Gerrymandering 101
The Illinois legislative “veto” session started with a bang this week when a federal court ruled that the legislative redistricting maps for statehouse seats and Illinois supreme court districts that Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law are unconstitutional because the population variances among districts violated the “one-person, one-vote” doctrine.
The court did not order that a bipartisan redistricting commission be formed to redraw the maps. Instead, it declared the second set of maps that Pritzker signed in September, following a legislative special session, to be a “starting point” in developing a new map, and it invited plaintiffs in two cases challenging the redistricting process to propose their own maps.
Democrats also just released a new congressional redistricting map that has come under heavy fire from a variety of groups representing minority communities as well as Republicans. The proposed map is being debated at the legislature this week. There is a strong likelihood a revised proposed map will be reintroduced next week in the final session days for 2021. And whatever is passed will get challenged in court again.
