State GOP Sues Over Democratic Redistricting Map

By aaroncynic in News on Jul 28, 2011 7:20PM

Yesterday ten Illinois House Republicans filed a federal suit against the Illinois State Board of Elections over the latest congressional map. The Committee for a Fair and Balanced Map, a group comprised of nearly all sitting members of the Illinois Congress and many former Republican legislators, argue that the new map discriminates against Latino and Republican voters. Governor Quinn signed it into law on June 24th after the General Assembly approved the map in May.

The Chicago Sun-Times reports the group released a statement saying “we strongly contest the Democrats’ congressional redistricting map in Illinois. From the beginning, we have said this map cannot tand, because it disrespects the will of voters, discriminates against the state's growing Hispanic population, and fails the tests for compactness and protecting communities of interest.” The lawsuit alleges that the map creates a supermajority of Latino voters in the 4th congressional district. In addition, Republicans argue that some candidates in will have to face each other in elections because the maps were drawn to protect Democratic incumbents.