Illinois Legislature Approves New Congressional Map
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Early Friday morning, the Democratic-controlled Illinois state House just reached the supermajority required to approve a new congressional map, following a party-line vote in the state Senate. Illinois completed state legislative redistricting earlier this fall, with a federal court already taking control of the maps to ensure they are constitutional. The approved congressional map now heads to the desk of Gov. J. B. Pritzer (D), who is expected to sign it into law.
Illinois lost one congressional seat due to population loss over the past decade, but the maps will send more Democrats to Congress and eliminate two Republican seats. The current congressional delegation contains 13 Democrats and five Republicans; analysis suggests that the new map will likely have 14 Democratic and three Republican seats. The map maintains the state’s three predominately Black districts and adds a second predominately Latino district. While both Republicans and Democrats have criticized the map, supporters praise the new districts for reflecting the increasing diversity in the state and keeping communities of interest intact. Notably, one of the last minute revisions moved Rep. Marie Newman (D-Ill.), a freshman progressive who won an upset primary last fall, out of the district of Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill.) and into the heavily Latino district of Rep. Chuy García (D-Ill.).