U.S. Rep. Mike Bost would no longer represent Belleville, East St. Louis under proposal
The most populous and Democratic-leaning portions of the metro-east could become part of a different congressional district if Illinois lawmakers approve a proposed map released Friday.
Under the proposed map, which could still change, most of the Belleville and East St. Louis areas would become part of a redrawn 13th Congressional District instead of the 12th, which is represented by Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Bost of Murphysboro.
Bost has represented the 12th since 2015 and has yet to face a Democratic challenger who can sway southernmost Illinois voters. Bost’s campaign had $559,355 cash on hand in July and had raised $295,670 from January through June this year. The proposed 12th district would include most of the southern third of Illinois.
The shift could give Democrats an edge in the proposed 13th, which would stretch diagonally from Champaign to East St. Louis.
It’s not yet clear who might run for that district.
In the current 13th district, Republican U.S. Rep. Davis won against Democratic competitor Betsy Dirksen Londrigan in 2018 and again in 2020. Counting the metro-east’s votes, a Republican candidate might not have the numbers needed to win the 13th in November 2022.
If Davis were to run for Congress again under the proposed map, he would fall into a revised 15th district that includes large swaths of rural areas from northern Illinois to Effingham. Davis has said he would consider running for governor depending on how his district is drawn.
Davis didn’t give any clues about his choice in a statement Friday criticizing the redrawn map, which he called “a complete joke” because Democrats have total control over the process.
GOP U.S. Reps. Mary Miller of Oakland and Darin LaHood of Peoria would both be together in a redrawn 16th district. Both Miller and LaHood are staunch supporters of Donald Trump, unlike Republican U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a frequent critic of the former president. Kinzinger would fall into a Democratic-leaning district with U.S. Rep. Marie Newman, a Democrat from Channahon. Like Davis, Kinzinger has also said he would consider a run for governor.
The map was drawn with the idea of giving Democrats control over all but three of Illinois’ 17 districts, an optimistic goal, said John Jackson, visiting professor at the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute in Carbondale. If the economy is doing well and the COVID-19 pandemic has largely subsided, and if Democrats have delivered on policy goals, it would bode well for the Illinois delegation.
“This will be a nationalized election just like all of them are. What happens between now and next November for Democrats and Joe Biden is how that national conversation will play out,” Jackson said. “Democrats have got to have really good prospects this time next year for these districts to be competitive.”
Voting on a map is a top priority for lawmakers during the fall veto session, which begins next week. If they approve a map, it could go to Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s desk before the end of the month.
More about Illinois’ map
Illinois will lose one congressional district — going from 18 to 17 — next year because of population declines.
Southern Illinois saw the largest losses, Capitol News Illinois reported last week. Alexander County, home to Cairo, lost 36.4% of its population since 2010, the news organization reported citing U.S. Census numbers.
State Democrats want to help House Speaker Nancy Pelosi keep control of Congress by eliminating as many Republican congressional seats as possible from Illinois’ map. Democrats have a slim hold in the House with only an eight-vote majority and with three vacant seats: two Democratic and one Republican.
“Call this new Illinois map the Nancy Pelosi Protection Plan,” Illinois Republican Party Chairman Don Tracy said in a statement Friday.
Democrats control the state General Assembly and the governor’s office, ensuring their power to finalize a map without Republican approval.
Bost called the map a “gerrymandered nightmare” in a statement Friday.
While southwestern Illinois has become more conservative in recent years, Belleville and East St. Louis voters still largely favor Democrats. The map also includes Democratic-leaning Alton and Edwardsville.
Under the current congressional map, conservative downstate Illinois overshadows the metro-east’s Democratic votes. The closest a recent Democratic candidate has come to unseating Bost was when then-St. Clair County State’s Attorney Brendan Kelly ran in 2018. Kelly was later named head of Illinois State Police.
The maps are still subject to court challenges, which are sure to surface.
This story was originally published October 15, 2021 at 1:18 PM.
