Peoria Standard

Illinois State House District 73 Representative Ryan Spain announced that the current legislative maps are being challenged for the first time at the Illinois Supreme Court. He made this statement on Facebook on February 3.

"We have more evidence than ever before, and while lawsuits have taken place at the federal level, this is the first time legislative maps, this current map, will be challenged at the Illinois Supreme Court," said Spain, State Representative, according to Facebook.

According to a report from 25NewsNow, the Facebook post highlighted a lawsuit filed by House Republicans calling for the current legislative maps to be invalidated and redrawn by a special map master. The report notes that House Republicans failed to gain seats in the Illinois Legislative General Assembly in both 2022 and 2024, losing five seats in the 2022 general election. This resulted in a composition of 78 Democrats and 40 Republicans in the House by 2024. The lawsuit raises concerns about compactness, particularly in the 91st House District, which spans from East Peoria along the Illinois River into Bloomington and Normal. Two formulas indicate that 52 of the current House districts are less compact, which is one of the main issues addressed by the lawsuit.

Screenshot of State Rep. Ryan Spain's Feb. 3 Facebook post | State Representative Ryan Spain's Facebook page

Capitol News Illinois referenced a previous ruling from 1981 that invalidated two districts due to similar compactness issues and ordered them redrawn.

The lawsuit was filed by Illinois House Minority Leader Tony McCombie along with five registered voters. It names the Illinois State Board of Elections and its members as defendants. The plaintiffs claim that the legislative districts were drawn to benefit Democrats, thus preventing Republican voters from electing their preferred candidates. They argue that this extreme gerrymandering is unconstitutional, citing House Resolution 443, which admitted that District 26 was redrawn "for political purposes" without adjustment following public input. The plaintiffs seek to have these maps declared unconstitutional and call for a Special Map Master to create fairer district maps.

Spain has served as representative for the 73rd House District since 2017. A lifelong resident of Peoria, he holds degrees in political science and speech communication from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, as well as an MBA from Bradley University. His service record includes tenure on the Peoria City Council from 2007 to 2016.