As the 2011 Spring legislative session approaches its end, Democrats released the first version of a long-anticipated legislative redistricting map.

Republican lawmakers and citizens alike saw the Senate Democrats' redistricting proposal for the first time May 19. Like Illinois residents, Senate Republicans have been reviewing the proposed map to assess its impact on citizens, as well as its compliance with the Constitution, the Voting Rights Act and other relevant statutes.

While detailed analysis was not immediately available, most news reports indicated that the map placed political advantage over all other considerations. The proposed map shifts current district lines, drawing a number of current GOP senators out of their current districts and separating them from their constituents. If a lawmaker lives outside the boundaries of his or her new district, he or she would be required to move into a newly-drawn district.

The map was drawing close scrutiny from minority voting rights groups who want to determine if voting rights took a back seat to partisan political advantage and protection of incumbent politicians.  

It’s widely anticipated that the proposal could be revised in the coming week.  In order to advance the maps that favor Democrat lawmakers, the Democrat majority must approve the maps by May 31.

Two Senate redistricting hearings were announced with virtually no advance notice. The first hearing was to be held in Chicago, at noon, May 21 in Committee Room C-600 of the Michael A. Bilandic Building. The second hearing was to be in Springfield at 9:00 a.m., May 24 in Committee Room 114 of the State Capitol. Limited information on the maps is available at online.

Although much information was sketchy, what was clear was that despite hearings across the state where community leaders asked that maps not be drawn for partisan political purposes, but to assure fair, equitable representation of voters, the announced map puts partisan advantage before all other considerations.

While majority Democrats took testimony in public, the lines were being drawn in secret behind locked doors in an attempt to protect incumbent legislators and pre-select election winners and losers for the next decade.

Republicans said the process and resultant partisan maps were further evidence of the need to reform the redistricting process in Illinois. Last year, Republicans joined with reform groups to try to remove mapmaking from the hands of politicians and turn it over to an independent, non-partisan body;

This system, in which the politicians get to pick their voters, is broken and needs to be fixed.