By Dave Dahl
SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker campaigned on a promise that redistricting would be executed to reflect gender, racial, and geographic diversity. Illinois House Republicans say, here’s your chance.
Calling the current process another abuse of power by the Speaker of the House, Rep. Jackie Haas (R-Bourbonnais) says a municipality should be intact.
“The 79th District cuts through the village of Peotone,” Haas told an online news conference. “These moves were not based on township, village, or meaningful divisions, but on pure partisan maneuvers to advance (Speaker Mike) Madigan (D-Chicago) to keep his majority and his power.”
The news conference called for an independent, nonpartisan commission to handle the every-ten-year process.
State Rep. Ryan Spain (R-Peoria) also invoked Madigan’s name, as the speaker faces a possible ouster from the top position in the House.
“As Speaker Madigan struggles to sustain his grip on power and seeks to count up sixty votes to support his re-election for speaker, one of the things he is trying to do – and it’s very blatant in his discussion with members – is talking about his ability to create another gerrymandered partisan map and protect the members of his party.
“That is wrong.”
Madigan has lost the support of at least nineteen of the 73 Democrats who will serve in the House in the 102nd General Assembly, which will be sworn in Jan. 13. He is implicated but not charged in a years-long bribery scheme to which Commonwealth Edison has admitted.
And, about what Gov. Pritzker may or may not do, his spokeswoman, Jordan Abudayyeh, said via e-mail:
“The Governor has been clear he will veto a partisan map. His view is that 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.”
Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected]
