Sangamon Sun

The partial 2020 U.S. Census data released this week was bad news to many Illinois lawmakers who fear that the lost congressional seat as a result of the state's population decline will cost the Prairie State bargaining power in Washington.

State Rep. Tim Butler (R-Springfield) spoke on WMBD News on Monday where he said the loss in a congressional seat is a "blemish on the prestige" of Illinois. 

"It really comes home to roost when it comes to our power in Washington, D.C.," Butler said. "[...] A lot of that growth in those neighboring states has come from Illinois, so this is really a sad day in Illinois history."

Illinois is one of only three states to have lost population and the only state in the Midwest to do so, and it lost the second highest amount in the nation behind only West Virginia; the state's number of congressional districts will drop to 17 from 18. 

Illinois Policy pointed to the state's history of poor public policy for the lack of competitive housing and employment opportunities compared to Illinois' neighboring states and beyond. The policy organization reported that nearly half of all residents have considered moving out of state with taxes just too high to cope with. 

While the data recently released is not complete and the detailed numbers needed for redistricting the state's legislative borders are not ready, Democrats are shouldering forward with their plan to use what data is available to get a final draft of the new districts on Pritzker's desk by June 30.

Republicans are rallying for an independent redistricting commission to take on the task instead of politicians. 

"When you've got Washington Democrats really pounding on Illinois Democrats to draw the maps to a partisan advantage, unfortunately that's what we're going to see," Butler said. 

Unless the governor follows through on his campaign promise to veto a partisan map or if Democrats miss the June 30 deadline, one of the state's Republican districts is likely to be eliminated.