Illinois Valley Times

Before federal lawsuits were filed to challenge redistricting maps that Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law, a west central Republican State House representative made an impassioned plea for lawmakers to not pass Congressional redistricting maps.

Illinois state Rep. Ryan Spain (R-Peoria), speaking on the House floor the night of Oct. 28, the last day of the state Legislature's veto session, said the drawing up of the new Congressional District maps "the very most awful and deadly part of our politics today — that we are dividing people up."

Final Illinois Congressional District map passed in October that gives Democrats 14 to 3 advantage | illinoispolicy.org/

"We are creating outcomes where only the most extreme people that run for political office have any chance to prevail," Spain said in his House floor speech, video of which was posted to his Facebook page the following day. "It is an epidemic that is destroying our democracy. It is wrong when Republicans do it in other states and it is so awfully wrong how the Democrats have doubled down on this strategy in the state of Illinois. A state that so badly needs help to get turned around, to grow our population, bring businesses and keep our talented families here in the state of Illinois. I am so embarrassed and so ashamed of this entire charade over the last year."

Earlier in his several-minute speech, Spain called the time as the vote approached as "the culmination of a very sad process, one that literally breaks my heart, has ruined friendships irreconcilably and delivered a shameful outcome to the people of the state of Illinois."

"It's midnight on the final day of veto session," he continued, "with months and months spent this year on a path towards this outcome - and I would remind everyone, this is not the way we had to get here. we had an opportunity to do this process differently."

Lawmakers could have worked "in a bipartisan manner to come together to create the kind of government that the people of the state of Illinois deserve."

What they will get instead is the type of government "we have designed for them - a government that is based in gridlock, acrimony, non-cooperations and, for the state of Illinois, nonsuccess," Spain said.

"We are one of only three states in the nation that lost population over the last three years," he continued in his speech. "That is an indictment on all of us, on the way things have been done in the state of Illinois and the type of leadership and design that we had created in our government and now, through this action tonight, the people that we send to Congress."

Spain ended his speech by urging lawmakers to "vote 'no' on this map" but the fix was in and redistricting passed the Senate 41-18 and then the House 71-43 shortly after midnight the following day.

Spain has represented Illinois' 73rd House District, which includes Bureau, Marshall, Peoria, Stark and Woodford counties in west central Illinois, since he first was elected to the seat in 2016, He previously spent a decade on Peoria City Council. In January, Durkin appointed Spain to Assistant Republican Leader. Spain had served the previous year as Republican Conference Chairman.

Spain was unopposed in his bid for reelection during last November's General Elections.

It had been a long road and a long fight for redistricting in Illinois, before Spain's speech on the House floor and ever before Pritzker signed off on the blatantly unfair redistricting maps in June - despite a campaign promise not to do so, Illinois Policy reported.

Illinois lost one congressional seat this year after the census showed the state's population continues to decline, The State Journal-Register in Springfield reported in a news story published Tuesday, Nov. 23. Political reform advocates have also criticized the map, according to the Journal-Register.

The Princeton Gerrymandering Project gave Illinois' 2021 Final Congressional Map an "F."

Last summer, Spain pointed out that his Democrat colleagues had blocked independent redistricting, the Peoria Standard reported, saying in a Facebook post at the time that Democratic leaders were following the same playbook as in years prior, including steps to shut out independent redistricting.

In September, Spain said U.S. census data confirmed that the maps were unconstitutional on both the state and federal levels.

But the fight isn't over just yet. Earlier this month, Spain called attention to a Dec. 6 hearing date for Illinois redistricting legal challenges.