Peoria Standard

Jim Rule, chairman of the Tazewell County Republicans, expressed his dissatisfaction with the Illinois Supreme Court's decision not to hear a gerrymandering case. He said that this decision represents an evasion of duty that protects partisan power and reflects political bias. Rule made these remarks to the Peoria Standard.

"The Illinois Supreme Court's decision to dismiss the gerrymandering lawsuit without a hearing undermines the public's right to fair representation and accountability," said Rule. "By rejecting the case on procedural grounds, the court avoided addressing credible concerns about partisan map-drawing and compactness violations. The majority's refusal to intervene, despite clear evidence and expert analysis, reflects a consistent pattern of protecting Democratic-drawn maps. This ruling only reinforces perceptions of a liberal bias on the court, eroding public trust in judicial neutrality."

According to Capitol News Illinois, the Illinois Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit filed by House Republicans challenging the state's 2021 legislative maps. The court, which has a Democratic majority, ruled that the plaintiffs waited too long to file their case. The Republicans argued they needed multiple election cycles to assess the maps' impact. They claimed the maps were gerrymandered, lacked compactness, and unfairly favored Democrats, citing admissions and data such as a failing grade from the Princeton Gerrymandering Project. Similar lawsuits have been dismissed previously. The Republicans now plan to pursue redistricting reforms outside the courts through initiatives like a petition drive for a referendum and proposals for judicial ethics reform.

In 2021, the Princeton Gerrymandering Project issued a report giving Illinois’ state House legislative map an "F" grade for compactness. This assessment was based on metrics evaluating how geographically tight and contiguous the districts are. The organization uses mathematical models to compare district shapes against neutral baselines. Its analysis found that more than half of Illinois House districts were less compact than a district invalidated by the Illinois Supreme Court in 1981. The report also identified signs of partisan bias, aligning with Republican claims that the map was drawn to favor Democratic candidates.

Rule, who resides in Morton, was first elected as Chairman of the Tazewell County Republicans in 2018. According to the organization’s website, he is "focused on boosting Republican voter turnout, growing the Party’s membership, and communicating the Party’s positions on issues that matter to Tazewell County voters."