Illinois House Passes Redistricting Amendment That Rewrites Mapping Rules

Overview

• The House approved HJRCA 28 in a 74 to 38 vote, and the measure now heads to the Senate with a May 3 deadline to reach the November ballot.
• The amendment would replace Illinois’ current compact, contiguous, and equal-population test with ranked rules that put equal population first and make compactness last and only “to the extent practicable.”
• Speaker Chris Welch said the change is meant to safeguard minority voting power if the U.S. Supreme Court weakens federal protections under the Voting Rights Act.
• Republicans said the rewrite would weaken compactness and invite partisan gerrymandering, pointing to a lawsuit that claims dozens of House districts violate the current compactness rule.
• Democrats moved the plan through the House by waiving posting rules, and supporters say the ranking would let mapmakers create coalition districts where Black and Latino voters can elect preferred candidates.