Justin L. Fowler/The State Journal-Register via AP file
SPRINGFIELD Just three days after saying he had still not had a chance to review the newly redrawn maps for legislative and other governmental districts, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed them into law on Friday, locking in the Democratic drawn boundaries and stoking Republican outrage.
As late as Thursday, the Democratic governor told the Chicago Sun-Times he was still looking to make sure the proposed maps aligned with the Voting Rights Act of Illinois, the Voting Rights Act of the United States, Supreme Court decisions and population trends to reflect diversity and fairness.
Madigan has not been charged, but the recency of Mapes’ testimony makes it clear U.S. Attorney John Lausch has continued to pursue the case after Democratic U.S. Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth asked President Joe Biden’s Justice Department in February to spare the Trump appointee’s job to allow Lausch’s continued investigations into possible public corruption.
The longtime speaker failed to garner enough support to win him a historic 19th term as House Democratic leader in January after a growing number of his members publicly vowed to not re-elect him as speaker. He stepped down from the legislature and as head of the Democratic Party of Illinois in February, seven months after federal prosecutors revealed Madigan as “Public Official A” the alleged target of ComEd’s years-long bribery scheme.
Justice David Overstreet
SPRINGFIELD – Eleven counties will join the Fifth Judicial District’s existing 37 southernmost, if legislators adopt a map that Democratic leaders introduced on May 25.
Illinois has 102 counties.
The district would run 260 miles from Cairo to Hoopeston, and would absorb Decatur but wouldn’t capture the Capitol.
The Fifth Judicial District has been trending Republican since 2004 when voters elected Justice Lloyd Karmeier. He was retained in 2014 and retired last year, opening the way for Republican David Overstreet to win easily over Democrat Judy Cates in the 2020 general election.
Since Karmeier’s election, the Fifth District Appellate Court in Mt. Vernon has turned from a Democratic majority to a solid 5-2 Republican majority.
/ McLean County is currently split between three House districts. That would increase to five under the maps released Friday.
One Democrat and possibly two could wind up representing parts of Bloomington-Normal if the Democrat-drawn state legislative maps released Friday come to fruition.
The new maps, released late Friday, are not finalized and could change as public hearings are held later this month. There would then be an election using the new maps, which are redrawn once every 10 years following the Census.
The maps appear to show at least one State Senate district and one Illinois House district in Bloomington-Normal in which a Democrat could compete or possibly win. Currently, all of McLean County’s House and Senate districts are represented by Republicans.