Illinois legislative districts in the Chicago area. Critics note that the current redistricting process, which occurs every decade, unfairly benefits the party with the most power.
Independent Maps claims it has well more than the required number of signatures to get a redistricting measure on the ballot this November.
Currently, the state’s legislative maps are heavily influenced by the dominant political party when they are drawn after each U.S. Census. The Independent Maps group is seeking to take politics out of the process by appointing a bi-partisan commission to draw the district lines.
The commission said it has collected more than 580,000 signatures, which would be a big first step to getting the measure up for a vote in November.
From the Peoria Public Radio article:
The campaign has collected so many voters’ signatures to get the proposal on the November ballot, it needs a truck to deliver them to the board of elections in Springfield.
The movement’s backers say they anticipate legal challenges before the measure can be placed on the ballot. And there are efforts under way in the Illinois General Assembly to address the redistricting process, too. There are constitutional resolutions in both the House and the Senate.
Critics of the current way of drawing district maps note that they often do much to guarantee a lawmaker stays in office. The result is oddly-shaped districts that gerrymander through portions of the state.
Learn more at the organization’s website, and in this post published earlier.
