HOUSE REPUBLICANS DISCUSS DEMOCRATS’ PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO CHANGE REDISTRICTING IN ILLINOIS

I deserve fair representation and right now they are not getting it. The one thing you can count on Democrats in Springfield to do is manipulate the legislative map making process to protect their power. We've seen it over and over. Closed door deals, partisan district lines, communities split up far apart for political gain. Politicians handpicking their voters and now an attempt to change our state constitution to make it even easier for them. The leadership at the top of the democratic machine has proven time and again, they will protect themselves first and the people of Illinois last. Governor JB Pritzker campaigned on something totally different. He told voters he supported an independent redistricting process. He said he opposed partisan maps and he promised that he would veto maps drawn for political advantage. But when it mattered most, he did not veto the partisan maps, he signed them. That is not a gray area, that is a complete reversal. Instead of accountability, we've gotten excuses. Illinoisans can see the results for themselves. Districts that twist and turn, communities divided, and a system that was set up to protect politicians, not represent people. And last summer, Pritzker went on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to joke about how the maps were drawn, going so far as to suggest a kindergarten class put them together. It may be a joke to him, but for the millions of Illinoisans who are living in districts that don't reflect their communities, it is not a laughing matter. Just this week, Pritzker took to Texas to rally against gerrymandering, gaslighting, while hoping no one remembers the maps he signed just a few years ago. When politicians pick their voters, voters lose their voice. As long as Governor Pritzker and Speaker Welch continue putting power over people, that gap will only grow wider. Illinois Republicans have been clear, voters in every state should pick their representatives, not the other way around. The people of Illinois deserve fair maps, real transparency, and leaders who keep their word. I will now introduce my colleague, Leader Dan Ugacity. Thank you, Leader Ellick. State Representative Dan Ugacity of 65th District, representing parts of Kane and DuPage counties. Let's be clear, even before this latest proposal from Speaker Welch and House Democrats, the political maps in Illinois were the worst in the nation. The Princeton gerrymandering project gave Illinois an F for maps. A 2023 report from Common Cause Illinois handed the state an F for redistricting process, citing a lack of transparency and public input. Independent organizations, reporters, and as was mentioned, late night hosts even, have called out extreme partisan gerrymandering that they see, in particular here in Illinois, as one of the most glaring examples. And just when it seemed, just when it seemed things couldn't get worse, the Democrats are now pushing House Joint Resolution Committee Amendment 27 or 28. You pick the one, they file both. We don't know which one's coming forward, but they're pretty much the same. And what are these? Nothing short of the most blatant attempt to rig the system and permanently assign Democrats super majorities through a constitutional amendment. That's all it is. If passed, the amendment would permanently embed one of the most flawed and partisan map making processes in the country. House Republicans have offered a better path. There are better ways. I'm chief co-sponsor of HJRCA5, which would unnest legislative and representative districts and establish a 16-member bipartisan commission to draw fair maps. This is what we need to be doing. This, as well as other proposals, would return power to the people of Illinois. That's where the power belongs, with the people of this state. Voters should be picking their elected officials. Elected officials should not select their voters. It's time for the Democrats to end their obsession with politically driven map making and allow for fair elections through fair and transparent maps that truly represent the people of the state of Illinois. And with that, I'm going to turn it over to Leader Spain. Thank you, Leader Ugasti. My name is Ryan Spain, State Representative for the 73rd District from Peoria. We've been at this podium many times talking about gerrymandering. And as Leader Ugasti said, I didn't think it could get worse. And yet, here we are, with Illinois Democrats doubling down on the worst and most pernicious gerrymandering in the country. I am furious. And voters throughout this state, Democrats and Republicans, should be furious as well. Our Illinois Constitution, since it was adopted in 1970, has had three elements as guiding principles for redistricting. That districts shall be compact, contiguous, and substantially equal in population. Some of those elements that are routinely run over by Illinois Democrats. And now, with the constitutional amendment introduced just days before the deadline for advancing those questions, and just as a reminder on that, our Constitution requires a six-month advance notice for moving forward any amendments to the Constitution six months before the general election in November. November 3rd equals May 3rd, two weeks from where we stand right now. And so the initiative moved forward by Speaker Welch upends the safeguards of fair districting that have been abused already in Illinois and doubles down on further cheating the system to disenfranchise voters. In priority order, the Speaker indicates districts should be substantially equal in population. That's number one. Number two, provide an equal opportunity to elect candidates based on race. Number three, to create racial coalition or influence districts. And then number four, continuity, contiguous, and number five, compact. So let's think of how we got here, because a year ago today, we were arguing and filed a lawsuit against Illinois Democrats for violating our state constitution, violating the free and equal elections clause, and violating the compactness standard that had already been ruled on by the Illinois Supreme Court. So remember, in the early 80s, the Supreme Court overturned this district in Central Illinois, said that this district violates our constitution's compactness criteria. That was in the early 1980s. Today, here are our maps in the Illinois House, where we have 52 districts that are in further, deeper violation of the compactness standard already established by the Illinois Supreme Court. Illinois Democrats know that their cheating is at risk, and it's coming to an end. And so now, they are advancing changes at the 11th hour to further disenfranchise voters. They have been caught cheating, and they want to change the rules of the game to preserve their ability to cheat and disenfranchise voters. This is as though you were caught playing with a corked bat in a baseball game, and rather than coming into compliance, you change the rules to say, it's allowable for our team to cheat and use the corked bat, but the other team cannot. This is the essence of what Democrats are attempting to do with rewriting our constitution at the 11th hour. We have had other efforts to change and amend the constitution before. On the topic of redistricting, there have been dozens and dozens of attempts to do this, to create a fair map commission, to make partisan gerrymandering harder to achieve in the state of Illinois. None of them have been advanced or called for a vote. We've had other questions in recent history to do other types of constitutional amendments. They are advanced more than a year in front of the deadline, so that the voters have a chance and the legislature has a chance to consider the ramifications and impact. That's not what's happening here. We're today calling on all voters of the state of Illinois. This is a red alert. We need your help, whether you're a Republican or Democrat. Democracy is at stake here in the state of Illinois. And for a lot of leaders that like to get on a high horse and talk about the destruction and damage to democracy and other places in government. It's absolutely ludicrous to listen to their hypocrisy in this case. So please go to this website, redoremap.com, sign the petition, indicate your opposition to Illinois Democrats continuing to cheat you out of fair elections. Whether you're a Republican or a Democrat, we deserve opportunities to enhance cooperation, collaboration, and good government in this state. This constitutional amendment initiated by Speaker Welch epitomizes how absolute power corrupts absolutely. Thank you.