Lieutenant Governor Sheila Simon stopped in Peoria Wednesday to announce her support for a statewide effort to change the way political districts are drawn. “Yes! for Independent Maps” is aiming to get a constitutional amendment question on the November 2014 ballot to have an independent commission determine boundaries. The goal is to make Illinois legislative district boundaries less politically driven and more compact and contiguous. Simon says the amendment aims to make political boundaries more consistent:
“Certainly here in this area, you guys have had some of the funniest-shaped districts around. I think it's important to know as much as possible, if you’re in a community that your nextdoor neighbor has the same state representative, same state senator, and that you can as a community deal with state government,” Simon says.
The redistricting effort needs 300-thousand signatures by this spring to put the issue on the November ballot. Officials say the amendment, if approved, would go into effect after the next census.