Redistricting

Members of the public got their first chance to speak directly to state lawmakers Wednesday about a proposed set of new congressional district maps, and most of those who did were critical of the plan.

The chair of the McLean County Democrats said he is not satisfied with the proposed congressional redistricting unveiled ahead of discussion in Springfield this week.

A political scientist says Illinois Democrats likely moved much of Bloomington-Normal into a new congressional district because they see one seat as vulnerable to a Republican challenge.

Illinois' new congressional maps draw Bloomington Normal into a district with Peoria, the Quad Cities, and a portion of the Rockford area. The new 17th district is thin and winds west of Bloomington-Normal, turns north at Galesburg and then east at the top of the state.

The 24 community members tasked with drawing new McLean County Board maps approved ground rules Wednesday and learned how the redistricting process will work in their first in a series of meetings over the next month to shape the county’s political boundaries for the next decade.

Democrats in the General Assembly pushed through a new set of legislative maps during a one-day special session Tuesday, although the process they used sparked the ire of Republicans and voting rights advocates alike.

Just three months after Democrats pushed new legislative maps through the General Assembly in the waning days of spring legislative session, lawmakers are back in Springfield on Tuesday week to fix those same maps, lest a federal court take mapmaking power out of their hands one way or another.

Lawmakers will head back to the Capitol on Tuesday, Aug. 31, to consider changes to the legislative maps that Gov. JB Pritzker signed into law earlier this year.

An Illinois lawmaker from Bloomington says the government should lower loss requirements for financial relief after severe storms and other emergencies.

Illinois' new political maps could lead to a crowded field of Democrats who want to represent Bloomington-Normal.