Democrats, $200K Consultant Agree On Illinois Redistricting Map; Most Others Disagree
MAY 26, 2021: CHANGE Illinois Warns Lawmakers To Change Course And Wait For 2020 Census Data
MAY 26, 2021: Despite Opposition, Democrats Continue With Proposed Maps
MAY 26, 2021: Illinois Democrats Release Proposed Redistrict Map, Republicans Call It Partisan
MAY 26, 2021: Proposed Maps Slammed By GP, Community Groups - Democrats Provide Few Answers
MAY 25, 2021: IL Dems Move To Redraw State Supreme Court District Lines For First Time In Decades, With Eye On Preserving Their Partisan Majority
MAY 24, 2021: Democratic Maps Pit Republican Lawmakers Against Each Other In Fights For Political Survival - GOP Rips The Plan As 'Kindergartener's Artwork'
MAY 24, 2021: Republicans Call On Pritzker To Veto Dems' Legislative Maps, Dubbing Them 'Worse Than What We Witnessed Under Madigan'
MAY 24, 2021: Illinois House Republicans Chastise Democrats Over 'Unfair' Redistricting Map Proposals
MAY 24, 2021: Illinois Minorities Feel Unseen, Forgotten By New Redistricting Maps
MAY 24, 2021: Dems Draw New Maps For 'Equal Representation' On State's Top Court - But Draw GOP's Ire For 'Political Gamesmanship'
MAY 24, 2021: Dems Still Mum On Redistricting Data During First Map Hearing
MAY 21, 2021: Maps Built On An Undercount Won't Serve Illinoisans
MAY 21, 2021: How To Silence Swaths Of Illinois Voters
MAY 20, 2021: Illinois Is Under 'Extreme' Threat Of Drawing Another Madigan Election Map
MAY 12, 2021: Prenzler Presents Madison County Redistricting Map Reducing County Board Districts To 25
MAY 11, 2021: 'Transparency' On Illinois Legislative Maps Begins Behind Closed Doors
MAY 6, 2021: House Democrats Go Behind Locked Door To Draw New District Maps
MAY 4, 2021: Why Pritzker Back-Tracked On Fair Map Pledge
MAY 4, 2021: Democrats Say There's 'No Secret' As Republicans Showcase Majority Party's 'Map Room'
MAY 2, 2021: Believing Pritzker's Solemn Non-Promise On Maps Was A Mistake
MAY 1, 2021: Democrats Will Control Illinois' Redistricting Process - How That Happens & What It Means
APRIL 30, 2021: The Blue State Gerrymander Walk-Back - IL & NY Democrats May Prefer Partisan Maps After All
APRIL 29, 2021: Illinois Redistricting Process Continues Without 2020 Census Data
APRIL 29, 2021: GOP Cries 'Flip-Flop' On Gov. JB Pritzker, Wants Independent Map
APRIL 27, 2021: Pritzker Now Says He Trusts Lawmakers To Handle Redistricting
APRIL 21, 2021: GOP Puts New Twist On Illinois Redistricting Plan
APRIL 19, 2021: Democrats May Use Population Estimates For Illinois Redistricting
APRIL 19, 2021: A Guide To Political Redistricting in Illinois
APRIL 13, 2021: CHANGE Illinois Testimony To The Illinois House Committee On Redistricting
APRIL 13, 2021: CHANGE Illinois Testimony To The Illinois Senate Redistricting Committee
APRIL 12, 2021: Census Delay Complicates Once-A-Decade Redistricting Duty
APRIL 12, 2021: Illinois Democrats Say They're Committed To 'Fair Maps' As Redistricting Begins
APRIL 12, 2021: Will Pritzker Flip-Flop On Pledge To Veto Partisan Redistricting Map?
MARCH 30, 2021: Illinois House & Senate Republicans Introduce The People's Independent Maps Act
MARCH 24, 2021: Further Proof Illinois Legislature Can't Be Trusted To Draw New District Lines
MARCH 24, 2021: Illinois Begins Redistricting Process
MARCH 21: Pritzker's Chance To Reshape Redistricting Starts To Slip
MARCH 15, 2021: Political Maps Get 23 Public Hearings in April Across Illinois
FEBRUARY 14, 2021: Illinois Redistricting - Political & Personal
JANUARY 27, 2021: Everybody Says They Want A Fair Map, But What Does That Mean?
