Credit Capitol News Illinois photo by Peter Hancock
Illinois lawmakers opened their first public hearing Tuesday on a proposed set of new House and Senate district maps with Democrats and Republicans still at sharp odds over how the maps were drawn and whether or not they are fair.
House and Senate Democrats unveiled the proposed maps late Friday. They were reportedly drawn using population estimates from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey because official numbers from the 2020 census will not be available until August or September.
Allan Lichtman, a history professor at American University in Washington, D.C., who was hired as a consultant by the House and Senate Democratic caucuses, testified that in his opinion, ACS data is acceptable to use for redistricting because in the five years leading up to the 2010 census, those estimates for Illinois were off by only about 0.3 percent.
Redistricting hearings open amid partisan divide Senate Republican Leader Dan McConchie on Tuesday asks questions about proposed new legislative district maps that were drawn by Democrats. Peter Hancock/Capitol News Illinois This is the proposed state House redistricting map for Chicago and the suburbs. ilhousedems.com/redistricting This is the proposed state Senate redistricting map for Chicago and the suburbs. www.ilsenateredistricting.com
Updated 5/25/2021 7:35 PM
SPRINGFIELD Illinois lawmakers opened their first public hearing Tuesday on a proposed set of new House and Senate district maps with Democrats and Republicans still at sharp odds over how the maps were drawn and whether they are fair.
Guest columnist Madeleine Doubek: In the past year, so many of us across the suburbs and beyond have banded together to protect our elections, to stand up for facts and science and civil rights for all. And now it s time to do it again