You Thought Gerrymandering in Wisconsin Was Bad, Illinois Is Worse

image
Published: 17 Jul, 2017
Updated: 17 Oct, 2022
2 min read

ILLINOIS - Political reform in Illinois comes slowly, but one group is renewing the effort to put redistricting back in the hands of the people.

After each decennial census, a state’s district maps are redrawn. In most states, politicians draw the boundaries which generally favor the majority party.

As in the case of Illinois after 2010, Democrats held the governor’s office and veto-proof majorities in the state legislature. Consequently, they redrew district boundaries without Republican input. This move assured Democrats benefited for the next ten years.

The Independent Map Amendment was the most recent group to seek redistricting reform. Earlier this year, the Independent Map Amendment merged with another group to lead the charge. Fresh off a recent victory with automatic voter registration, the new face of redistricting reform is Change Illinois.

Change Illinois represents a broad array of business, political, and civic leaders from the Land of Lincoln.

Executive Director Ra Joy is a former senior aide to Democratic US Rep. Jan Schakowsky. Former Republican Lieutenant Governor Corinne Wood and former Illinois Democratic Representative Kathy Ryg are board members.

The board chair is John Sirek of Chicago’s McCormick Foundation. Named for the famous Chicago Tribune publisher, the Foundation’s mission seeks to cultivate “communities of educated, informed and engaged citizens.”

Despite ballot initiatives with wide support, the voters of Illinois did not vote on redistricting reform in the last two cycles. With state justices striking down each initiative, obstacles to reform are political and legal, rather than popular.

However, Change Illinois hopes resolution in Wisconsin’s gerrymandering case will open up the possibility of reform in Illinois. To date, Whitford v. Gill awaits a decision from the US Supreme Court over whether Wisconsin lawmakers illegally drew district boundaries to benefit Republicans.

IVP Donate

In an editorial earlier this year, Joy explained that Change Illinois is anxiously watching the result of the US Supreme Court's ruling. Upholding a lower court's ruling that Wisconsin’s gerrymandered maps are illegal may provide hope for Illinois. As he writes, Illinois elections are fundamentally uncompetitive:

"For context, because of partisan gerrymandering, about 40 percent of elections for both chambers of the Wisconsin legislature were noncompetitive. By contrast, more than 60 percent of Illinois legislative elections were noncompetitive last November. What ails Wisconsin galls Illinois." - Ray Joy, Change Illinois

No reform can be enacted until after the 2020 census. Although only three years away, any successful effort to alter government or political business in Illinois usually requires patience.

In an email sent from the organization, Change Illinois indicates that they intend to bring up redistricting in the 2018 midterm elections. However, in the current round of reform efforts, time may also matter in addition to political and judicial obstacles. Yet regardless of the hindrances, citizens are working and preparing to reform their state's government.

Latest articles

CA capitol building dome with flags.
Why is CA Senator Mike McGuire Trying to Kill the Legal Cannabis Industry?
California’s legal cannabis industry is under mounting pressure, and in early June, state lawmakers and the governor appeared poised to help. A bill to freeze the state’s cannabis excise tax at 15% sailed through the State Assembly with a unanimous 74-0 vote. The governor’s office backed the plan. And legal cannabis businesses, still struggling to compete with unregulated sellers and mounting operating costs, saw a glimmer of hope....
03 Jul, 2025
-
7 min read
I voted buttons
After First RCV Election, Charlottesville Voters Back the Reform: 'They Get It, They Like It, They Want to Do It Again'
A new survey out of Charlottesville, Virginia, shows overwhelming support for ranked choice voting (RCV) following the city’s first use of the system in its June Democratic primary for City Council. Conducted one week after the election, the results found that nearly 90% of respondents support continued use of RCV....
03 Jul, 2025
-
3 min read
Crowd in Time Square.
NYC Exit Survey: 96% of Voters Understood Their Ranked Choice Ballots
An exit poll conducted by SurveyUSA on behalf of the nonprofit better elections group FairVote finds that ranked choice voting (RCV) continues to be supported by a vast majority of voters who find it simple, fair, and easy to use. The findings come in the wake of the city’s third use of RCV in its June 2025 primary elections....
01 Jul, 2025
-
6 min read