Peoria Standard

Illinois House Republicans are criticizing Democratic legislators for holding meetings behind closed doors to discuss drawing the new legislative district maps.

The public has yet to see the new maps, and Democrats have been tight-lipped about releasing details thus far, but anonymous sources revealed to WCIA News that lawmakers were meeting behind closed doors to review early drafts. 

In response to the news, Illinois House Republicans held a news conference to demand a "fair" redistricting process, Daily Herald.

"Have you ever wondered how your legislative districts are drawn? It's behind closed doors with zero transparency," Illinois Rep. Mark Luft (R-Pekin) said in a May 6 Facebook post. "People in Illinois deserve better than partisan maps drawn in backrooms with flawed data."

Democratic leaders have dismissed criticism from Republicans and said that state lawmakers had used this process in the past.

Jaclyn Driscoll, the spokeswoman for House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch (D-Westchester), said in a statement to WCIA that “... the room we’re talking to members in is actually the same we met in10 years ago. This is and will remain a transparent process.”

Lawmakers typically use population data from the U.S. Census Bureau to inform the mapmaking process, but that data has been significantly delayed this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

House Democrats have not said what data they are using for the process thus far but have noted that the House Redistricting Committee has held 30 public hearings and received input from advocacy groups and the public.