 A number of groups, including coalitions and the Illinois Republican
Party, are expected to challenge the 2011 redistricting map drawn by
Democrats and approved earlier this week. No lawsuits have been
filed, and Gov. Pat Quinn is mum on whether he will approve the
congressional and legislative maps.Voters need to be wary of
political parties’ challenges to the maps, said Jan Czarnick,
executive director of Illinois' League of Women Voters, a
nonpartisan political organization.
A lawsuit is "what you'd expect from political parties," Czarnick
said. "Their job is to benefit that political party. And both
Republicans and Democrats do that."
The GOP is reviewing the redistricting map with an eye to a
challenge, said John Blessing, deputy executive director of the
Illinois Republican Party.
"I can take a look at this map and know that it's wrong, but it
will take a while to see how to move forward. That could take weeks
or more," Blessing said.
However, Steve Brown, spokesman for House Speaker Michael
Madigan, D-Chicago, said the House Democrats followed state and
federal requirements, such as the Voting Rights Act, when crafting
the redistricting maps.
"That was our goal, and we achieved that goal," Brown said. "I
don't think they have a basis for a successful lawsuit."
[to top of second column] |
Czarnick said the League of Women Voters may challenge the maps
to give a voice to voters in the newly drawn map districts that are
failing in the court of public opinion.
"This should be about people, the citizens of the state or this
country, choosing the people who represent them," Czarnick said.
[Illinois
Statehouse News; By BENJAMIN YOUNT]
 |
