Kane County Reporter

House Republicans in Illinois have filed a lawsuit challenging the current legislative district maps, which they argue represent extreme partisan gerrymandering. House Minority Leader Tony McCombie, along with State Representatives Ryan Spain and Dan Ugaste, held a press conference to discuss the legal action taken with the Illinois Supreme Court. They are seeking to have the existing map declared unconstitutional and to appoint a special master for drafting a new redistricting plan.

The lawsuit focuses on two main issues: the compactness of districts as outlined in Article IV, Section 3, and partisan gerrymandering as described in Article III, Section 3 of the Illinois constitution. "Illinois’ State House District Maps are the byproduct of extreme partisan gerrymandering," stated McCombie. She argued that the maps were designed by the ruling political party to maintain Democratic control and hinder minority party voters from electing their preferred candidates.

Ryan Spain has introduced House Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 05 in an effort to implement a Fair Map Amendment. Spain criticized Speaker Chris Welch's leadership, claiming that despite promises of change, Democrats have continued to oppose democratic processes through actions like manipulating district maps. "When we say the map is rigged, we mean that the better Republican candidates do, the more effective the Democratic gerrymander is," he said.

In 2016, over 600,000 Illinois residents supported a Fair Map Ballot Initiative aimed at ending partisan redistricting. However, it was dismissed by the Democrat-controlled Illinois Supreme Court following a lawsuit filed by former Commonwealth Edison executive John Hooker. Hooker was later convicted of bribery charges involving former Speaker Michael Madigan.

Dan Ugaste has consistently pushed for fair maps alongside broader ethics reforms within the House Republican caucus. He highlighted how partisan gerrymandering affected voter representation in recent elections. "Of the 2024 Illinois House elections, Democratic candidates won 55% of the statewide vote but secured a super-majority of seats (78 out of 118)," Ugaste noted.

Dr. Jowei Chen from the University of Michigan contributed expert research on partisan gerrymandering for this complaint. Ugaste emphasized Dr. Chen's findings during the press conference and advocated for reforms including expanded recall elections and stronger ethics measures to address what he described as Democrats' manipulation of legislative maps.

The full complaint is available online at RedoRemap.com while HJRCA05 awaits further review in the Illinois House.