By GREG BISHOP for THE ILLINOIS RADIO NETWORK
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (IRN) — Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle say one way to combat the culture of corruption in the halls of Illinois government is to remove politicians from the legislative map-making process.
The next legislative maps will be drawn after the ten-year Census results are finalized.
Change Illinois, which advocates for changing how Illinois draws its legislative boundaries said: “Illinois is a leading example of the harm that gerrymandering does to our democracy.”
“Put simply, redistricting determines political power,” the group said. “Every 10 years when U.S. Census data is released, political parties draw legislative boundaries and choose voters who are most likely to give them a political advantage on Election Day.”
More than half-a-million voters signed a petition in 2015 to get such a proposal on the 2016 ballot, but the measure was stifled in the courts with a challenge from a law firm with connections to House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago.
In the wake of federal investigations involving state lawmakers this year. state Sen. Jason Barickman, R-Bloomington, said he wants the statehouse to focus on a fair map proposal.
“I think we do need to amend our constitution and relinquish the political control that lawmakers have over redistricting,” Barickman said.
State Sen. Melinda Bush, D-Grayslake, agreed.
“I really want to see us do more work on how we change the culture here, so continue to do work in that arena, you know, we’ve also got fair maps,” Bush said. “How do we look at those issues? How do we make sure that the people that we’re electing, that we’re getting good representation? So looking at fair maps.”
Barickman said it’s of critical importance.
“I think the governor can play a major leadership role in that, but again the will has to exist and thus far we haven’t seen it,” Barickman said.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office didn’t immediately respond to questions seeking comment.
In June, the governor told the Belleville News-Democrat: “We’re going to have to make sure that here in Illinois we’re not gerrymandering, that we’re drawing maps that fair and competitive.”
