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.


LRB102 10340 SMS 15667 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB2554LRB102 10340 SMS 15667 b

1    AN ACT concerning elections.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Illinois Voting Rights Act of 2011 is
5amended by adding Section 5-15 as follows:
 
6    (10 ILCS 120/5-15 new)
7    Sec. 5-15. Redistricting transparency.
8    (a) A redistricting plan pursuant to Article IV, Section 3
9of the Illinois Constitution shall be drawn subject to
10subsection (b) to form a Special Joint-House and Senate
11Redistricting Committee; subject to subsection (c) to
12establish ranked criteria for the Committee to consider when
13drawing the map; subject to subsection (d) to require a public
14hearing before and after a map proposal is released; and
15subject to subsection (e) to create a website, accessible to
16the general public, to post all documents, data, testimony,
17and proposed maps and to livestream hearings; subject to
18subsection (f) to utilize data provided by the Secretary of
19State's office to count residents of correctional facilities
20at their last known address before incarceration for
21redistricting purposes.
22    (b) No later than January 31st of the year immediately
23following the federal decennial census, the General Assembly

 

 

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1shall establish a Special Joint-House and Senate Redistricting
2Committee. The Speaker of the House of Representatives and
3Minority Leader of the House of Representative shall each
4appoint 3 members of the House of Representatives to serve on
5the Committee. The President of the Senate and Minority Leader
6of the Senate shall each appoint 3 members of the Senate to
7serve on the Committee.
8    (c) Each Legislative District and Representative District
9shall, in the following order of priority:
10        (1) fully comply with the United States Constitution
11    and federal laws, such as the federal Voting Rights Act;
12        (2) be substantially equal in population based on the
13    total amount of inhabitants according to the last
14    preceding federal decennial census;
15        (3) provide racial minorities and language minorities
16    with the equal opportunity to participate in the political
17    process and elect candidates of their choice;
18        (4) fully comply with this Act to provide racial
19    minorities and language minorities who constitute less
20    than a voting-age majority of a Legislative District or
21    Representative District with an opportunity to
22    substantially influence the outcome of an election through
23    the creation of crossover districts, coalition districts,
24    or influence districts as defined by this Act;
25        (5) be contiguous;
26        (6) be compact;

 

 

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1        (7) respect, to the extent practical, geographic
2    integrity of units of local government;
3        (8) respect, to the extent practical, communities
4    sharing common social or economic interests; and
5        (9) not discriminate against or in favor of any
6    political party or individual.
7    (d) The Committee shall hold at least 35 public hearings
8throughout the State before proposing a redistricting plan.
9    (e) The Committee must provide a meaningful opportunity
10for racial minorities and language minorities to participate
11in the public hearings, including, but not limited to, issuing
12notices in multiple languages and ensuring that translation
13services are available at all hearings at the Committee's
14expense or through partnership with outside organizations.
15These public hearings shall be open to all members of the
16public and public notice shall be made at least 7 days in
17advance to encourage attendance and participation across the
18State, including the use of technology that allows for
19real-time, virtual participation and feedback during the
20hearings. When releasing a proposed redistricting plan, the
21Committee must release population data, geographic data,
22election data, precinct boundaries, and any other data used to
23create the plan, within 72 hours. The Committee must provide
24terminals for members of the public to access the data and
25associated software. During the map drawing process, any
26member of the public may submit maps for consideration to the

 

 

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1Committee. The Committee must consider public input and
2respond to it. Those submissions are public records that are
3open to comment.
4    The Committee may not adopt a redistricting plan until the
5Committee adopts and publishes a report explaining the plan's
6compliance with the United States Constitution, the Illinois
7Constitution, and this Section. Before the adoption of a
8redistricting plan, the Committee shall release to the public
9the final plan and its associated compliance report. The
10Committee shall hold at least 5 public hearings after the
11release of the final plan and associated compliance report
12prior to a vote being taken. The meeting to vote on adoption of
13a redistricting plan shall occur no sooner than 15 days after
14the release of the final plan and its associated compliance
15report. All proposed and adopted maps and any data used to
16develop these maps are public records. The Committee shall
17maintain a website or other similar electronic platform to
18disseminate information about the Committee, including records
19of its meetings and hearings, proposed redistricting plans,
20assessments, and reports on plans, and allow the public to
21view its meetings and hearings in both live and archived form.
22The website or electronic platform must allow the public to
23submit redistricting plans and comments on redistricting plans
24to the Committee for its consideration.
25    (f) Nothing in this Section shall be construed, applied,
26or implemented in a way that imposes any requirement or

 

 

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1obligation that conflicts with the United States Constitution,
2any federal law regarding redistricting Legislative Districts
3or Representative Districts, including, but not limited to,
4the federal Voting Rights Act, or the Illinois Constitution.
 
5    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
6becoming law.