Dupage Policy Journal

Illinois House Minority Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) is angry that nothing ever seems to change with Democrats in Springfield, he believes. 

“After three months of hearings with dozens of independent groups and Illinois citizens providing hours of testimony and just one week to go in this year’s legislative session, the Democrats hit a new low by dumping their proposed maps at 7 p.m. last Friday,” Durkin said in a video posted to Facebook and YouTube. “They did so to give the public, the advocacy groups, and the media, and most certainly the Republicans, zero opportunity to react.”

Durkin has long argued fairness was not a part of the Democratic plan in taking on the once-every-decade task of map redistricting.

“The initial maps ... submitted were nothing less than a kindergartner’s artwork,” Durkin said in the video. “They are nearly impossible to replicate as the Democrats have provided no data, no shapefiles for the public to transparently see how they were drawn.”

One of Durkin’s biggest concerns is the question of what data will actually get used when considering how the maps will start being drawn. Government officials have said that the Census Bureau data typically relied on for this process will not be available by the end of June deadline.

“The info that has come from these hearings is that the Legislature should not be drawing these maps, and that American Community Survey data should not be used,” Durkin told the DuPage Policy Journal in a message directed at Gov. J.B. Pritzker. “I hope you will fulfill the promise you have made to the people of Illinois who want a transparent process that won’t be dropped on our laps at the last minute.”

While still a candidate for governor, Gov. Pritzker vowed he would veto any map drawn by politicians in Springfield at this time. Gov. Pritzker added he would also be open to supporting a constitutional amendment as a way of dealing with the issue.