State Sen. John Curran (R-Downers Grove). | Courtesy Photo
State Sen. John Curran (R-Downers Grove). | Courtesy Photo
Veteran Illinois state Rep. John Curran thinks House Bill 1325 stands to put the state on a path to fairer and more responsible government.
“I would just like to point out that the Senate republicans have put forward the People's Independent Maps Act, which will put citizens in complete control of the redistricting process,” Curran told a Senate Redistricting Committee during a recent hearing focused on the South Cook area. “People can turn to Senate Bill 1325 for more details on that.”
With the state slated for its once-every-decade map redistricting this summer, the stakes are as high as they’ve ever been given U.S. Census Bureau officials recent announcement about the data typically supplied by the government for such actions not being available by a June 30 deadline.
With that, GOP lawmakers are now pushing for the passage of the Independent Maps Act, which they tout as a fairer and more just system based on lawmakers being removed from the process of map drawing.
Instead, the measure would give the state Supreme Court the power to appoint a 16-member independent commission to head the redistricting process. Ordinarily, the job of map drawing is left in the hands of the party in control.
Currently, Illinois has 118 House and 59 Senate districts with democrats holding control in both chambers.
Lawmakers have been holding redistricting hearings in various areas throughout Illinois. Redistricting is necessary after each decennial census to adjust for population changes within district boundaries for the Illinois House and Senate.
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