SE Illinois News

Republican state Rep. Dave Severin (R-Marion) is demanding that state legislators listen to citizens' requests for more transparency and fair maps during the redistricting process. 

“I just wanted to say that I have been on almost all 27 of these meetings,” Severin said during a recent House Redistricting Committee hearing focused on Kankakee County. “People want transparency statewide, and they also want fair maps, but the thing is a fair map to you and a fair map to someone else it is completely different.”

Republican lawmakers have been pushing to make fair maps an issue with a measure of it centered on creating an independent citizens' commission to draw the state’s legislative boundaries instead of the General Assembly.

Lead by state Reps. Tim Butler, R-Springfield; Ryan Spain, R-Peoria; and Jackie Hass, R-Kankakee, the GOP-backed proposal would create an 11-person commission chosen from a blind draw, with four chosen by legislative leaders. All appointments would be chosen from a citizen pool of applicants.

Creating the commission would also mean that the Democratic-led House and Senate would no longer lead the redistricting process, which the majority party typically handles. Democrats have until June 30 to get a new map approved, or a bipartisan commission is formed to handle redistricting.