Seth Lewis, Republican candidate for state Senate District 23, reacted strongly recently after learning a judge in the Cook County Circuit Court shot down the Independent Map Amendment.
Judge Diane Larsen ruled that the initiative is unconstitutional because it goes beyond the parameters set by the Illinois Constitution.
Lewis placed the blame for the defeat at the hands of House Speaker Mike Madigan (D-Dist. 22) and the Illinois Democratic Party's General Counsel Mike Kasper, who filed against the amendment.
“Unfortunately, the efforts of hundreds of thousands of people who volunteered and signed the petition to put redistricting reform on the ballot was given a slap in the face by the ruling," Lewis said. "Only in Illinois would you have Mike Madigan, the leader of the Democratic Party and Speaker of the House, using his longtime attorney to secure a defeat of fair maps.”
More than 550,000 voters signed the petition for the initiative, which would have established an 11-member commission to draw redistricting maps for the state. More than half of the signatures were from Democrats.
“I have always stood for fair maps and I will continue to be a voice for reforms in Illinois that ensure that voters are choosing their politicians, not politicians choosing their voters," Lewis said. "A member of the Cullerton dynasty currently represents my district, so it is no surprise to me that my opponent stays quiet while his cousin John and Mike Madigan work to defeat common-sense reforms that would erode their power. By staying silent, Tom Cullerton continues to put politics over people at a time when Illinois voters desperately need the opposite.”
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