Dupage Policy Journal

A meeting was held late last month between House Republican Leader Rep. Jim Durkin (R-Burr Ridge), Senate Minority Leader Dan McConchie (R-Lake Zurich), Gov. J.B. Pritzker and other Democratic leaders. 

When asked what happened in the April 28 meeting, Durkin said he reminded the governor of his promise made to Illinoisans to make sure a fair legislative map is enacted this year. When the governor reportedly said he would still veto an unfair map and the representative asked what exactly constitutes unfair, he didn't get much of a response. 

"I think it's important when we make commitments that we follow through, whether it's on fair maps," Durkin said. "Two years ago House Republicans negotiated with [Gov. Pritzker] on the capital program, and we had a number of pro-business incentives. Now he is looking at those as corporate loopholes and is considering removing them and eliminating those programs."

Durkin's message to the governor is simple: either keep your promises or don't make them. 

"When you give your word, you make an agreement. You stick by it," Durkin said. "So that was my goal, to remind him that we've had previous conversations and despite the economic climate your word is your word."

The representative said that the governor is using support for the Republican pro-business incentives as leverage to get the conservative lawmakers to support a budget that they aren't entirely sure of or understanding of yet. Pritzker has also dodged Durkin's questions about when the maps will be ready.

"We are not part of that process," Durkin said. "Despite the statements that have been made, Republicans are not part of any map-drawing process."

Durkin said he's been repeatedly shut out by the Democrats after being vocal about his belief that politicians have no business in the redistricting process and that American Community Survey data is not appropriate for drawing legislative maps. 

"When you’re excluded from the table or not invited to the table, there is a certain level of pessimism that goes along with that," Durkin said. "Despite the gleeful rhetoric from Democrats and the governor about how Republicans need to be at the table, you’ve got to be invited first, and we have not been invited to anything meaningful.

"Maps and budgets are starting right now and again they are doing it on their own and we’ll just have to see how this plays out. We’re willing to work with them if it's fair but it doesn’t look like it's going down that path that we did in 2019."

The April meeting was the first in-person leaders' meeting of the year.

Recent disappointments in Pritzker include his broken campaign promise to veto any redistricting map made by politicians and to support fair independent maps instead. 

Pritzker changed his tune and announced that he trusts Democrats to create a fair map, and trusts Republicans to be compliant in the process.