Full Text of HR0995 100th General Assembly
HR0995 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The Illinois General Assembly will establish new | 3 | | State legislative districts and
congressional districts | 4 | | following the 2020 United States decennial census of Illinois; | 5 | | and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois has a long history of | 7 | | partisanship in the mapmaking process,
including the 1964 | 8 | | "Bedsheet Ballot" that was caused by disagreements on the | 9 | | redistricting
process; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, In the 100th General Assembly, seven different | 11 | | redistricting constitutional
amendment proposals have been | 12 | | filed by Republicans and Democrats to create an independent
| 13 | | redistricting reform process; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, Independent redistricting reform would produce | 15 | | Illinois House and Senate districts
drawn without regard to | 16 | | incumbency or partisanship; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, Independent redistricting reform would attract | 18 | | more candidates for the General
Assembly and more competition | 19 | | for legislative seats, resulting in more choices for voters; | 20 | | and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Independent redistricting reform would protect | 2 | | the voting rights of racial and ethnic
minorities and prohibit | 3 | | drawing maps that dilute or diminish the ability of racial or | 4 | | language
minority communities to elect the candidates of their | 5 | | choice; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, Independent redistricting reform would respect | 7 | | communities with shared interests
and avoid breaking through | 8 | | political and geographic boundaries; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, Independent redistricting reform would allow the | 10 | | public to view and participate in
redistricting; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, Transparent and non-partisan legislative | 12 | | districting is essential to build a more
trustworthy, | 13 | | accountable, and healthy democracy for our State and nation; | 14 | | and | 15 | | WHEREAS, Independent redistricting reform is necessary to | 16 | | eliminate the conflict of interest
that allows General Assembly | 17 | | members to pick their voters; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, Illinoisans deserve legislative elections where | 19 | | issues are debated, candidates listen
to their constituents, | 20 | | and voters have choices; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Several recent federal cases reviewing | 2 | | redistricting plans enacted in Wisconsin,
Maryland, and North | 3 | | Carolina have focused on whether and when it is possible to | 4 | | bring a claim
that drawing districts to the advantage of one | 5 | | political party is unconstitutional; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, The Illinois Supreme Court has kept citizen-led | 7 | | redistricting reform proposals off of
the ballots by ruling | 8 | | that it did not fit the narrow legal window for citizen | 9 | | initiatives to change
the 1970 Illinois Constitution on strict | 10 | | party lines; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, The Illinois General Assembly needs to study these | 12 | | recent developments and other
recent information concerning | 13 | | redistricting law, map drawing, and process in preparation for | 14 | | the
upcoming redistricting cycle; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Action is needed now, given the multi-year process | 16 | | required to amend the Illinois
Constitution in order to | 17 | | institute a reformed independent redistricting process by the | 18 | | time the
next redistricting occurs; therefore, be it
| 19 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 20 | | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 21 | | support independent
redistricting reform and advocate for a | 22 | | non-partisan map-making process by the upcoming
redistricting |
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| 1 | | cycle; and be it further
| 2 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 3 | | delivered to the legislative leaders of the
General Assembly, | 4 | | Governor Rauner, and the Illinois Supreme Court.
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