Quinn unveils redistricting reform plan
Former Gov. Pat Quinn on Tuesday unveiled his own plan for redistricting, which he dubbed "clean and pristine" - just days after the Illinois Supreme Court ruled a voter referendum-driven change unconstitutional.
The Independent Maps coalition, a group of bipartisan business leaders and former elected officials, gathered petitions calling for an 11-member commission to be in charge of drawing legislative district lines. Currently, the party in power runs political mapmaking.
But the Supreme Court ruled that the redistricting referendum ran afoul of constitutional provisions designed to "protect the integrity of this state's constitution" and violated "clear restrictions on the scope of permissible ballot initiatives."
Under Quinn's plan, the Illinois Supreme Court would nominate 11 people to a fair map redistricting commission with no more than six belonging to the same party. That group would have six months to hold hearings and to draw a map for the legislative districts. That map - approved by seven of them - wouldn't have to go to the legislature and would be automatically filed with the secretary of state.
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