GOP leaders call out House Dems for redistricting ‘hypocrisy’
By GRACE BARBIC and SARAH MANSUR
Capitol News Illinois
gbarbic@capitolnewsillinois
smansur@capitolnewsillinois.com
SPRINGFIELD — Illinois House Republicans continue to demand a “fair” redistricting process, following a news report depicting Democratic lawmakers meeting behind a closed door to discuss the mapmaking process.
The “secretive” room on Capitol grounds where House Democrats are said to be drawing maps was first reported by WCIA-TV’s Mark Maxwell. In response to the report, House Republicans held a news conference Thursday outside of the room to address their concerns.
The U.S. Census Bureau has not released official block-level data that Republicans and advocacy groups say is necessary to ensure a full accounting of Illinois’ citizens. That data isn’t expected to be released until Sept. 30, which is past the initial June 30 deadline written in the Illinois Constitution for the General Assembly to draw maps.
The Census Bureau has released less descriptive data, including data from the American Community Survey, which doesn’t include the detailed, block-level data showing exactly where people live – the kind of data needed to draw equal-size legislative districts.
State Rep. Ryan Spain, R-Peoria, said the ACS data is not accurate and is not appropriate to use when drawing the map.
“That’s what the Census Bureau says, that’s what advocacy groups across the state of Illinois have testified…more than 55 groups have said it is not appropriate that we use estimated data sources to do one of the most important things that happens every 10 years, and that is draw this map,” Spain said.
“We need to have accurate census data as the methodology that we use to draw this map. This is the doorway to further corruption in the state of Illinois, and it needs to stop,” he added.
Democrats have not said exactly what data has been used in the mapmaking process thus far. They did, however, point to the House Redistricting Committee’s 30 public hearings on the matter, noting they heard testimony from advocacy groups and the public providing input on the process.
During an unrelated news conference Thursday, Democratic leaders brushed off the Republicans’ criticisms, saying this is the normal process that state lawmakers have used in years past.
“We are just following the process like we always do, (the Republicans are) doing the same thing,” said Rep. Lisa Hernandez, D-Cicero, assistant majority leader and chair of the Redistricting Committee.
She said ACS data is just one source, but not the sole source being used to draw the maps.
“The participation of the public hearings, and the kind of information that has been offered, we’re really combing through all of that,” Hernandez said.
“It’s a wait-and-see, but like I said, we’re just off of the hearings, we’re looking at all this information, trying to figure it out. I’m sorry I don’t have the answer right now, maybe in a few weeks we can,” she said.
Rep. Avery Bourne, R-Morrisonville, said Gov. JB Pritzker is going back on his campaign promise that he would not sign a partisan-drawn map.
“Our Democratic colleagues have called for a fair process…the governor himself has said that he wants a transparent process. And what we see today, what we saw reported last night, is literally the opposite of a transparent process,” Bourne said.
“They are going behind a closed door to pick their voters. Gov. Pritzker previously endorsed a fair map process and went so far as to say that he would veto a map that was drawn by politicians, partisans or their staff.”
The U.S. and Illinois constitutions require lawmakers to redraw congressional and legislative district boundaries every 10 years, following the decennial census, to account for population shifts.
Under the Illinois Constitution, the Illinois General Assembly must pass a redistricting plan, approved by the governor, by June 30. If lawmakers do not meet that deadline, the redistricting plan goes to an eight-person legislative redistricting commission that consists of no more than four people from each party.
The commission has until August 10 to file a new redistricting plan. If the commission still fails to compromise on a plan, the Illinois Supreme Court submits the names of two people of opposing parties to the secretary of state. By random selection, the secretary of state chooses one of the two people, and that person becomes the ninth and tie-breaking vote on the commission.
