Congressional redistricting coming up in Illinois

Posted on October 7, 2021
Jay Young, Illinois director for Common Cause. (Dave Dahl/WJBC)

By Dave Dahl

SPRINGFIELD – Leaders of the national watchdog group Common Cause got a taste of how Illinois does redistricting, and the group’s Illinois leader did not paint a pretty picture.

Jay Young recounted for an online news conference Wednesday how state Democratic lawmakers did not wait for U.S. Census numbers, then had to use them anyway.

“Eventually, the Census data came out, and we learned, just as we warned, the maps that were drawn with a different set of data were, in fact, malapportioned,” Young said. “Back on Aug. 31, Illinois got a completely new set of maps. Once again, we got the maps with just a couple of hours’ notice. Once again, the public voice wasn’t really listened to (and) wasn’t respected.”

As Illinois sets its sights on congressional maps, Young said there’s no reason to think they’ll be different, though Democrats, all the way up to the governor, say it’s all fair.

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected]

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