Chicago City Wire

State Rep. Lisa Hernandez (D-Cicero) insists her fellow party members plan to stand by their word when it comes to map redistricting.  

“House Democrats are dedicated to transparency and public participation in the redistricting process,” Hernandez said during a recent House hearing on the matter.

Hernandez also sought to remind lawmakers that Democrats have already committed themselves to “fair maps” in the once-in-a decade process now taking place, though Gov. J.B. Pritzker has gone silent on the issue.

With the stakes being as high as they are, U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Decatur) hasn’t been shy about expressing his leeriness for the other side.

“Democrats are going to play politics with redistricting,” he said in a video posted to YouTube. “They can’t help themselves.”

Davis, who is rumored to be in danger of losing his seat to redistricting, said he fully expects Illinois Democrats will try to manipulate the map.

He recently called on lawmakers to draw another Hispanic district that would be more reflective of the state’s true makeup.

 “That is something these mapmakers ought to take into consideration,” he said during a press conference posted to YouTube.

Republican lawmakers are demanding sweeping changes to the system of how communities come to be represented in the name of a fairer process.

The Republican backed People’s Independent Maps Act seeks to take politicians completely out of the business of redistricting, instead granting the power to the state Supreme Court to appoint 16 independent citizens to a redistricting commission within 30 days of passage.

With the system now allowing the party in power to control the map redistricting process, Democrats stand to call all the shots by virtue of controlling the House, Senate and Governor’s Office.