Illinois GOP issues statement on Kennedy's email fundraiser | Courtesy of Shutterstock
Illinois GOP issues statement on Kennedy's email fundraiser | Courtesy of Shutterstock
The Illinois Republican Party recently spoke out regarding a fundraising email sent by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chris Kennedy.
In his email, Kennedy discussed maintaining control of the district maps to prevent Gov. Bruce Rauner, a Republican, from changing the maps to elect more GOP legislators.
"With redistricting coming up soon, this race takes an even bigger importance," Kennedy said in his email. "We can’t let Gov. Rauner and his allies try to gerrymander our maps to elect more Republicans from Illinois who will blindly support President (Donald) Trump."
The state GOP promptly responded to the email, pointing out that House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) has been in charge of the district maps.
"Illinois’ Madigan-drawn districts are some of the most gerrymandered in the country," Illinois GOP Spokesman Steven Yaffe said. "In fact, two-thirds of candidates for the General Assembly faced no opponent in the 2016 election."
Rauner and Republican legislators are in favor of redistricting reforms, which would take the process out of the hands of the legislature. The voter-initiated Fair Maps Amendment was thrown off the November ballot after a court challenge by attorney Mike Kasper, who is also the counsel for the Madigan-led Illinois Democratic Party.
"By refusing to stand for reform, Kennedy is backing Mike Madigan’s position that the legislature he controls should decide how to draw districts," Yaffe said.
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