Illinois Valley Times

Rep. Ryan Spain (R-Peoria) is fed up with the governor's broken promise to veto any partisan-drawn map put on his desk this year. 

On May 12, Spain gathered with several others in front of Prizker's office to demand accountability in ending the state's longtime history of gerrymandering and unfair maps. 

"We come seeking collaboration, and I’m proud to say that we have collaborated with Gov. Pritzker a number of times," Spain said. "It’s something that we have earnest and genuine engagement in wanting to do as often as possible."

According to Spain, the 2020 U.S. Census is one of the best examples of collaboration between the governor and the legislature. The state collectively invested nearly $30 million in the Census in order to obtain the most accurate results in Illinois history. 

"[...] The collaboration that didn’t happen is on a different type of data that now Democrats are using to draw the map," Spain said. "While we spent nearly $30 million on the U.S. Census, we spent zero dollars on the American Community Survey."

Democrats are now pushing to use ACS data to get the maps to Pritzker by the end of June. Spain questioned why a set of numbers that has received no development from the state would be chosen over the data that has received tens of millions in investment to draw the crucial borders that would dictate Illinois legislation for the next decade. 

"We didn’t [invest] because we have never intended to use the ACS as the primary data source to draw legislative maps," Spain continued. "That’s what’s happening now across the street at the Stratton building where Democratic members of the legislature are being led in one by one to pick the voters that they would choose to represent in the upcoming legislative map."

Gerrymandering has had significant impacts on Illinois. It's one of the ways House Speaker Mike Madigan got keep his leadership post for decades, and how minority population numbers can  be manipulated for political gain. 

"We’ve talked about this again and again, the American Community Survey was never intended to be used as the data source to draw legislative maps," Spain said. The Census Bureau says that ACS does not provide the type of granular level data that is needed to draw legislative maps and that's why we have to wait for the Census so that we can have complete accurate redistricting activities moving forward."

"There is no reason now to use a mystery map that emanates from a dark clouded room across the street that we know will be fundamentally flawed," Spain said. "It’s not just Republican members of the legislature that believe this. There are groups throughout the entire state of Illinois that are standing up and saying this process is fundamentally flawed and we cannot stand and allow this to proceed."