Statewide Redistricting: A Done Deal

The three judges of the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois upheld the redistricted maps passed by the General Assembly and signed by Governor Pritzker for US Congress, Illinois State Senate and Illinois State Representatives.

The court rejected in full all three plaintiffs’ remedial proposals, denying plaintiffs any further injunctive or declaratory relief. Plaintiffs included Republican leaders in the Illinois General Assembly, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF), and the East St. Louis Branch of the NAACP.

“In the end,” the judges wrote, “we find that the boundaries for Illinois House and Senate districts set out in SB 927 violate neither the Voting Rights Act nor the Constitution. The record shows ample evidence of crossover voting to defeat any claim of racially polarized voting sufficient to deny Latino and Black voters of the opportunity to elect candidates of their choice in the challenged districts.”