Editorial: Fair Maps Amendment a good move for minority communities

Illinois' minority communities have long been skeptical of the movement to change the way the state's legislative districts are drawn.

That skepticism springs from concern that a proposed process - one that takes redistricting power away from politicians and puts it in the hands of a 17-member independent commission - would cost minorities representation by ousting elected leaders that have served their communities for years.

While it's natural to fear the unknown - and vital to protect the interests of minority communities across the state - the Fair Maps Amendment does that. And instead of diluting minority representation, the process could improve it.

That's what happened in California when maps were redrawn after the 2010 census.

The first attempt was met with resistance among some communities in the Los Angeles area, so changes were made. In the end, the state elected nine more minorities on the state and federal level than when politicians drew California's legislative map.

Back in Illinois, a number of important organizations representing minority issues have joined the push for the Fair Maps Amendment. Among them are the National Rainbow PUSH Coalition, Chicago Urban League, Latino Policy Forum and Asian Americans Advancing Justice Chicago - all groups dedicated to advocating for minority communities.

Madeleine Doubek, executive director of CHANGE Illinois, a good-government group promoting the amendment, says that in its current form, Fair Maps has some of the strongest protections in the country for communities of color. And it upholds the Voting Rights Act while discouraging "cracking," the practice of breaking voting blocs to dilute their power.

"If there is a neighborhood or community that has a strong minority base but maybe not enough to control the outcome of the election," Doubek said at a press conference last month, "they need to be kept together so they can have as much influence as possible on choosing who represents them."

CHANGE Illinois asked the Campaign Legal Center to assess the Fair Maps Amendment with regards to minorities, and officials there concluded that it "maintains the protections for voters of color already required by federal law while also adding additional protections and improving upon the current map-drawing process in several ways."

May 3 is the deadline for the Illinois General Assembly and Gov. J.B. Pritzker to agree to put the Fair Maps Amendment on the November referendum ballot. At that point, voters would get a say.

It's time for voters from all communities to weigh in, to have a voice, to potentially put an end to maps drawn to favor politicians over the people they are sworn to serve.