Will County Gazette

Illinois House Democrats went behind closed doors to start drafting new districts, which has stirred up some controversy across party lines. 

“It’s just preliminary drafts for each district,” Rep. Nick Smith (D-Chicago) said, WCIA reported May 6.

The staff of House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch (D-Westchester) showed representatives possible new district configurations, WCIA reported. 

The report has sparked anger among Republican legislators who have been demanding that the General Assembly adopt a GOP-backed bill that creates a state Supreme Court-appointed independent citizens' commission to lead the redistricting without any political influence. 

"Throughout the redistricting hearings, we heard over and over again how the people wanted more transparency in the process," Sen. Sue Rezin (R-Morris) said in a Facebook post May 10. "Meanwhile, Democrats have been meeting behind closed doors to review secret drafts of the map. As I recently said on Flannery Fired Up, this is NOT transparency. The people should pick their elected officials, instead of having their elected officials pick them behind closed doors." 

Jaclyn Driscoll, a spokeswoman for Welch, told WCIA that "... the room we’re talking to members in is actually the same we met in 10 years ago. This is and will remain a transparent process.” 

The Democratic leadership has said multiple times that the public would have a chance to review and respond to any map before being finalized. 

Many representatives dodged questions about the meetings while others didn't feel there were any substantial changes made, WCIA reported. Some even stated that the lines could change many times over again before being finalized. 

The Democratic-led General Assembly has until June 30 to submit a redistricting map for the governor to sign. If it fails to meet that deadline, a bipartisan commission is formed and tasked with the responsibility.