Illinois Valley Times

Republican state Rep. Tom Demmer (R-Dixon) has a simple formula for why he fears the map redistricting process may be headed in the wrong direction.

“A flawed process leads to a flawed product. The process is flawed because it's happening behind closed doors. It's happening in a situation where politicians are picking the voters whom they will represent in the next 10 years, and the product will be flawed because it uses not official census data but American Community Survey estimates,” Demmer said at a May 6 news conference on the issue. “Our message today and the message of more than 50 groups from across Illinois and hundreds of thousands of Illinoisans who have signed petitions to call for a fair map process that empowers an independent commission Is this: Use census data and open the door and let the people of Illinois in.”

Demmer is among the Republican lawmakers accusing Democrats —including Gov. J.B. Pritzker — of going back on their word by meeting in secret to map out strategy on a new redistricting plan.

While the job of overseeing the once-every-decade task is typically left to the party in power, Republicans are hoping to have more of a say this cycle given that Census Bureau data traditionally relied on to complete the job won't be available by an end-of-June deadline. The data was delayed by the pandemic.

Meanwhile, Republicans now see Pritzker backing away from the pledge he made as a candidate to veto any map drawn by politicians as a major red flag, particularly given the state is already losing one of its 18 congressional districts because of the state's dwindling population.