State Rep. Tom Demmer (R-Dixon) has joined the call for an independent body to draw Illinois' legislative maps.
Demmer is a co-sponsor of HJRCA10, a bill that would strip elected officials of the responsibility for drawing the state's voting maps and hand that responsibility to an independent panel. The goal of the bill is to eliminate politics from the redistricting process.
In a social media post, Demmer asked constituents to sign a petition in support of the proposed move.
The call for change comes in response to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in June declaring that the court would not consider cases related to accusations of partisan gerrymandering. Chief Justice John Roberts, who wrote the opinion, declared that gerrymandering cases involve political, rather than judicial, questions, and are therefore outside of the Supreme Court's purview.
If it becomes law, the change in the map-drawing process would begin following the 2020 Census.
Alerts Sign-up