Getting more common sense into a system that some say doesn’t reflect common sense is the aim of yet another attempt to end gerrymandering and make state legislative maps in Illinois more fair.
An effort to establish a ballot initiative in 2026 to reform the redistricting process for Illinois state legislative map-making is starting up, led by former U.S. Commerce Secretary Bill Daley and ex-Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.
“We’re kicking off an effort to try to change the Constitution so we can have a legislature in Springfield that is more reflective and more balanced in its approach to issues,” said Daley, speaking at a news conference at the Union League Club in downtown Tuesday.
Daley, a longtime Democrat, and LaHood, a lifelong Republican, are co-chairs of the effort, dubbed Fair Maps Illinois.
“The idea of bipartisanship is the way that states and the country have solved its problems with Democrats and Republicans working together, talking together, that’s what’s made the difference in our country and in our state, and we need to get back to that. And the way to do it is to elect people that believe in that,” said LaHood, of Peoria, who served in U.S. House from 1995 to 2008 and served as transportation secretary under President Barack Obama.
Daley, who served as chief of staff to Obama, said nearly 50% of the current legislative districts have no competition in the general election.
“That means all you worry about is the primary,” Daley said. “We talk Rs and Ds, and we are proud Republicans and proud Democrats. The majority of people self-identify as independent, and party importance is shrinking by the day.”
The push Daley and LaHood are leading marks the third attempt in 11 years to make legislative maps more fair. Two other efforts in 2014 and 2016 were struck down by the courts.
The latest bid But this effort is happening amid in the backdrop of the current national debate of a midterm redistricting push by Republicans in Texas of Congressional districts by Texas and other Republican-led states for more Congressional seats to bolster better support President Donald Trump’s agenda.
To counter the GOP effort, Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom is pushing a remap effort in his state to create more Democratic Congressional seats.
The remap battles are stirring up more confusion, LaHood said.
“I think it’s far too partisan, and I think in the end, the people will decide that they don’t like any of this,” LaHood said.
Daley said what Republicans in Texas are doing is a disservice to the nation.
“In the middle of a decade to go and redo the redistricting [is] for one reason, and that is to get five more seats for the (midterm) election next year. I fully understand what Newsom is doing, what [Illinois Gov. JB] Pritzker has said he’s considering… because of the egregiousness of what’s going on in Texas,” Daley said. “This is like the extreme craziness.”
Michael Dorf, a former general counsel for the Illinois Democratic Party, is serving as general counsel for the Fair Maps Illinois initiative. He believes this effort will be more successful than the past two attempts to get an constitutional amendment on the ballot.
“We’ve worked really hard to follow the guidelines that the Illinois Supreme Court has set for getting this type of an amendment passed. Two other attempts have been made in 2014 and 2016 which didn’t pass the court scrutiny,” Dorf said. “We’ve looked and seen what they’ve said we can do, and we think we have threaded the needle to get an amendment which we’ll be able to get on the ballot.”
Dorf said he doesn’t think what is happening on the national level will impact this state level effort.
“What I think it does is bring gerrymandering to the attention of a lot of people who otherwise might not have been interested in it,” Dorf said. “Everybody has read or heard something now about gerrymandering, and we’re saying we’re trying to fix it in Illinois.”
Michael Puente is a reporter and weekend anchor at WBEZ. Reach him at mpuente@wbez.org.