Sangamon Sun

Once every ten years after the U.S. Census, Illinois lawmakers must redraw the state's legislative districts to accommodate for population changes. 

After Gov. J.B. Pritzker went back on his campaign promise to veto any map made by politicians, Republican lawmakers are urging the Democratic majority to remember that the process needs to be fair and nonpartisan. 

"It's really important that we draw these lines in a nonpartisan manner," said state Rep. Tim Butler (R-Springfield) earlier this week. "The people had spoken several years ago, they wanted a constitutional amendment [...] to take it out of the hands of politicians and draw the maps through a nonpartisan commission. That's the best way to make sure that the people are represented."

Butler stated that the people of Illinois should pick their politicians, not the other way around.

Illinois' long history of unfair maps and gerrymandering has hurt the state, especially minority and rural populations, according to Illinois State Conference NAACP President Teresa Haley.

In a redistricting hearing, Haley said that minority population data is normally manipulated in redistricting. 

"Every voice is important," Haley said. "The NAACP is opposed to so many things, such as packing and stacking and cracking, and we've seen it over and over again."

Pritzker wasn't the first governor to break his own promises about redistricting. In 2011, Pat Quinn did the same when he pledged to see a non-gerrymandered redrawing through only to put his signature on a partisan-drawn map. 

Democrats have supported fair nonpartisan maps in the past, though. 

Pritzker said he would support a constitutional amendment to create an independent redistricting committee in the future and encouraged legislators to hand the process over to an independent commission, but changed course last month when he said he trusted Democrats would create fair new districts.