Dan McConchie (R-Hawthorn Woods) | Contributed Photo
Dan McConchie (R-Hawthorn Woods) | Contributed Photo
A group of Republican House and Senate leaders proposed the People's Independent Maps Act to allow independent commissions to dictate redistricting lines as opposed to politicians.
The legislation would create a 16-member independent redistricting commission appointed by the state Supreme Court. The proposal would bar elected officials, state workers and lobbyists from serving on the committee.
"Over the past several weeks, we have listened and participated in redistricting hearings where we heard witnesses from who testified over and over again on the lack of transparency and communication in this redistricting process," Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Rockford) wrote in an April 1 Facebook post. "The People's Independent Maps Act, Senate Bill 1325, is about ensuring that our legislative maps are not drawn by politicians who benefit directly from unfair maps."
"The People's Independent Maps Act will ensure that politicians, including Gov. [J.B.] Pritzker, keep their promise to the people of Illinois to support an independent redistricting map," Senate Republican Leader Dan McConchie (R-Hawthorn Woods) said in a March 30 news release. "The legislation moves Illinois from a broken system where politicians choose their voters to a process where the people choose their politicians."
The proposal is similar to a constitutional amendment presented by Sen. Julie Morrison (D-Deerfield) in 2019, which accumulated 37 co-sponsors within the Senate, including 18 Democrats. Previous polls administered to the public in Illinois indicated that 75% of voters favor the independent redistricting commission.
"Millions of Illinoisans believe that politicians shouldn't draw their own maps or pick their own voters," Senate Republican Caucus Chair Jason Barickman (R-Bloomington) said in the release. "The people know that if one party rejects an independent process, it only serves to fulfill a partisan purpose."
The members who introduced the proposal are McConchie, House Republican Jim Durkin (R-Burr Ridge), Barickman, and House Assistant Minority Leader Tim Butler (R-Springfield).
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