Sen. Tracy Says New Legislative Map About Politics Over People

Illinois Democratic legislative leaders released their map showing new district boundaries late last week, and one state senator is not happy about the result.

In a press release, Quincy Republican Senator Jil Tracy said the legislative map released Friday shows Democrat leaders have chosen politics over people, citing an earlier pledge by Democratic Governor J.B. Pritzker to veto any partisan drawn map.

“What a disappointment that despite earlier indications of bipartisan input and cooperation, the Governor is backpedaling on an earlier pledge to support a more independently-drawn map,” Tracy said. “And of course, there is nothing deliberate about introducing new legislative boundaries on a Friday evening after the Senate has adjourned for the week.”

Tracy also said Friday was the first time any GOP Senators had seen the result of a months-long redistricting process that had taken place behind closed doors.

“Throughout this whole process, 75 percent of Illinoisans have been telling us they want more transparency. They are fed up with closed-door, politically-drawn maps,” Tracy said. “What good is asking people for input when you ignore their suggestions? Lawmakers should be doing all they can to earn the trust of the people. We should give them fair representation through an independent commission that considers their input.”

Sen. Tracy also noted the process is also flawed in that the map just released does not use census data. Instead, the Majority Party used data from the American Community Survey (ACS), which is proven to be flawed and only accounts for one percent of the population. Tracy noted that redistricting is supposed to be based on demographic changes as revealed by the Census, and should not be using inaccurate polling data.

Legislation has been introduced in the Illinois General Assembly to create an independent commission to take political insiders out of the legislative map drawing process.