Kane County Reporter

Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Rockford) is sponsoring legislation that will create an independent commission to draw legislative district maps for Illinois that removes lawmakers from the process.

"Under Illinois’ current system, politicians have the power to draw the district maps for the next ten years, manipulating the system to silence voters and keep majority-party politicians in power," Sen. Dave Syverson wrote in a Facebook post on April 9. "This proposal is our way of seeking to restore public trust in the system by putting an end to the absurd practice of politicians picking their voters."

Syverson hopes Senate Bill 1325, known as the People's Independent Maps Act, will address gerrymandered districts by creating a 16-member commission appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court to create the plans for legislative, representative and congressional districts in Illinois. The legislation only applies to 2021.

“We have a real opportunity to move this state away from the corruption and mismanagement that has led to our broken redistricting system,” Syverson said in a news release. “Now is the time to put pen to paper and give the power back to Illinois voters.”

The commission would be required to reflect the demographics of the state in gender, race and ethnicity. The members would be evenly split between party affiliation and those without a party affiliation.

The bill also makes it so that state employees, lawmakers and lobbyists are not allowed to serve on the commission, and the commission would be required to hold at least 10 public hearings before adopting a plan and at least four hearings after a map has been drawn.