State GOP Reacts to State Census Numbers and Population Loss

By Benjamin Cox on April 28, 2021 at 4:20pm

Local GOP lawmakers are not surprised by Illinois losing a Congressional seat for the next decade. Several Republican weighed in on the idea on Monday saying that Illinois must do better to compete to keep its citizens.

18th District Congressman Darin LaHood blamed state Democrats for years of poor policy making and high taxes saying residents had voted with their feet by moving out of state.

13th District Congressman Rodney Davis agreed with LaHood’s assessment and also asked state Democrats to keep their promises by re-mapping the state using an independent redistricting commission. Davis also urged Governor J.B. Pritzker to veto any gerrymandered remap.

99th District Representative Tim Butler of Springfield says the trend of out migration needs to end: “Illinois has a strong history of tremendous influence on Capitol Hill. But we see that continue to wain because of the policies that emanate out of Springfield – failed policies, in our mind, that drive people out of the state.”

95th District Representative Avery Bourne of Morrisonville wasn’t surprised by yesterday’s announcement: “We saw really the anecdotes that we’ve heard from our constituents for years come out in numbers. We saw that Illinois is one of the only states in the country who lost population. Meanwhile, in this last decade, our economic growth has been stagnant, opportunities for Illinois families have declined.”

Bourne and Butler called for the Illinois General Assembly to enact more pro-business reforms and echoed Davis & LaHood’s call for a fair map in redistricting.

100th District Representative C.D. Davidsmeyer says that national Democrats are pushing Illinois Democrats to get rid of a Republican district: “National Democrats are asking Illinois [Democrats], despite losing a seat, to add another Democrat to the list. There asking Illinois to draw it in a partisan manner. I think you’re going to see that with the [state] house districts and senate districts as well. They’re kind of putting on a show right now, going around and doing these open sessions. They’re inviting people who generally lean their direction.”

Davidsmeyer says that Pritzker and Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch have backtracked on a fair map process. Davidsmeyer believes more people will leave the state to more conservative neighboring states in the next decade.