May 24, 2011

House and Senate lawmakers came together May 24 to accept public testimony on the recently released legislative redistricting maps. Though it’s unknown when the chambers will vote on the redistricting proposals, both House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie and Senate Redistricting Chairman Kwame Raoul have said it will not be on May 24. However, few legislative observers expect that map to be the one actually implemented.

Echoing previous redistricting hearings, most witnesses spoke to the impact the redistricting process would have on the voting rights of Illinois’ racial and ethnic minorities. Representatives from a number of Latino organizations testified that there are not enough Hispanic districts included in the maps pending the General Assembly, and contended many Latino communities will be fractured and diluted by the proposed maps thereby denying them the opportunity to elect the candidate of their choice.

Former Chicago City Clerk and senator Miguel del Valle, testified before his friends and past colleagues that the proposals worries him, noting that the Latino community represents special circumstances that must be taken into consideration. Del Valle said that when drawing districts in these areas lawmakers must include a larger percentage of the Latino voting age population. Jocelyn Woodards from the Illinois Campaign for Accountable Redistricting urged lawmakers to give the public a realistic opportunity to review and analyze the maps. She asked for two weeks of time to review the redistricting data and the map itself.

Sen. Kirk Dillard (R-Hinsdale) emphasized that the Legislature does not have to pass a map by May 31. He pointed out that May 31 is the deadline for passage with a simple majority vote. June 30 is actually the constitutional deadline for lawmakers to approve a redistricting proposal.

To defend their map, Democrats brought in $400-per-hour consultant, Allan Lichtman to testify in favor of the redistricting plan. Despite intense questioning from Republicans on the panel, Lichtman refused to be pinned down on questions about the proportion of Latino or African-American voters needed in a district to assure that minority voters can elect the candidate of their choice.  Lichtman is an instructor at American University in Washington,D.C. and a former Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate.