Editorial: Disappointed but undaunted in fight against gerrymandering

The deadline for Illinois lawmakers to put a Fair Maps referendum on the November ballot quietly came and went Sunday. We can't let the date pass without at least expressing deep disappointment.

In the emotion of the moment, it's hard not to hope for the announced delay in U.S. Census data to lead to a coin flip determining control of redistricting in Illinois, which it could. This would be an uncomfortable prospect for state Democrats, who have steadfastly thwarted the public will on gerrymandering for more than a decade.

But, of course, it also would be just as wrong as our present situation.

What the public wants and deserves is a routine for defining legislative and congressional boundaries that are sensible and responsive to changes in communities of interest. The Fair Maps proposal pushed, bravely, by Democrats Sen. Melinda Bush, of Grayslake, in the Senate and Terra Costa Howard, of Glen Ellyn, in the House would have helped assure that. Our present system only assures legislative boundaries that consolidate and perpetuate dominance of the leading political party.

But there are alternatives that can minimize the potential for one party to manipulate the boundaries to its advantage. For one, although the authoritative independent commission envisioned in the Fair Maps Amendment cannot be put in place, lawmakers could create an advisory commission with a similar diverse makeup that could help produce a nonpartisan vision for redistricting that would be hard for party insiders to override.

Lawmakers also could impose specific statutory requirements to assure transparency in the creation of the maps and reasonable access for the public to see them and comment before they are adopted.

It is no surprise that House Speaker Mike Madigan made no effort to provide voters the opportunity to express themselves on a redistricting amendment. The speaker has been an obstructionist on this endeavor from the beginning. But we had some hope that new Senate President Don Harmon, an Oak Park Democrat who purports to support redistricting reform, would make some effort to advance the Fair Maps legislation, and we're especially disappointed that Gov. Pritzker essentially left the Fair Maps movement to wither in the convenient shadow of the coronavirus crisis.

And of course, the lack of action is a stain on all Democratic lawmakers, statewide and suburban, who sat on their hands for 10 years, declaring support for reform but, with rare exceptions like Bush, Costa Howard and, notably, Deerfield state Sen. Julie Morrison, simply allowing party leaders to torpedo drive after drive for change.

Nothing can be done about that now, except to remember their passivity at the ballot box in November, especially if they do not produce meaningful legislative action before then to combat gerrymandering.

Of course, there is always that chance lawmakers won't be able to meet the constitutional deadline to create the maps, opening the possibility for Republicans to take over control of drawing them. Maybe that prospect would finally get Democrats behind reform that could fix this problem in time for the next census in 2030.