Chicago City Wire

Republican lawmakers continue efforts to reshape the state's redistricting process as an independent commission, with some party members saying their Democratic counterparts are working against the process.

Although Gov. J.B. Pritzker said during his campaign that he would veto an unfair map proposal for this decade's redistricting, skeptics worry that the governor will change his tune now that the time has come. 

"Democrats backtracking on their promises to their constituents? What's new?" 41st Ward Republican Committeeman and Northwest Side GOP Club vice president Ammie Kessem told Chicago City Wire. "Seems to be the theme of the decade. Voters should choose their elected officials; elected officials should not get to choose their voters."

WCIA News reported April 12 that Pritzker has indicated his support of the new maps drawn by Democrats before the Illinois census data was complete; the news station called this change of heart "the biggest flip-flop of [Pritzker's] political career."

Republicans want the governor to stick to his original pledge to veto a map drawn by legislators as Democrats continue to storm forward with committee meetings and hearings to complete the redistricting. Kessem said that she and other organization leaders had told concerned voters that the candidates for the 2022 election depend on the outcome of the redistricting battle.

"We cannot select our candidates until we know what the boundaries will be," Kessem said. "That is not the answer that voters deserve, but it is, unfortunately, the truth because the Democrats in this state continue to play games with their voting rights."

Under current state law, the Legislature has until June 30 to draw and approve a new map. If the task isn't complete by then, the responsibility is handed to an independent remapping commission that consists of four Republicans and four Democrats. 

Kessem implored state Democrats to drop the partisan politics and usher the Fair Map Bill into law as soon as possible. 

"Voters are sick and tired of their excuses," she said. "We have been talking about Fair Maps for years now. This is long overdue and with Madigan gone, the time is now!"

The decennial redistricting happens a year after census data is collected. The process is generally lead by the political party that runs the legislature. In Illinois, Democrats control the House and Senate.