Citizens for Judicial Reform chair Jim Nowlan is one of a growing number of Republicans that see the new maps as part of a grand plan by Democrats to keep themselves in power. | Pixabay
Citizens for Judicial Reform chair Jim Nowlan is one of a growing number of Republicans that see the new maps as part of a grand plan by Democrats to keep themselves in power. | Pixabay
Even with the Illinois Supreme Court branding the most recent map redistricting effort led by Democrats “a monumental shift,” Citizens for Judicial Reform chair Jim Nowlan likes his side’s chances in the upcoming 2nd and 3rd Supreme Court District races.
“Both the new third and the new second are districts in which former Gov. Bruce Rauner came close to winning in 2012 when he was overall a very unpopular candidate across the state,” Nowlan told Trint.com. “So the two new districts are certainly competitive districts in which both Republicans and Democrats have opportunities to win.”
Nowlan is one of a growing number of Republicans that see the new maps as part of a grand plan by Democrats to keep themselves in power.
Long a fair maps advocate, the former state legislator and running-mate of Gov. Richard Ogilvie’s nearly five decades ago boldly asserted in a May editorial that "one issue that sends shivers up the spines of Cook County Democrats is loss of their unbroken, six-decade-long control of the partisan Illinois Supreme Court."
In addition to blasting the governor for not keeping his word on a pledge he made as a candidate to veto any maps drawn along partisan lines, some GOP lawmakers are now questioning whether he and Democrats even had the legal authority to redraw political maps under the method they used.
“The official 2020 decennial counts released by the U.S. Census Bureau last week confirm that the Democrats’ redistricting plan violates the U.S. Constitution and federal law, as well as comparable provisions of the Illinois Constitution,” state Rep. Martin McLaughlin posted on Facebook.
With House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) also slamming the process, GOP leaders have filed suit in federal court, The Chicago Sun Times reported, challenging the maps that stand to influence how elections play out in the state for at least the next decade.
In addition to asking the courts to rule the maps unconstitutional, the plaintiffs are asking that the job of map redistricting be completely taken out of the hands of politicians, either through the formation of a bipartisan commission or for a court-appointed “special master.”
Alerts Sign-up