Illinois lawmakers hold hearing on redistricting

CHICAGO—As the 2010 U.S. Census approaches, so does the process of redistricting, and in Illinois, where there is a long history of partisan sandbagging, lawmakers are saddled with a heavy load in a decidedly uphill battle. On Wednesday July 29, the Illinois General Assembly Senate Committee on Redistricting held the first of several public hearings on the topic.

The 13-member committee heard testimony from Roosevelt University political science professor, Paul Green, Illinois political luminary Dawn Clark Netsch and U.S. Census Bureau official Hail Kmenec. The purpose of the hearing was to provide a historical perspective of redistricting in Illinois.

Kmenec presented information on the role the census plays in the redistricting process. Kmenec said the census is the government’s largest peacetime activity and the data collected determines everything from how much money is allocated to certain areas to how many representatives’ states are apportioned. She also fielded questions from the committee about how the Census Bureau counts prison populations and illegal immigrants, who she said are counted the same as way  everyone else in their places of residence. For this national go-round, the Census Bureau will collect information on a shortened survey. The long-form questionnaire formerly used for the national count is now sent out to sample populations to collect data throughout the year.

A brief history of Illinois redistricting

Following Kmenec’s presentation, author and Professor Paul Green provided the committee with historical context about Illinois storied history of redistricting.
“How do you depoliticize the most political act,” Green asked the committee. “I can only wish the committee good luck in depoliticizing [Illinois’] redistricting process.”
Green noted that from 1870 to 1910 Chicago saw its population grow at a staggering pace — from 300,000 to 2.2 million. In response, the Illinois legislature halted redistricting in the state from 1901 to 1955, despite the process being constitutionally required.

“I don’t think I need to tell [the committee] that sometimes the law isn’t everything in Illinois,” Green said.

Since Illinois reinstituted redistricting in 1955, Green said only once have lawmakers come to a compromise on a political map that didn’t need to go to the courts or require a tiebreaking vote, which inevitably led to fiercer partisanship. The one time Illinois averted a stalemate was in 1971, a short time after the state held a constitutional convention to rewrite its bylaws—in which the process of redistricting was changed to be more transparent and nonpartisan.

Green speculated, however, that Illinois’ redistricting process has led to more partisanship and the elimination of competition in state elections in all but a handful of races. He noted that historically the process is used to guide the majority party’s incumbents smoothly into reelection.  To this, he suggested the responsibility and authority of redrawing maps should be taken out of the hands of politicians to better instill confidence and credibility to the process.

Restoring credibility with redistricting reform

Dawn Clark Netsch, who was a delegate and helped revise the Illinois constitution in 1970, spoke after Green and detailed the problems that have arisen in the process since it was developed more than 30 years ago. Netsch, who serves on the board of directors the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform (a Midwest Democracy Network partner organization), spoke in depth about the procedural reforms which are essential to creating a political map that best serves the voters. She also handed to lawmakers on the committee two documents that have been widely circulated by the Midwest Democracy Network, a summary of the Ohio Redistricting Competition and the Brennan Center for Justice’s Citizen’s Guide to Redistricting.

In the end, lawmakers seemed genuinely enlightened by Netsch’s testimony and reflected on her statements about reinstituting confidence in Illinois’ political system.
“You’ve got to do something to dispel that notion that the sole purpose of redistricting is self-serving and meant to protect incumbency,” Netsch said, speaking bluntly to the committee members. “You have lost a lot of credibility and you have to get it back.”

The Redistricting Committee will hold additional public hearings on August 18th in Springfield,IL, September 16th in Peoria, IL and October 15th in Carbondale, IL. (Note that dates and times are subject to change.)

-James H. Ewert Jr.-