(The Center Square) – The Illinois Supreme Court looks poised to review the state’s legislative maps and whether they were illegally drawn to favor Democrats.
Illinois Republicans filed a lawsuit asking the state’s highest court to throw out the maps, saying they are an example of extreme partisan gerrymandering and are unconstitutional under state law.
“Big things are happening on this case in the state of Illinois,” state Rep. Ryan Spain, R-Peoria, said during a news conference Tuesday in Springfield. “It is a big deal that the Illinois Supreme Court has set a briefing schedule to hear from us and the defendants in this case about why this issue is timely.”
Spain added that in the 2022 election, Republican candidates for the Illinois House actually won a majority of the statewide vote.
“What did that get us, one-third of the legislature with Democrats taking a two-thirds artificial supermajority that was delivered only through gerrymandering,” said Spain. “That’s not fair.”
The map was initially challenged in federal court, but the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that gerrymandering cases should be decided by the states.
State Rep. Dan Ugaste, R-Geneva, said he hears from constituents who think that all hope is lost in Illinois and that nothing can be changed because of a Democratic supermajority.
“Unfortunately, that is why many people are leaving the state of Illinois and many businesses are done in the state of Illinois,” said Ugaste.
The Princeton Gerrymandering Project, which assesses legislative maps around the country using several metrics, gave the current Illinois House map a failing “F” grade.
House Minority Leader Tony McCombie, R-Savanna, has called the current legislative map “one of the most corrupt in American history.”
The complaint, filed by McCombie and five voters from districts they consider extremely gerrymandered, asks the Supreme Court to appoint a special master to draft a new map.