OCTOBER 16, 2020: Fair Maps For Illinois - An Analysis By Better Government Association
NOVEMBER 22, 2019: Pritzker Promises To Veto Any Unfair Legislative Map, But Can't Say If He'll Try To Change Map-Making Process
MAY 26, 2021: Democrats, $200K Consultant Agree On Illinois Redistricting Map; Most Others Disagree
MAY 26, 2021: CHANGE Illinois Warns Lawmakers To Change Course And Wait For 2020 Census Data
MAY 26, 2021: Despite Opposition, Democrats Continue With Proposed Maps
MAY 26, 2021: Illinois Democrats Release Proposed Redistrict Map, Republicans Call It Partisan
MAY 26, 2021: Proposed Maps Slammed By GP, Community Groups - Democrats Provide Few Answers
MAY 25, 2021: IL Dems Move To Redraw State Supreme Court District Lines For First Time In Decades, With Eye On Preserving Their Partisan Majority
MAY 24, 2021: Democratic Maps Pit Republican Lawmakers Against Each Other In Fights For Political Survival - GOP Rips The Plan As 'Kindergartener's Artwork'
MAY 24, 2021: Republicans Call On Pritzker To Veto Dems' Legislative Maps, Dubbing Them 'Worse Than What We Witnessed Under Madigan'
MAY 24, 2021: Illinois House Republicans Chastise Democrats Over 'Unfair' Redistricting Map Proposals
MAY 24, 2021: Illinois Minorities Feel Unseen, Forgotten By New Redistricting Maps
MAY 24, 2021: Dems Draw New Maps For 'Equal Representation' On State's Top Court - But Draw GOP's Ire For 'Political Gamesmanship'
MAY 24, 2021: Dems Still Mum On Redistricting Data During First Map Hearing
MAY 21, 2021: Maps Built On An Undercount Won't Serve Illinoisans
MAY 21, 2021: How To Silence Swaths Of Illinois Voters
MAY 20, 2021: Illinois Is Under 'Extreme' Threat Of Drawing Another Madigan Election Map
MAY 12, 2021: Prenzler Presents Madison County Redistricting Map Reducing County Board Districts To 25
MAY 11, 2021: 'Transparency' On Illinois Legislative Maps Begins Behind Closed Doors
MAY 6, 2021: House Democrats Go Behind Locked Door To Draw New District Maps
MAY 4, 2021: Why Pritzker Back-Tracked On Fair Map Pledge
MAY 4, 2021: Democrats Say There's 'No Secret' As Republicans Showcase Majority Party's 'Map Room'
MAY 2, 2021: Believing Pritzker's Solemn Non-Promise On Maps Was A Mistake
MAY 1, 2021: Democrats Will Control Illinois' Redistricting Process - How That Happens & What It Means
APRIL 30, 2021: The Blue State Gerrymander Walk-Back - IL & NY Democrats May Prefer Partisan Maps After All
APRIL 29, 2021: Illinois Redistricting Process Continues Without 2020 Census Data
APRIL 29, 2021: GOP Cries 'Flip-Flop' On Gov. JB Pritzker, Wants Independent Map
APRIL 27, 2021: Pritzker Now Says He Trusts Lawmakers To Handle Redistricting
APRIL 21, 2021: GOP Puts New Twist On Illinois Redistricting Plan
APRIL 19, 2021: Democrats May Use Population Estimates For Illinois Redistricting
APRIL 19, 2021: A Guide To Political Redistricting in Illinois
APRIL 13, 2021: CHANGE Illinois Testimony To The Illinois House Committee On Redistricting
APRIL 13, 2021: CHANGE Illinois Testimony To The Illinois Senate Redistricting Committee
APRIL 12, 2021: Census Delay Complicates Once-A-Decade Redistricting Duty
APRIL 12, 2021: Illinois Democrats Say They're Committed To 'Fair Maps' As Redistricting Begins
APRIL 12, 2021: Will Pritzker Flip-Flop On Pledge To Veto Partisan Redistricting Map?
MARCH 30, 2021: Illinois House & Senate Republicans Introduce The People's Independent Maps Act
MARCH 24, 2021: Further Proof Illinois Legislature Can't Be Trusted To Draw New District Lines
MARCH 24, 2021: Illinois Begins Redistricting Process
MARCH 21: Pritzker's Chance To Reshape Redistricting Starts To Slip
MARCH 15, 2021: Political Maps Get 23 Public Hearings in April Across Illinois
FEBRUARY 14, 2021: Illinois Redistricting - Political & Personal
JANUARY 27, 2021: Everybody Says They Want A Fair Map, But What Does That Mean?
