Whether the Illinois General Assembly should redraw the state’s congressional map in the middle of the decade will depend on Indiana, Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker said Wednesday.
Republican Indiana Gov. Mike Braun called a session for Hoosier state lawmakers to redraw their maps, which legislative leaders have scheduled for the start of December, the Indianapolis Star reported.
“We're watching what Indiana does,” Pritzker said at an unrelated event in Alton. “We may have to react to that. It's certainly something that people have considered here, and the legislature has considered here. But we'll have to see what happens.”
The idea would be that, as California reacted to Texas, Illinois would pair any potential redistricting with Indiana, the governor said.
“We've been looking at pairing with different states,” he said. “We don't think that this is a good idea. The redistricting across the country — not a good idea. But, unfortunately, Donald Trump is trying to cheat. He thinks that redistricting mid-decade is OK.”
U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jefferies, D-New York, told state lawmakers in Springfield last week that Illinois should be part of the national redistricting effort after Trump pressed Texas lawmakers to redraw their map, which was signed into law earlier this summer.
On Tuesday, California voters approved newly drawn congressional boundaries, an effort to counteract Texas.
Missouri lawmakers passed a new map this fall, but legal challenges and a referendum could prevent those from taking effect prior to next year’s midterm elections.
Currently, Democrats hold 14 of Illinois’ 17 congressional districts in what many consider to be a heavily gerrymandered lineup already. Princeton University’s Gerrymandering Project gave Illinois’ map for U.S. House candidates an F.
If Jefferies got his way, Illinois Democrats would redraw the map to create a 15-2 advantage for their party. But Black lawmakers have expressed concern that any effort to redraw Illinois’ map could dilute Black voting power.
Pritzker on Wednesday did not provide a potential timeline for the Illinois General Assembly to consider redistricting.
