Redistricting Round-up: June 1

It has been a busy week on the redistricting front, particularly in Illinois as the General Assembly rushed to get state level and congressional maps passed before the end of their session. Also, Michigan’s map drawing competition has concluded, and Network partner groups in Wisconsin have launched a citizens committee on redistricting.

Illinois

On May 31, in a rush to get legislation passed before the end of the session, both houses of the Illinois General Assembly approved Congressional redistricting maps, which will be sent to Governor Pat Quinn for approval. Unlike other states in the region such as Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin, the Democratic Party in Illinois controls the redistricting process. 
 
Politico’s analysis of the map says that at least five Republicans would match up with other incumbents or be shifted into Democratic-held districts. The map would be particularly hard on GOP freshmen, two of whom would be merged together in one district, and two of whom would have to go up against incumbent Democrats. Politico says that, for the state’s 11 Republican Congressmembers, there are at most seven districts in which they can run competitively, with new districts heavily favoring Democrats.
 
Before the passage of the map, Network partner Illinois Campaign for Political Reform’s Whitney Woodward said, “the passage of this map over Memorial Day weekend without sufficient information…and without much notice is disappointing.” The Illinois legislative session ended on May 31.

Chicago Tribune: New Congressional map on way to Quinn’s desk
Chicago Tribune: New Illinois congressional boundaries poised to sail through House
Politico: Illinois Dems eye sweeping gains with new map
Illinois Senate Redistricting Committee: View the Illinois Congressional maps

In addition to the Congressional maps, lawmakers in Illinois approved state-level redistricting maps before the Memorial Day weekend. You can view the approved maps at the Illinois Senate Redistricting website. Network partner Illinois Campaign for Political Reform testified at hearings on the map, and said that the map likely does not “put community interests above partisan interests.”

Illinois Senate Redistricting Committee: Redistricting proposal
Illinois Campaign for Political Reform: ICPR’s redistricting testimony

Michigan
The Michigan Citizens’ Redistricting Competition has concluded, and its winners have been selected. Visit the competition’s website to see the winning plans. You can still draw maps using the redistricting software, even though the competition has finished.
 
Michigan Citizens’ Redistricting Competition: Winning Plans
 
The Hill reports on Michigan’s upcoming Congressional redistricting, as Representative Sandy Levin and Representative Gary Peters might end up in the same district. Both Levin and Peters are Democratic representatives, while the redistricting process in Michigan is controlled by Republicans, and Michigan is set to lose one seat.
 
The Hill: Michigan redistricting plan targets suburban Detroit Dems
 
Wisconsin
Network partners in Wisconsin have launched the Make Our Votes COUNT campaign to reform redistricting. The citizen committee will be making recommendations to increase transparency, increase public awareness, and promote public involvement. Members of the committee include former Democratic and Republican legislators, former state level administrators, and local chapters of the League of Women Voters. See the full list at their website.

Wisconsin: Make Our Votes Count

Ohio
Catherine Turcer of Network partner Ohio Citizen Action’s Money in Politics project sits down with WOSU Columbus to talk about some of the issues facing Ohio in the upcoming year. Turcer speaks about redistricting and improved citizen involvement due to advances in computer technology.
 
Money in Politics Ohio: Columbus on the record