OCTOBER 16, 2020: Fair Maps For Illinois - An Analysis By Better Government Association
NOVEMBER 22, 2019: Pritzker Promises To Veto Any Unfair Legislative Map, But Can't Say If He'll Try To Change Map-Making Process
Redistricting FAQs
As published by CHANGE Illinois
Gerrymandering gives one political party or the other an advantage. It suppresses our voices and our votes. It leads to increased polarization and decreased accountability of elected officials to their constituents. CHANGE Illinois and its supporters believe redistricting works best when citizens are in charge of the process so that political maps expand civic participation, improve public confidence, and boost participation in elections and governance.
WHAT IS REDISTRICTING AND WHY SHOULD ANYONE CARE?
Because of population changes, legislative district boundaries must be redrawn after each 10-year census. When the redistricting process is finished, each district should have roughly the same number of people within its boundaries. That sounds simple enough, but there are many different ways to draw those lines for 118 Illinois House districts, 59 Senate districts and all the other government units in Illinois. District lines can keep everyone in a municipality together in the same legislative district and/or keep similar communities of interest together in the same legislative district. Alternatively, district lines can split a municipality apart and divide similar communities into different legislative districts. Sometimes, enough minority group members are kept together in the same district to aggregate voting power to influence who wins an election, and sometimes minority voting power is diluted by splitting people among many districts.
Because of population changes, legislative district boundaries must be redrawn after each 10-year census. When the redistricting process is finished, each district should have roughly the same number of people within its boundaries. That sounds simple enough, but there are many different ways to draw those lines for 118 Illinois House districts, 59 Senate districts and all the other government units in Illinois. District lines can keep everyone in a municipality together in the same legislative district and/or keep similar communities of interest together in the same legislative district. Alternatively, district lines can split a municipality apart and divide similar communities into different legislative districts. Sometimes, enough minority group members are kept together in the same district to aggregate voting power to influence who wins an election, and sometimes minority voting power is diluted by splitting people among many districts.
HOW IS REDISTRICTING DONE NOW IN ILLINOIS?
Currently, members of the Illinois General Assembly have the power to draw the maps. Historically, the legislative leaders of the party in power – no matter which party is in power – have drawn maps to protect their favored incumbents and improve their party’s chances of winning as many House and Senate seats as possible to secure their hold on majority control. Instead of voters selecting legislators to represent them in Springfield, legislators choose which voters they will represent. This is voter suppression.
Currently, members of the Illinois General Assembly have the power to draw the maps. Historically, the legislative leaders of the party in power – no matter which party is in power – have drawn maps to protect their favored incumbents and improve their party’s chances of winning as many House and Senate seats as possible to secure their hold on majority control. Instead of voters selecting legislators to represent them in Springfield, legislators choose which voters they will represent. This is voter suppression.
WHAT IF NEITHER PARTY CONTROLS THE HOUSE & SENATE? HOW DO THEY AGREE ON NEW LEGISLATIVE BOUNDARIES?
They could reach a compromise, but this only has happened once. According to the 1970 Illinois Constitution, when legislators and the governor cannot agree on new district boundaries, an eight-member redistricting commission is formed. The members are appointed by the legislative leaders of both parties in the House and Senate. If those eight people can’t reach a compromise, the Illinois Supreme Court provides the names of a Democrat and a Republican, and the one name that is drawn out of a replica Abraham Lincoln stovepipe hat, at random, becomes the 'tiebreaker' – putting the tiebreaker’s party in complete control of drawing maps to that party’s political advantage.
They could reach a compromise, but this only has happened once. According to the 1970 Illinois Constitution, when legislators and the governor cannot agree on new district boundaries, an eight-member redistricting commission is formed. The members are appointed by the legislative leaders of both parties in the House and Senate. If those eight people can’t reach a compromise, the Illinois Supreme Court provides the names of a Democrat and a Republican, and the one name that is drawn out of a replica Abraham Lincoln stovepipe hat, at random, becomes the 'tiebreaker' – putting the tiebreaker’s party in complete control of drawing maps to that party’s political advantage.
WHAT'S SO BAD ABOUT LETTING THE POLITICAL PARTIES DRAW THE MAPS?
As long as political parties draw the maps, the parties’ primary objective will be to protect the interests of the party in control and its preferred incumbents. As a result, in the last several election cycles, about half of the legislative races were uncontested. When there is little competition, there is little debate about topics that matter to voters and elected officials have little incentive to be responsive to their constituents. When voters don’t have meaningful choices in an election, many don’t become engaged in the process at all and democracy suffers.
