Latino Civil Rights Group Sues Over Illinois Redistricting Maps
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF) filed a federal suit on behalf of individual Latino voters registered in Illinois challenging the 2021 redistricting maps signed into law by Gov. J. B. Pritzker (D) earlier this week. The Republican leadership of the Illinois Legislature is already suing over the maps in federal court.
MALDEF alleges in its complaint that the 2021 redistricting maps, which were drawn using preliminary population estimates after the delayed release of 2020 census data, violate the 14th Amendment because they were not drawn to ensure districts are “substantially equal in population.” This does not follow the constitutional requirement of one person, one vote and may lead to Latino and other minority groups being unfairly under-represented in the state Legislature, according to the complaint. The suit asks the court to throw out the current maps and for the Illinois Legislature to use the 2020 census data to draw new maps.