Dupage Policy Journal

Rep. Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) expressed frustration about the Democrats’ failure to live up to its promise of cooperating fully with Republicans in creating fair maps.

Durkin also went as far as 2016 to cite House Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 58 (HJRCA 58) which was a comprehensive bipartisan measure to put up an Independent Commission made up of eight members appointed by the chief justice of the Illinois Supreme Court.

"The bottom line is that the Democrats have absolutely no intention of holding to their promises on fair maps,” Durkin said. “The ones which they campaigned on and a fair map process which over 600,00 Illinoisans signed a petition on a few years ago to say that that is the way in which we should move forward."

Both Democratic and Republican members of the House agreed on the 2016 outline of the Fair Maps legislation but are now in disagreement over the creation of a new version wherein the Republicans would want to stick with the 2016 bipartisan-agreed version.

State Rep. Chris Welch co-sponsored HJRCA 58 which passed the House with 105 legislators in favor of the bill. Durkin added that Welch even wrote an article in The Village Free Press stating: “To address these issues, I’m supporting House Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 58 (HJRCA 58), which is a comprehensive, bipartisan measure that will put an independent commission in charge of drawing state legislative district boundaries and protect minority representation.”

Durkin's strong words against the Democrats highlighted the growing discord between the two parties regarding the map-making process. The Republican leader also underscored that every witness representing advocacy groups has clearly expressed that “the legislature should not be in the business of drawing their districts, every hearing we've had that said loud and clear.”