SB2554 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB102 10340 SMS 15667 b

102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2021 and 2022
SB2554

Introduced 2/26/2021, by Sen. Melinda Bush

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

10 ILCS 120/5-15 new

Amends the Illinois Voting Rights Act of 2011. Provides that no later than January 31st of the year immediately following the federal decennial census, the General Assembly shall establish a Special Joint-House and Senate Redistricting Committee to develop and finalize a redistricting plan for Legislative Districts and Representative Districts. Provides that the Committee shall consist of 12 members appointed by the General Assembly. Provides the priorities and requirements for Legislative Districts and Representative Districts. Requires the Committee to hold public hearings and make data used to create the plan available for the public. Provides that before a redistricting plan may be adopted, the Committee shall adopt and publish a report explaining the plan's compliance with federal and State law. Effective immediately.

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning elections.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Illinois Voting Rights Act of 2011 is amended by adding Section 5-15 as follows:

(10 ILCS 120/5-15 new)

Sec. 5-15. Redistricting transparency.

(a) A redistricting plan pursuant to Article IV, Section 3 of the Illinois Constitution shall be drawn subject to subsection (b) to form a Special Joint-House and Senate Redistricting Committee; subject to subsection (c) to establish ranked criteria for the Committee to consider when drawing the map; subject to subsection (d) to require a public hearing before and after a map proposal is released; and subject to subsection (e) to create a website, accessible to the general public, to post all documents, data, testimony, and proposed maps and to livestream hearings; subject to subsection (f) to utilize data provided by the Secretary of State's office to count residents of correctional facilities at their last known address before incarceration for redistricting purposes.

(b) No later than January 31st of the year immediately following the federal decennial census, the General Assembly shall establish a Special Joint-House and Senate Redistricting Committee. The Speaker of the House of Representatives and Minority Leader of the House of Representative shall each appoint 3 members of the House of Representatives to serve on the Committee. The President of the Senate and Minority Leader of the Senate shall each appoint 3 members of the Senate to serve on the Committee.

(c) Each Legislative District and Representative District shall, in the following order of priority:

(1) fully comply with the United States Constitution and federal laws, such as the federal Voting Rights Act;

(2) be substantially equal in population based on the total amount of inhabitants according to the last preceding federal decennial census;

(3) provide racial minorities and language minorities with the equal opportunity to participate in the political process and elect candidates of their choice;

(4) fully comply with this Act to provide racial minorities and language minorities who constitute less than a voting-age majority of a Legislative District or Representative District with an opportunity to substantially influence the outcome of an election through the creation of crossover districts, coalition districts, or influence districts as defined by this Act;

(5) be contiguous;

(6) be compact;

(7) respect, to the extent practical, geographic integrity of units of local government;

(8) respect, to the extent practical, communities sharing common social or economic interests; and

(9) not discriminate against or in favor of any political party or individual.

(d) The Committee shall hold at least 35 public hearings throughout the State before proposing a redistricting plan.

(e) The Committee must provide a meaningful opportunity for racial minorities and language minorities to participate in the public hearings, including, but not limited to, issuing notices in multiple languages and ensuring that translation services are available at all hearings at the Committee's expense or through partnership with outside organizations. These public hearings shall be open to all members of the public and public notice shall be made at least 7 days in advance to encourage attendance and participation across the State, including the use of technology that allows for real-time, virtual participation and feedback during the hearings. When releasing a proposed redistricting plan, the Committee must release population data, geographic data, election data, precinct boundaries, and any other data used to create the plan, within 72 hours. The Committee must provide terminals for members of the public to access the data and associated software. During the map drawing process, any member of the public may submit maps for consideration to the Committee. The Committee must consider public input and respond to it. Those submissions are public records that are open to comment.

The Committee may not adopt a redistricting plan until the Committee adopts and publishes a report explaining the plan's compliance with the United States Constitution, the Illinois Constitution, and this Section. Before the adoption of a redistricting plan, the Committee shall release to the public the final plan and its associated compliance report. The Committee shall hold at least 5 public hearings after the release of the final plan and associated compliance report prior to a vote being taken. The meeting to vote on adoption of a redistricting plan shall occur no sooner than 15 days after the release of the final plan and its associated compliance report. All proposed and adopted maps and any data used to develop these maps are public records. The Committee shall maintain a website or other similar electronic platform to disseminate information about the Committee, including records of its meetings and hearings, proposed redistricting plans, assessments, and reports on plans, and allow the public to view its meetings and hearings in both live and archived form. The website or electronic platform must allow the public to submit redistricting plans and comments on redistricting plans to the Committee for its consideration.

(f) Nothing in this Section shall be construed, applied, or implemented in a way that imposes any requirement or obligation that conflicts with the United States Constitution, any federal law regarding redistricting Legislative Districts or Representative Districts, including, but not limited to, the federal Voting Rights Act, or the Illinois Constitution.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.