Objecintg to the Democratic-drawn legislative maps, Rep. Deanne Mazzochi (R-Elmhurst) lamented the secrecy, deception, misdirection, and backroom deals involved in the bill's passage.
She pointed out the pretense of transparency in the remapping process.
"Chairman, you said today you were proud of this process," Mazzochi said. "That's delusional. It's been a process of secrecy, deception, misdirection, and backroom deals that followed the Madigan plan to the letter."
Mazzochi cited civic groups who advocated for an honest process and a fair map.
"The Chicago Lawyer Committee for Civil Rights, the League of Women Voters, Reform Illinois, Change Illinois, and the Latino Policy Forum and on and on,” she said. “They all opposed this map and said 'enough, this map is wrong.’”
Mazzochi told the assembly that “many in this room finally have a chance to put their vote where their mouth is and keep their promises to their district by saying no to a map that was written by the Democratic partisans for the Democratic partisans." She directed her message to Reps. Terra Costa Howard (D-Lombard), Kathleen Willis (D-Northlake), and Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago).
“Kelly Cassidy, you said maps need to be drawn by an independent commission,” she said. “You sure didn’t stand by those words today. Terra Costa Howard, you said in public statements during your last election… ‘I advocate strongly for an end of gerrymandering in Illinois’… Was it true or will your vote today show that promise to be a lie? Kathy Willis, you said on the record that when it comes to redistricting, we need the census numbers… You were also one of the DuPage legislators who voted for the 99th General Assembly HJRCA 58 calling for an independent commission to draw the maps… was that for real or just for campaign mail?”
Mazzochi claimed that Democrats operated “under a resolution filled with a ton of narrative and plenty of lies in HR 359.” She said that more than 12 million Illinoisans “had 76 minutes today to get their process on maps that drop for 3 a.m. for a 9:30 a.m. hearing.” She called it “an abuse of process that avoids accountability.”
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