ICPR's Redistricting Testimony
Just two days after releasing draft maps, the redistricting committees of both chambers held public hearings in Chicago to take feedback from residents and community groups about their proposals.
ICPR testified at both Saturday’s Senate hearing and Sunday’s House meeting to chide lawmakers for offering little time and few resources for Illinoisans to examine the map and for failing to make public a draft Congressional map. Lawmakers are scheduled to adjourn May 31, and Democrats who hold majorities in both chambers want to make sure they pass a map by that date.
Check out ICPR’s testimony to the committees below, and follow us on Twitter @ILCampaign for frequent updates as this process unfolds.
Testimony to the Senate Redistricting Committee
Illinois Campaign for Political Reform
Delivered by Whitney Woodward
May 21, 2011
Good afternoon. My name is Whitney Woodward and I represent the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform. ICPR is a non-partisan, non-profit, public interest group that researches and advocates for transparency and accountability in government and politics.
For the last 18 months, ICPR has encouraged the Senate Redistricting Committee to open the historically secretive state legislative and Congressional district-drawing process to the public. In past decades, maps have been drawn away from public view and with minimal opportunities for residents to observe, participate in and contribute to the process.
To that note, we thank the Senate Redistricting Committee for taking some steps toward remedying that significant and longstanding problem.
Unfortunately, considering the process as of late, we don’t see any reason to believe that the map released Thursday has put community interests above partisan interests.
I echo many of today’s speakers with regard to the timing of today’s committee.
The committee’s decision to hold a public meeting on this draft a mere two days after posting outlines of districts online is unacceptable. Speakers at this committee’s regional hearings repeatedly called on this committee to offer at least one or two weeks to examine drafts.
The General Assembly has had months to create districts which comply with federal and state law and the Constitution. If this committee genuinely seeks to bring sunshine into this process, it is inappropriate and frankly, inexcusable, to give the public -- your constituents -- only a few days to examine the map before voting.
Further calling into question your pledge to “open up the process” is the failure to release full demographic data and other explanatory information which would allow the public to interpret and assess your proposed map. We’re heartened by Chairman Raoul’s announcement today that a resolution offering some insight will be released soon, but we question the delay in this offering.
ICPR hopes that today’s hearing and Tuesday’s joint hearing with the House Redistricting Committee will be legitimate opportunities for you as lawmakers to give serious consideration to the comments offered today and Tuesday. Of course, there remains time for the committee to hold additional public hearings and adjust the draft map in accordance with public feedback.
In addition, the General Assembly has yet to release a draft of Congressional districts for the public to review and offer changes. This, too, is inexcusable.
Ten years ago, the General Assembly gave great deference to the Congressional delegation in the drawing of its own districts. It is regrettable that history seems to be repeating itself, as published reports have indicated that Illinois’ Democratic Congressmen are intimately involved in the map-drawing process this time around – and the public has not been invited to sit in the audience, let alone at the table.
In the spirit of transparency which this committee has said it seeks to embrace, ICPR calls on General Assembly to release a draft of those districts and summary language, and hold another set of public hearings at least a week after the posting of that information.
ICPR remains concerned that in this critical process, partisan interests have the ability to trump the public’s interest. This is the foremost reason why sunshine in redistricting is needed.
While we are heartened by many of the earlier steps this committee has taken to make the public feel included, we know you can do better than offering an unexplained map and two premature hearings. We look forward to this committee and its counterpart in the House taking additional steps to address these shortcomings.
Thank you.
Good afternoon. My name is Whitney Woodward and I represent the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform. ICPR is a non-partisan, non-profit, public interest group that researches and advocates for transparency and accountability in government and politics.
For the last 18 months, ICPR has encouraged the General Assembly to open the historically secretive process of drawing new legislative and Congressional boundaries to the public because in past decades, maps have been drawn away from public view and with minimal opportunities for residents to observe and participate in the process.
Unfortunately, despite taking some admirable steps toward remedying this problem, the House hasn’t broken with the flawed precedent of shutting out the public from this important process when their involvement is needed the most – when draft maps are on the table.
It is noteworthy that this committee and its counterpart in the Senate are holding three hearings, including this one, to take feedback on draft districts. ICPR has repeatedly called on the General Assembly to hold such meetings, and we wish we felt comfortable applauding you for holding these meetings.
But unfortunately, we have to question if these hearings can be meaningful when considering that images of the House districts were released about 48 hours ago.
The committee’s decision to hold a public meeting on this draft a mere two days after posting outlines of districts online is unacceptable. Speakers at this committee’s regional hearings repeatedly called on this committee to offer at least one or two weeks to examine drafts.
Further hindering the public’s chance to weigh in at this critical moment is the glaring omission of information to help residents decipher the intent of the numerous radically shaped draft districts. In earlier testimony to this committee, ICPR noted that providing a roadmap to interpreting draft districts would help residents make sense of map-makers’ intent, since districts may take peculiar shapes for good reasons, and perhaps aid lawmakers by staving off opposition, such as the questions about the Illinois Voting Rights Act posed today.
The General Assembly has had months to create districts which comply with federal and state law and the Constitution. If this committee genuinely seeks to bring sunshine into this process, it is inappropriate and frankly, inexcusable, to give the public only a few days to examine a map, without an accompanying narrative and statistical table.
ICPR hopes that today’s hearing and Tuesday’s joint hearing with the Senate Redistricting Committee will be legitimate opportunities for you as lawmakers to give serious consideration to the comments offered. Of course, there remains time for this committee to hold additional public hearings and adjust the draft map in accordance with public feedback. We hope you’ll do that.
In addition, the General Assembly has yet to release a draft of Congressional districts for the public to review and offer changes. This, too, is inexcusable.
Ten years ago, the General Assembly gave great deference to the Congressional delegation in the drawing of its own districts. It is regrettable that history seems to be repeating itself, as published reports have indicated that Illinois’ Democratic Congressmen are intimately involved in the map-drawing process this time around – and the public has not been invited to sit in the audience, let alone at the table.
In the spirit of transparency which this committee has said it seeks to embrace, ICPR calls on General Assembly to release a draft of those districts and summary language, and hold another set of public hearings at least a week after the posting of that information.
ICPR remains concerned that in this critical process, partisan interests have the ability to trump the public’s interest. This is the foremost reason why sunshine in redistricting is needed. Considering the process as of late, we don’t see any reason to believe that the map released near the close of business Friday has prioritized Illinoisans’ interests.
While we are heartened by many of the earlier steps this committee has taken to make the public feel included, we know you can do better than offering an unexplained map and two premature hearings.
We look forward to this committee and its counterpart in the Senate taking additional steps to address these shortcomings.
Thank you.
