A bill was filed today in the Illinois General Assembly to create fair legislative districts. The Fair Maps Amendment has been filed by State Representative Terra Costa Howard of Glen Ellyn today. The filing and announcement of the amendment is a part of a statewide network of news conferences around the state by bipartisan legislators and the non-partisan, non-profit coalition called CHANGE Illinois.
The Fair Maps Amendment would overturn the current system, which empowers legislators to draw partisan gerrymandered districts. Instead, an independent redistricting commission would be chosen to draw the district maps for the Illinois Senate and House. The commission members would be carefully selected to represent everyone who lives in Illinois, instead of placing power over district boundaries in the hands of politicians who have a vested interest in protecting their own careers.
The announcement was followed by a similar press conference held at the Thompson Center in Chicago with the Illinois League of Women Voters, Common Cause Illinois, AARP-Illinois, and RepresentUS showing support for the measure. The measure originally qualified for the ballot in the General Election in 2016 but was later pulled by the Illinois Supreme Court, ruling it to be unconstitutional in a 4-3 vote.