St. Charles, IL – State Representative Dan Ugaste (R-Geneva) has issued the following statement in response to comments made by Governor Pritzker today about Illinois redrawing its congressional districts mid-decade in response to a question about redrawing maps in Texas.
“So now the Governor wants to follow the rules? This is laughable. Illinois’ political maps, both for Congress and the State Legislature, are already so overly gerrymandered that it has silenced the voices of millions of voters. And the Governor signed the state legislative maps into law just a few short years ago. The Governor also said today we ought to stand up against cheating and be outraged. Well, where have you been, Governor? Under the Illinois Constitution, legislative districts must be ‘compact, contiguous, and substantially equal in population.’ But a non-partisan expert witness found 52 of the 118 current House districts not meeting those requirements. In other words, those districts as drawn are unconstitutional. The Governor’s selective outrage in this manner is ridiculous.”