Seth Lewis, Republican Senate candidate for District 23, recently encouraged constituents to support the Independent Map Amendment, citing the need for prioritizing “people over politics.”
The amendment is the subject of an impending Cook County Circuit Court case.
Illinois’ Independent Maps Coalition referred to a previous Supreme Court ruling that placed the topic squarely on the right side of the law in a recent Arizona case, deeming that voters indeed have the right to transfer the authority to designate election districts from a state governing body to an independent commission.
"The U.S. Supreme Court ruling erases any doubt about the constitutionality of redistricting by independent commissions," Cynthia Canary, executive director of the Independent Maps Coalition, said. "The court majority opinion also made it clear that states with independent commissions have succeeded to a great degree in limiting the conflicts of interest that occur when legislators have control over drawing of legislative district maps."
Even though the coalition collected nearly twice the requisite number of signatures needed for placement on the November ballot, Illinois Democratic Party General Counsel Michael Kasper filed a lawsuit in May challenging its constitutionality.
“We must support the Independent Map Amendment,” Lewis said. “Voters should choose their elected officials; elected officials should not choose their voters. Politicians need to start putting people over politics.”
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