Give people a say in drawing legislative maps

In 2021, Illinois will undergo redistricting. Redistricting is the process of drawing new congressional and state legislative district boundaries. District lines are redrawn every 10 years following completion of the United States census. These districts can influence who voters determine to represent their communities and their interests.

Federal law stipulates that districts must have nearly equal populations and must not discriminate on the basis of race or ethnicity. The Illinois Constitution requires that state legislative districts be "contiguous and reasonably compact." There is no such requirement in place for the state's congressional districts.

The Illinois General Assembly is responsible for drawing both congressional and state legislative district lines. Both chambers of the state legislature must approve a redistricting plan. The governor may veto the lines drawn by the state legislature.

Neither federal nor state law addresses the demographic of political party. This can leave voters trapped, basically disenfranchised, by the process known as gerrymandering.

The party in power, be it Republican or Democrat, can draw the district lines to include a majority of voters of the desired party. Statewide, it can lead to situations where communities are divided, unable to elect leaders that truly represent their community's preferences.

The time to act is now. Please consider contacting your state representative and your state senator and suggest that they support 1) the establishment of an independent redistricting commission to draw the new boundaries and 2) plentiful public input into the map-drawing process.

Deadlines are looming, but there is still time to find a solution. We'll be living with the new districts for 10 years. Shouldn't we have a say in how they are drawn?

Cecilia Anderson

Algonquin