 The state is scheduled to redraw its legislative districts in 2011.
The process -- known as redistricting -- occurs every 10 years and
relies on data collected through the federal census the year before.
But the current redistricting procedure has been encumbered by
drawn-out partisan battles, legal challenges and arbitrary draws
from a hat.
This session, Democratic and Republican lawmakers have introduced
five proposed constitutional amendments that would change the
redistricting process.
Proposals from both parties share a number of planned changes, such
as the de-coupling of Senate and House districts and the
establishment of public hearings on redistricting.
But lawmakers are locked in a partisan conflict over who ultimately
decides how the state's legislative map is drawn.
The lone Democrat-backed proposal, sponsored by state Sen. Kwame
Raoul, D-Chicago, would allow lawmakers several attempts to redraw
the map.
If initial efforts to redraw a map fail, each legislative chamber
could try to pass its own district map, without needing approval
from the governor.
A special master would be appointed by the state's Supreme Court to
finalize a map in the case of a drawn-out deadlock. But if the master cannot complete the task or if there are legal challenges
involved, lawmakers would still have the final say on a legislative
map.
Eric Madiar, Senate President John Cullerton's top lawyer, called
the scenario of using lawmakers as a last-ditch option "remote."
"I would imagine that the person, any person that the court would
pick as the special master, would get the job done by Oct. 5," he
said.
Top Republicans claim Raoul's proposal gives lawmakers too much
influence on the redistricting process.
In past redistricting attempts, lawmakers have failed to agree on a
map, leading to the state Supreme Court stepping in and picking a
name out of a hat to help break a partisan deadlock.
Senate Republican Leader Christine Radogno, R-Lemont, criticized the
Raoul plan.
"By allowing legislators to continue to draw their own districts,
this proposal violates the first basic principle of reform. The new
Senate Democrat proposal continues the current practice in Illinois
that allows politicians to pick their voters instead of the other
way around. It's a practice that allows friends to be rewarded,
enemies to be punished and voters to be short-changed," she said in
a statement.
A proposal sponsored by Radogno would have a redistricting
commission, appointed by legislative leaders from both parties and
chambers, to have first shot at drawing the districts.
Commission members cannot be lawmakers and cannot run for a
legislative office for 10 years after the commission completes its
work.
Lawmakers would get to vote on any plans approved by the commission.
Much like Raoul's plan, a special master appointed by the state
Supreme Court would provide a finalized map if any deadlocks
occurred.
But unlike the Raoul plan, Radogno's proposal does not allow
lawmakers to re-enter the redistricting process once a special
master has been appointed.
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Madiar, legal counsel for the Senate president, said the
process of forming a commission was not realistic.
The Republican plan would require a majority of the eight members to
select a ninth person to serve as chair, which Madiar said could
halt the process entirely because of partisan interests.
"The likelihood that they'll pick a ninth member is not going to
happen, I feel very confident about that," he said. "So what you end
up ... having is a redistricting commission that ... will not be independent
by any stretch of the imagination, and (they) won't be able to draw
a map because there will not be any agreement."
But Mark Gordon, a spokesman with the Senate Republicans, said a
commission of non-legislators would provide a fairer legislative
map.
"That's really the fatal flaw, that's the thing that you're going to
see time and time again. This issue of: Is it done by an independent
commission that takes it out of the hands of the politicians, or do
the politicians get to pick their own voters and draw their own
district lines?" he said.
Another Republican plan would follow the Iowa redistricting process,
which relies on a computer system to formulate a legislative map.
Lawmakers would then vote on the computer-created plan.
On Monday, a state Senate redistricting committee, headed by Raoul,
will consider Raoul's and Republicans' redistricting proposals.
Gordon, a Senate Republican spokesman, feared that the
Democratically-led committee would dismiss Radogno's proposal by a
party vote.
"That is a nonpartisan, fair map proposal. It's pretty clear, I think,
what you're seeing here is that the Democrats intend to kill it.
It's unfortunate, but that's what they intend to do," he said.
A redistricting proposal, if passed, would amend the state's
constitution. In order to pass, a proposed constitutional amendment
would require extraordinary majorities in both legislative chambers
as well as voter approval in November's general election.
[By KEVIN LEE,
Illinois Statehouse
News]
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