Judge Blocks Proposed Redistricting Reform Amendment From Ballot

A proposed constitutional amendment that would strip politicians of their power to draw legislative district lines has been found unconstitutional by a Cook County judge.

In a written opinion, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Diane Larsen said it violated the state constitution on two grounds. First, it exceeds the constitution’s requirement that citizen-led constitutional amendment proposals be limited to “structural and procedural” changes to the Illinois General Assembly. Larsen also ruled that it violates the constitution’s provision that amendments be limited to a single topic.

“(I)f it were enacted, the General Assembly would still consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives elected by the electors from 59 Legislative Districts and (118) Representative Districts,” Larsen wrote. “The Redistricting Initiative only attempts to change the procedure for how Legislative and Representative maps are drawn which does not involve any of the General Assembly’s procedures.”

While a defeat for Independent Maps, Wednesday’s circuit court ruling almost certainly is only the first step in a legal battle that will be decided by the Illinois Supreme Court. Since the ratification of the 1970 Illinois Constitution, the court has allowed only one citizen-led constitutional amendment proposal — a 1980 effort that cut the membership of the Illinois House from 177 to 118 — to appear on a ballot.

Independent Maps issued a statement saying it plans to seek an expedited hearing from the Illinois Supreme Court:

“We are disappointed that Judge Larsen has ruled against the Independent Map Amendment and the 564,000 Illinois residents who signed a petition to change a broken system and eliminate the inherent conflict of interest where politicians draw their own legislative districts. We expected from the beginning of this effort that the issue would ultimately be decided by the Illinois Supreme Court. We will file for an expedited appeal to the State’s highest court.

“A great deal of care went into crafting an amendment that follows constitutional guidelines while also creating a system that is independent, fair, transparent, and protects the ability of minority communities to elect candidates of their choosing. Redistricting reform was specifically addressed by the framers of our constitution as a ‘critical’ area for citizen petition initiatives. We believe that the Illinois Supreme Court will side with Illinois voters and not deny citizens the opportunity to vote on this amendment.“

Gov. Bruce Rauner, who backed the redistricting reform effort, said in a statement the ruling is a “setback for the people of Illinois.”

“Today’s ruling is a harsh reminder that the political system in Illinois is in need of major reforms. I hope the decision to deny voters the chance to consider the Independent Map redistricting referendum is appealed and reversed.

“Independent redistricting is badly needed in our state. A stunning two-thirds of incumbents will be running unopposed in November. That’s certainly not because the politicians in charge are doing such a good job in Springfield. It means the system is broken.

“Legislators in power could have placed the Independent Maps referendum directly on the ballot and avoided this court decision. Instead, they chose to play politics in an effort to protect their own power.

“That is wrong.

“We have it backwards in Illinois. Voters should be able to choose their elected officials through an independently-drawn map that ensures competitive elections. Instead, we have politicians choosing their voters, putting politics ahead of people.

“Independent Maps has strong support from both Democrats and Republicans. It has strong support from non-partisan good government groups. So this ruling is a definitely a setback for the people of Illinois.

“If this decision remains in place, it will prove that we need to put political reform at the top of our legislative agenda. We need to fix our broken political system to ensure taxpayers win instead of the insiders.”

You can read the rest of this story as well as the judge's decision here.