Governor Bruce Rauner continues to support legislative redistricting reforms that take politicians out of the process. But the Republican governor laughed off a reporter’s question on whether he’d recuse himself from redistricting, if elected to a second term.
Rauner says as long as redistricting is a partisan process in Illinois, he needs to be involved so he can counteract the influence of Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan.
“I will definitely be in the process," Rauner said. "In fact, one of the reasons I’m asking voters to help me get re-elected, is because I need to be in the negotiation with Speaker Madigan and his machine, so we have bipartisan map-drawing, not one party drawing the process.”
Rauner’s comments came during a campaign stop in Champaign Monday, where he visited the internet service company Pavlov Media.
Rauner’s campaign platform does not mention redistricting reform. The Illinois Supreme Court ruled last year against a citizen’s petition for a redistricting reform amendment. That leaves the matter up to the General Assembly, where Democratic majority opposes the idea.