SPRINGFIELD, Ill.- Illinois House and Senate Republicans gathered outside of Governor JB Pritzker’s office Wednesday demanding a bipartisan map. They continue to claim that Democrats are pushing a partisan redistricting process through Springfield.
GOP lawmakers criticized Democrats last week for meeting behind closed doors to work on their map. When Pritzker ran for Governor in 2018, he promised to veto any partisan drawn map.
However, Republicans now believe he has gone back on that promise. Senate Republican Leader Dan McConchie (R-Hawthorn Woods) argued that if Illinois can’t trust Pritzker to keep his promises, residents don’t have much to trust him with.
“Is the Governor just another politician who is gonna say one thing on the campaign trail and then do something completely different in this office behind me?� asked McConchie. “If he breaks his word on this, he is no better, no better than the other failed governors that have recently been in the recent past here in Illinois.�
McConchie called on Pritzker to defend his promise and stand up for what is right for the people of Illinois. While Democrats haven’t released a map yet, leaders say it will represent every community.
GOP wants collaboration
Republicans say they’re simply looking to collaborate with Pritzker. Yet, Rep. Ryan Spain (R-Peoria) argued they haven’t seen any collaboration in the redistricting process so far.
He stressed lawmakers need to wait for the census data to have accurate information to draw the maps moving forward. However, Democrats are currently using data from the American Community Survey instead.
“There are numerous groups throughout the entire state of Illinois that are standing up and saying this process is fundamentally flawed,� Spain said. “And we cannot stand and allow this to proceed.�
Change Illinois and the NAACP are two of the nearly 60 groups calling for an independent process. Still, Democrats say they’ve hosted many opportunities for the public to participate and have their voices heard.
Under the Illinois Constitution, the deadline for a partisan map is June 30. Although, lawmakers have until early October to permanently decide on a map.
