After weeks of lightly-attended redistricting hearings around the state — and bluster from Republicans frustrated that the supermajority Democrats locked them out of the process — the new legislative map proposal for the next decade is finally out in the open.
Democrats say their maps "reflect the diversity" of Illinois.
“Redistricting is about making sure all voices are heard, and that’s exactly what this map accomplishes. This is a fair map that reflects the great diversity of our state and ensures every person receives equal representation in the General Assembly,” said Sen. Omar Aquino, D-Chicago, Chair of the Senate Redistricting Committee, in a prepared statement. “I’m grateful to all of the community groups and organizations who engaged in this process in a meaningful way and look forward to continuing those conversations in the coming days.”
Illinois Republican Party chairman Don Tracy, meanwhile, slammed the process.
"This new state legislative map, drawn in secret by politicians, has been engineered to maximize the power of the Madigan Machine. The politicians’ map degrades our democracy and fundamentally removes power from the people to fairly choose their representatives. I urge all legislators to vote against the proposed map and call on Governor Pritzker to keep his word by vetoing should it pass," Tracy said in a prepared statement.
Gov. JB Pritzker, an advocate on the campaign trail for an independent mapping process, now says only that he will veto an "unfair map."
The map released by the Illinois Senate Democrats shows state Sen. Dave Koehler's (D-Peoria) 46th District trading much of reddening Fulton and ruby red Tazewell counties for areas to the east in McLean County, home to Illinois State University. The county is tilting bluer in recent elections, putting more Democrats in office and narrowly voting for Joe Biden over Donald Trump in 2020.
State Sen. Win Stoller's (R-Germantown Hills) 37th District, meanwhile, is stretched far north of its current boundaries. The district now appears to expand up past the Quad Cities in the Democratic rendering.
Southern parts of the Tri-County region appear to be absorbed mostly into state Sen. Sally Turner's (R-Beason) 44th District.
In the House, state Rep. Jehan Gordon Booth's (D-Peoria) 92nd District looks mostly the same, covering most of the same densely populated swath of the city of Peoria.
But several area House Republicans appear to be drawn out of their current districts, based on where they live.
Rep. Ryan Spain's (R-Peoria) 73rd District would no longer touch the city of Peoria. The new district only incorporates the northern edge of Peoria County, extending into parts of Bureau, Marshall, Putnam, Stark, and Henry to the north and northwest, as well as a sliver of far northern Tazewell.
The 93rd District, currently represented by Norine Hammond, R-Macomb, would cover most of rural Peoria County, along with parts of Knox, Fulton, Stark, and Henry.
The 91st District represented by state Rep. Mark Luft, R-Pekin, appears to be more fertile ground for a Democratic challenger in the new map. Much like Koehler's Senate district, the new House map trades the redder parts of Fulton, Tazewell and Peoria counties for bluer areas of McLean.
The 91st District was last represented by a Democrat in 2010, when incumbent Rep. Mike Smith of Canton was defeated by East Peoria Republican Mike Unes.
State Rep. Keith Sommer, R-Morton, appears to be drawn out of his 88th District entirely. The district would now cover parts or all of Sangamon, DeWitt, Ford, Logan, and Macon counties.
Both Luft, a freshman lawmaker, and Sommer, the House GOP's longest-tenured member, both reside within the boundaries of the new 87th currently represented by State Rep. Tim Butler, R-Springfield.
The 87th District would extend much further into Tazewell County under the new map, but would also cede all of its Sangamon County territory.
And Rep. Dan Brady's (R-Bloomington) 105th District now covers the eastern half of Woodford County under the new map.
Democrats are soliciting feedback on their maps. Click here for the Senate website or here for the House site.
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