Fresh Push For Fair Maps After SCOTUS Gerrymandering Ruling

DEERFIELD, IL — In the wake of last week's landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling finding partisan gerrymandering beyond the reach of federal courts, Illinois Sen. Julie Morrison and Senate Republicans called on Democratic leaders in Springfield to advance a measure that would amend the state constitution to allow for fairly drawn maps.

New congressional and state legislative districts are due to be drawn up in 2021, so without a change to the Illinois Constitution, Democrats — with control of the governor's mansions and both legislative chambers — are due to have full discretion. Depending on the results of the 2020 Census, the Illinois congressional delegation is projected to shrink by one or two seats.

Morrison, a Deerfield Democrat, is the lead sponsor of Senate Joint Constitutional Amendment 4. If approved by the General Assembly and adopted by voters, it would replace the current practice of lawmakers drawing new legislative maps with a 16-member commission appointed by the Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court and the most senior justice of "a different political party."

"[The June 27 U.S. Supreme Court decision] shows the important role states play in ensuring our redistricting process is fair, transparent and free from political influence," Morrison said. "I remain determined to ensure that Illinois will reform the way legislative districts are drawn."

Senate Minority Leader Bill Brady, a Bloomington Republican, pointed out the bipartisan amendment already has 37 Senate co-sponsors, more than enough to pass. Since Jan. 30, it has been sitting in the Senate Assignments Committee — a form of legislative limbo, like the House Rules Committee, often used by leadership in both chambers to keep bills from ever coming to the floor.

"A healthy democracy requires competitive elections and new ideas, which is in the people’s best interest. Our current system, which gives the party in power ultimate authority to redraw legislative maps, inhibits that," Brady said.

"As a result, I am calling on the Illinois Senate President [John Cullerton] to ensure this measure gets called for a vote, and for the Governor to follow through with his pledge to support fair maps in Illinois. We need to take the power of drawing legislative maps away from politicians and put it in the hands of the people."

Under the state constitution, if both houses and the governor cannot agree on a redistricting plan by June 30 of the year after a Census, a bipartisan eight-member commission is appointed by party leaders in the state House and Senate. If the four Democrat-appointed commissioner and the four Republican-appointed can't agree on new maps by Sept. 1, "the Secretary of State publicly shall draw by random selection the name of one of the two persons to serve as the ninth member of the Commission."

This happened on Sept. 5, 2001, when Jesse White picked former Democratic Chicago Mayor and Supreme Court Justice Michael Bilandic's name out of a replica of Abraham Lincoln's stovepipe hat. In 1991, George Ryan pulled the name of state Republican Chair Al Jourdan out of a crystal bowl.

No more random drawing under Morrison's amendment — if the redistricting commission does not adopt a plan by Aug. 1, the two Supreme Court justices would appoint a 17th member of the commission who "must not be affiliated with either major political party."

Instead of new district boundaries being drawn up behind closed doors, the amendment calls for at least 20 public hearings, statewide outreach to solicit public participation in the process and an end to the requirement that each state Senate be comprised of two House districts.

"In the months ahead, I will continue working with my colleagues on developing a solution that I hope will end up being a template for states across the nation on how to end gerrymandering," Morrison said.

Thursday's 5-4 landmark Supreme Court decision in Rucho v. Common Cause came five years to the day after a judge struck down an effort to place an independent map amendment before voters. In that case, Clark v. Illinois State Board of Election, Cook County Circuit Judge Mary Mikva declared the citizen's redistrict initiative invalid because it contained "provisions that are neither structural nor procedural" in violation of Article XIV, Section 3, of the Illinois Constitution.

Mikva, now an appellate judge, found a differently worded redistricting initiative could be constitutionally valid. Plus, amendments placed onto the ballot by lawmakers are not subject to the "structural and procedural" limitation.