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The lawsuit asks the Illinois Supreme Court to throw out the
map, calling it a case of “extreme gerrymandering” and
unconstitutional under state law, and appoint a third party to
draw a more fair map.
House Minority Leader Tony McCombie, R-Savanna, said she was
pleased to hear that Attorney General Kwame Raoul has declined
to defend the map.
“This is significant,” McCombie said Wednesday during a news
conference. “The attorney general, who has taken on similar
cases before and whose role is to defend this lawsuit, is
unwilling to argue that our complaint should not move forward.”
Now, Illinois House Speaker Emanuel ”Chris” Welch, D-Hillside,
has entered the picture.
“And who does he hire to replace the attorney general to take
action on this case is nonother than Darth Vader himself,
[former Illinois House Speaker Michael] Madigan’s henchman, the
Prince of Darkness, Michael Kasper, who has been called the
chief weapon of Democrats against redistricting reform in the
state of Illinois,” said state Rep. Ryan Spain, R-Peoria.
Kasper has defended challenges against the state’s legislative
maps in the past and has been successful in having the lawsuits
thrown out.
The Princeton Gerrymandering Project, which assesses legislative
maps around the country using several metrics, gave the current
Illinois House map a failing “F” grade.
Spain said the state’s highest court has a chance to make
history with this decision.
“This is a seminal moment for the Illinois Supreme Court, to be
able to correct an egregious wrong that’s been getting worse and
worse every time we go through redistricting,” said Spain.
Spain said they plan to file a reply brief with the Illinois
Supreme Court on Friday. |
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