Republicans have proposed using a bipartisan 16-member commission to redraw the maps, and that commission would send the maps to the eight-person commission for approval. But a law creating that new commission has stalled in the General Assembly.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government and distributed to more than 400 newspapers statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
Local News
Willow Springs hires three for police department
Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch All three new hires by the Willow Springs Police Department have some experience working in the village. But as of Jan. 27, they are officially members of the police department. The Willow Springs Village Board, at its most recent meeting, hired Andzeliak Bugajski and Anthony Vosicky as part-time officers and…
Argo wrestlers advance to sectionals
Spread the love From staff reports Nine members of the Argo wrestling team qualified for this weekend’s sectional tournament at the IHSA Class 3A regional at Mount Carmel High School last Saturday. Head Wrestling Coach Matthew McMurray said, “It was a great job by all of our wrestlers as they finished in third place. We…
Spartan Educational Foundation presents Rat Pack tribute
Spread the loveBy Kelly White Oak Lawn Community High School’s Spartan Educational Foundation is dedicated to helping students fulfill their dreams. “The Spartan Educational Foundation is continuously looking for opportunities to raise funding to support our student scholarship and staff mini-grant programs,” Michael Riordan, Superintendent at Oak Lawn Community Hight School and Spartan Educational Foundation…
Stickney’s St. Pius X Parish to merge with St. Leonard
Spread the loveBy Bob Bong St. Pius X Parish in Stickney will merge with St. Leonard Parish in Berwyn this summer, Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, announced last month. The merger is part of the archdiocese’s ongoing Renew My Church initiative and will take effect on July 1. The new parish will have one…
La Grange twins are Chick Evans scholars
Spread the loveBy Steve Metsch Long hours spent in the La Grange Country Club’s caddie shack – killing time by reading books or playing cards as they wait to be called to duty – have paid off for a brother and sister. Through the past four years, Caroline and Casey Hart honed their skills, learned…
Fun from above
Spread the love While some folks see heavy snowfall and curse the skies, children in Clearing and Garfield Ridge seemed thrilled with last week’s winter windfall. Schools cancelled classes, and kids like Garfield Ridge sisters Makayla, 10, and 6-year-old Mia Hernandez grabbed their plastic sleds and rode ripples of white all afternoon on a large…
Brother Rice’s 11-game win streak ends with loss to Leo
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff writer In seemingly a blink of an eye, Brother Rice picked up as many losses as it had all season. The Crusaders headed into last weekend’s action with a 21-2 record and was 10-0 in the Chicago Catholic League Blue. But Friday night, they suffered a 56-50 setback to…
Area Sports Roundup: Six area girls bowling teams headed to sectionals
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff writer Six area girls bowling teams are headed to sectionals. Reavis and Stagg won IHSA regional titles last Saturday, and four other teams have advanced to this weekend’s action. Reavis won its own regional at Palos Lanes in Palos Hills with a 5,378 in six games, well ahead of…
Marist cheerleaders takes 2nd in state
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff writer After Marist’s cheerleaders watched a video of their state finals performance on Feb. 5, there were some long faces and tears as the girls filed out of the video room and into the cooling-off room. After a long meeting, there were more long faces. “I’ve had better days,”…
Neighbors
Mother Mac unveils new lights and scoreboard
Spread the loveBy Kelly White Across the nation, women’s sports are on the rise in terms of viewership, enthusiasm, sponsorship and excitement. Mother McAuley is no stranger to the impact that women’s athletics has on the development of an individual, strengthening of a team and key skills and attributes developed along the way. South Side…
Cicadas in the park in Palos Park
Spread the loveBy Kelly White Cicadas are coming and the Village of Palos Park is ready. The village hosted its 31st annual Arbor Day Celebration on Sunday, May 5, themed, “The Wonder of Trees” at The Center in the Lodge, 12700 Southwest Highway, with featured speaker, Tricia Bethke of The Morton Arboretum who presented, “Cicadas…
Palos Heights SD 128 sees enrollment boom
Spread the loveBy Kelly White Over the past few years, Palos Heights School District 128 has experienced an explosive growth among incoming students. There has been a significant increase particularly at Indian Hill Early Learning Center, 12800 S. Austin Ave. Chippewa Elementary School, 12425 S. Austin Ave; Navajo Elementary School, 12401 S. Oak Park Ave;…
Comings & Goings: Orange’s Pancake House now open in Palos Heights
Spread the loveBy Kelly White Palos Heights is the home of a popular new breakfast café. Orange’s Pancake House, 11845 Southwest Highway, held a ribbon-cutting event on April 18. Owners, Elvia Briones, of Virgina, and Fernando Cruz, of Evergreen Park, said they were very excited to be in the heart of the Palos Heights community.…
Sisters make Chicago Lawn a world destination
Spread the love. Kathy Headley Your correspondent in Chicago Lawn and Marquette Manor 6610 S. Francisco • (773) 776-7778 . Earlier this month was the Fifth Lithuanian Documentary Film Festival, with distinguished guests from Lithuania and other parts of the United States visiting the neighborhood. They held a photo session in the editorial office of…
Happy Mother’s Day to everyone, everyone
Spread the love. By Mary Stanek Your correspondent in Archer Heights and West Elsdon 3808 W. 57th Place • (773) 517-7796 . Yet another Mother’s Day is upon us. I wish everyone a happy day. By everyone I do mean everyone. There are a lot of dads who do it alone, along with important mother…
Mother’s Day is truly a day to be celebrated
Spread the love. Peggy Zabicki Your correspondent in West Lawn 3633 W. 60th Place • (773) 504-9327 . Mother’s Day happens on Sunday, May 12. If this isn’t something to celebrate, I don’t know what is. Motherhood means new life, new beginnings, new possibilities. Even if you won’t be seeing your mom, you can still…
Saint Xavier men’s volleyball finishes historic season in nation’s top 4
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent The Saint Xavier men’s volleyball team made history by advancing to the semifinals of the NAIA Men’s Volleyball National Championship. But the Cougars fell to eventual national champion Georgetown (Kentucky), 25-21, 25-23, 22-25, 21-25, 15-10, on May 3 at Alliant Energy PowerHouse in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Although there was…