Illinois residents worry about redistricting transparency as Democrats and GOP spar
Central and southern Illinoisans told lawmakers Monday they’re concerned about transparency and fairness as Democrats aim to redraw legislative and congressional maps in the state.
Democrats invited the public to share their thoughts on redistricting at two dozen hearings statewide, including one Monday evening in East St. Louis.
Stanley Franklin, president of the NAACP’s East St. Louis chapter, said he is concerned about racial gerrymandering suppressing Black voters. He asked for a comment period before lawmakers vote on a map so the public could have a chance to weigh in.
Democrats, who control redistricting, must approve a map by June 30 per the state constitution. But 2020 was not a traditional year, and the COVID-19 pandemic will delay United States Census Bureau data by months. Complete data won’t be available until the end of August at the earliest.
It means that the maps could be drawn without the benefit of a full census.
Republicans say Democrats will take the opportunity to redraw maps to their political advantage behind the veil of public hearings, said state Sen. Jason Plummer (R-Edwardsville). It could mean rushing through map drawing to the detriment of transparency and even the possibility of having a comment period.
“We have a terrible habit in Springfield of introducing very, very important things and voting on (them) in less than 24 hours and sometimes overnight,” Plummer said.
Using incomplete Census data could further undercount Black and Brown communities, Plummer added. If they move forward with a the June deadline, Democrats might use data from the American Community Survey — a Census Bureau service that relies on a sample of Americans to make population estimates. The latest ACS data is from 2019.
Michael McDonald, a political science professor at the University of Florida, said ACS data can be used to begin roughly drawing maps, but it’s not as accurate as the data that will be available later this year. The data can be even worse in communities that typically go undercounted, McDonald said.
“You need to be very sensitive that the American Community Survey may have a lot of error to it,” McDonald said Tuesday during a webinar hosted by the University of Illinois. “You can’t really do the redistricting with the ACS data by itself, but you can start roughing out the districts. But again, it depends on your locality how lucky you’re going to get as to what the quality of that ACS data is going to be.”
But the hearings ensured often undercounted communities and other Illinois residents have a say, said state Rep. Jay Hoffman (D-Swansea). The complete Census data undercounts Black and Brown communities anyway, especially because former President Donald Trump attempted to put a premature end to counting, said state Sen. Chris Belt (D-Centreville).
“The only way to ensure a fair map is to allow for greater public participation, not less. That’s why we are here today. We want to hear from our communities because we know that no matter what happens, data will only tell part of the story,” Belt said.
Few people knew about the hearings, however, said Samer Aldroubi of Peoria, who attended the East St. Louis hearing remotely.
“I stay fairly well plugged in and only learned of these (hearings) last week,” Aldroubi said.
Aldroubi said he was also in favor of a waiting period to allow the public to review maps before the legislature votes, but he said he wants to get redistricting “out of partisan hands” altogether and under the control of an independent, administrative body.
Plummer said Republicans have introduced such a plan. The legislation (SB1325) would empower the Illinois Supreme Court to appoint a 16-member commission composed of seven Democrats, seven Republicans and two independents.
While Republicans touted their plan, state Sen. Rachelle Crowe (D-Glen Carbon) called the legislation a “smokescreen” because “a bill cannot trump the constitution.”
“People think that this Republican bill will somehow create an independent group to draw a map is truly a false choice,” Crowe said. “Our constitution is very clear. We have a June 30 deadline to draw a map. If we fail to meet that deadline, we, Democrats and Republicans, have failed.”
How does redistricting in Illinois work?
Every 10 years, Illinois redraws the boundaries for state legislative districts and congressional maps. There are currently 177 state legislators — 59 senators 118 representatives — and 18 U.S. representatives in Congress for Illinois.
Illinois is expected to lose at least one congressional district because of population declines.
Federal law mandates that the maps cannot discriminate based on race or ethnicity.
Normally, the Census Bureau would supply data from its count, which attempts to reach all American households, in time for Illinois lawmakers to redraw the maps before the constitutional end-of-June deadline.
The bureau announced in February its data for redistricting wouldn’t be available until Sept. 30 in the newest format, but the same data will be available at the end of August in an older format.
The General Assembly draws both congressional and legislative districts. With Democrats in control of both the House and the Senate, the GOP is expected to have little say in redistricting. Both chambers must approve the map in a vote.
The governor can veto the approved map, as Gov. J.B. Pritzker has pledged to do if lawmakers present him with one he considers unfair. But Pritzker hasn’t specified what he considers a fair map.
“The phrase ‘fair map’ is basically a political tool rather than something that actually is objective fact,” said Christopher Mooney, a political science professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, during the webinar.
Instead, Illinois’ redistricting rules are aimed at empowering political parties, McDonald said, just as the GOP takes advantage of gerrymandering in some Republican-controlled states.
“Competition, respecting local boundaries, compactness, voting rights, equal population, all of those things can be done better than what we’re currently getting in the redistricting process,” McDonald said. “Politicians are basically ... drawing districts for their own political interests.”
If the General Assembly fails to approve a plan by June 30, redistricting goes to a commission of eight members — no more than four from the same political party.
The Legislative Redistricting Commission would have until Aug. 10 to produce a map that at least five members can agree on. If they fail, the decision goes to a tiebreaker.
This is known as a “Lincoln hat remap” because someone would pull a name out of a replica Abraham Lincoln hat to break the tie, and that person’s political party would make the final decision. This has happened three out of the four times redistricting went to a commission since 1970, the Chicago-Sun Times reported.
Under the Republican’s proposal this year, the commission appointed by the state supreme court would wait for the detailed Census data to be available later this year before drawing maps. They would submit their plan within 30 days to the Legislative Redistricting Commission.
This story was originally published April 19, 2021 at 9:19 PM.