As long as political parties draw the maps, the parties’ primary objective will be to protect the interests of the party in control and its preferred incumbents. As a result, in the last several election cycles, about half of the legislative races were uncontested. When there is little competition, there is little debate about topics that matter to voters and elected officials have little incentive to be responsive to their constituents. When voters don’t have meaningful choices in an election, many don’t become engaged in the process at all and democracy suffers.
HAS ANY RESEARCH BEEN DONE ON THE SUBJECT OF INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING?
Yes. Partisan Advantage and Competitiveness in Illinois Redistricting, published by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute, explains why the Illinois legislative redistricting process is broken and offers solutions. The report was researched and written by Kent Redfield, professor emeritus at the University of Illinois at Springfield, and Cynthia Canary, former executive director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform. The paper was written originally for CHANGE Illinois. Additionally, Redistricting Reformed, a 2014 briefing paper by CHANGE Illinois, summarizes what happened in states where redistricting reform became a reality. The authors are Nicholas Stephanopoulos, who was then a professor of law at the University of Chicago Law School, and Ruth Greenwood, co-director of voting rights and redistricting at Campaign Legal Center. Who Hold the Crayons? How Other States Draw Their Legislative District Lines includes reports and transcripts of panel discussions from the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute’s 2013 symposium.
Yes. Partisan Advantage and Competitiveness in Illinois Redistricting, published by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute, explains why the Illinois legislative redistricting process is broken and offers solutions. The report was researched and written by Kent Redfield, professor emeritus at the University of Illinois at Springfield, and Cynthia Canary, former executive director of the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform. The paper was written originally for CHANGE Illinois. Additionally, Redistricting Reformed, a 2014 briefing paper by CHANGE Illinois, summarizes what happened in states where redistricting reform became a reality. The authors are Nicholas Stephanopoulos, who was then a professor of law at the University of Chicago Law School, and Ruth Greenwood, co-director of voting rights and redistricting at Campaign Legal Center. Who Hold the Crayons? How Other States Draw Their Legislative District Lines includes reports and transcripts of panel discussions from the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute’s 2013 symposium.
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CITIZENS' INITIATIVE TO GET A REDISTRICTING REFORM MEASURE ON NOVEMBER 2016 BALLOT?
Political bosses in Illinois sued the citizens’ initiative, led by the Independent Map Amendment coalition, after the Illinois State Board of Elections gave its approval to move forward. The case ultimately went to the Illinois Supreme Court. On August 25, 2016, Illinois Supreme Court justices decided to block the initiative from getting on the November ballot. As a result, voters never got the chance to decide the question even though more than 560,000 people from all over Illinois supported the initiative and more than 70 percent of Illinois citizens supported reform.
Political bosses in Illinois sued the citizens’ initiative, led by the Independent Map Amendment coalition, after the Illinois State Board of Elections gave its approval to move forward. The case ultimately went to the Illinois Supreme Court. On August 25, 2016, Illinois Supreme Court justices decided to block the initiative from getting on the November ballot. As a result, voters never got the chance to decide the question even though more than 560,000 people from all over Illinois supported the initiative and more than 70 percent of Illinois citizens supported reform.
WHO IS LEADING THE FIGHT FOR REDISTRICTING REFORM IN ILLINOIS TODAY?
CHANGE Illinois, a diverse and growing coalition of reform-minded organizations across Illinois, currently leads the redistricting reform movement in Illinois and continues much of the public education and legislative outreach begun by the 2016 Independent Map Amendment campaign.
CHANGE Illinois, a diverse and growing coalition of reform-minded organizations across Illinois, currently leads the redistricting reform movement in Illinois and continues much of the public education and legislative outreach begun by the 2016 Independent Map Amendment campaign.
IS THERE ANY HOPE FOR ACHIEVING REDISTRICTING REFORM IN ILLINOIS?
Yes, but only if pressure remains on politicians from people across the state en masse. The best asset the redistricting reform movement in Illinois has is size. More than 500,000 people across the state supported redistricting reform and polling shows that an overwhelming majority of Illinoisans support it. Politicians cannot ignore reform if enough people around the state keep demanding it and telling them it’s their priority.
Yes, but only if pressure remains on politicians from people across the state en masse. The best asset the redistricting reform movement in Illinois has is size. More than 500,000 people across the state supported redistricting reform and polling shows that an overwhelming majority of Illinoisans support it. Politicians cannot ignore reform if enough people around the state keep demanding it and telling them it’s their priority.