From The Center Square: While Gov. J.B. Pritzker jokes on national TV that Illinois’ congressional maps were drawn by kindergartners, a statehouse Republican says the maps are gerrymandered at an “expert level.”
After rallying Tuesday with Texas Democrats who fled to Illinois to prevent a vote on Republicans Congressional redistricting measure, Pritzker traveled to New York City to be on CBS with Stephen Colbert. Colbert held up Illinois’ maps and poked fun at how contorted the districts are.
“We handed it over to a kindergarten class and let them decide,” Pritzker said.
“OK. And … that’s the nonpartisan group that does this?” Colbert asked.
“That’s our independent commission,” Pritzker said.
Illinois state Rep. Ryan Spain, R-Peoria, said the truth is Democrats gerrymandered the map at an “expert level” and can’t be gerrymandered anymore.
“I fully disagree with what they’re doing in Texas. I think it’s wrong,” Spain told The Center Square about Texas Republicans efforts to draw new Congressional maps in order to win more seats next year. “But if they do it, their map still will not be as lopsided as the current map that has been in place for the state of Illinois. For our congressional districts.” […]
[…] Spain filed House Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 19 this week to require a two-thirds majority for a quorum like Texas, instead of a simple majority as Illinois has now.
To watch the video of Spain’s full comments and read the full story – Click Here.