Transparent redistricting still possible

In the public's view, Springfield is broken. In a University of Illinois survey of 500 Illinois registered voters conducted in early May, one-third of the respondents said they "never" trust the state government to do what is right, more than double the proportion that gave that answer in 2006. Only 10 percent said state government does what is right "most of the time," less than half the percentage from four years ago.

One of government's most important activities is approaching. State legislative districts are redrawn every 10 years, following the U.S. census. After the 1980, 1990 and 2000 censuses, Illinois had divided government, but partisan gerrymanders still prevailed because when bipartisan compromise fails, the tiebreaker is a lottery giving one party an extra commission member. As a result, our state has seen two decades (1980s and 2000s) in which elections deliberately advantaged Democrats and another (1990s) in which they advantaged Republicans.

A coalition led by the League of Women Voters failed to get a constitutional amendment onto the November ballot to change the way electoral districts are drawn. Relying on volunteers, they could not muster 300,000 signatures by the May deadline. Hence, it is too late to change the procedure that will produce maps for the 2012-2020 elections. Is yet another gerrymander inevitable?

Legislators owe it to the people of Illinois to attend to the badly decayed foundations of public trust. Most immediately, that means accounting for constituents' beliefs and feelings about fair redistricting.

The Institute of Government and Public Affairs survey found that 80 percent of respondents could not say how the current legislative maps were drawn. But ignorance is not indifference. When asked who they would like to draw maps, nearly half chose "an independent, nonpartisan commission whose members do not directly participate in politics." They won't get that wish this time, but legislators can foster an open discussion of how to draw fair boundaries.

One hallmark of gerrymandering is uncontested races, and we also asked respondents what percentage of the General Assembly faced no opponent in the last general election. The correct answer is 44 percent (77/177), and respondents were fairly accurate: 51 percent was the single most popular answer, and nearly a quarter of respondents chose answers between 40 percent and 55 percent. More importantly, 30 percent of respondents characterized these uncontested races as "disgraceful" and another 53 percent called them "disappointing." The failure of the redistricting amendment does not signify that voters are pleased with the status quo.

For House Speaker Michael Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton, the power to draw districts to their own liking is surely attractive. It makes sense, in the calculus of raw political power, to wait for the outcome of the governor's race and, if Pat Quinn wins, to push through maps designed to freeze in place a Democratic advantage. If Bill Brady wins, they might take their chances on the lottery; so far, Lady Luck has been kinder to Democrats. But those are political calculations, not judgments about the best interests of the state.

In 2011, Illinois needs a wide open discussion of the pros and cons of many maps, including some drawn by outsiders. If leaders resist transparency, rank-and-file members should insist. They were elected to work for their constituents, not their party leaders. Democracy in Illinois is in sorry shape, and another decade of muffled competition on manipulated maps is no remedy.

• Brian J. Gaines and James H. Kuklinski are faculty members at the University of Illinois Institute of Government and Public Affairs.