Last week, the U.S. Census Bureau released its official 2020 census numbers confirming what Senate Republicans have been saying for months – that the Democrat-drawn legislative redistricting maps violate the U.S. Constitution and federal law, as well as comparable provisions of the Illinois Constitution.
New analysis of the maps show a 30 percent population deviation between districts, which is three times the maximum limit according to federal law. The data also shows a major blow to minority populations represented in several Illinois communities.
Instead of waiting to use real numbers from official Census data, Democrats forged ahead with their partisan desires by using population estimates from the American Community Survey, which has proven to be not reliable for what is a very complex and important process.
State Senator Sue Rezin (R-Morris) says the maps are unlawful and unusable and further aligns with the Pritzker Administration’s failure to keep a campaign promise, where he specifically vowed to veto any map drawn by politicians. Instead, the Governor supported a closed door process that undermines diverse communities giving them little power and representation.
Republicans have filed a lawsuit, McConchie v. Illinois, asking the courts to rule the maps as unconstitutional. With this new data, it is clear the Democrats’ plan unequivocally violates federal law.
Senator Rezin says she’ll continue to fight for a bipartisan commission to redraw the maps in an effort to bring a fair and transparent process to the people of Illinois.