GERRYMANDERING
Governor JB Pritzker’s Hypocrisy on Gerrymandering & Fair Maps
Governor Pritzker hit the late-night talk show circuit this week, sitting with late night host Stephen Colbert, while threatening to rewrite Illinois’ congressional maps to draw even more Democratic districts. Gov. Pritzker’s Fair Map hypocrisy knows no bounds.
Colbert held up a map of Illinois’ congressional districts, noting the unusual shapes of the 17th and 13th congressional districts. “It’s like the stinger on a scorpion down there,” Colbert said of the 13th District.
“We handed it over to a kindergarten class and let them decide… That’s our independent commission,” Gov. Pritzker said. However, Illinois’ maps were not drawn by an independent commission. They were drawn by the Supermajority Democrats in the House and Senate and signed by Governor Pritzker into law. These included not just the Congressional map, but Legislative maps and the Illinois Supreme Court map (for more information, go to redoremap.com). This occurred despite a 2016 address to the Illinois General Assembly, in which then-President Barack Obama called for changes to the way legislative maps are drawn.
Furthermore, JB Pritzker and his supermajority Illinois Democrats have blocked all efforts at passing bills creating an independent redistricting commission so Democratic politicians can draw the maps themselves behind closed doors.
Voters should select their elected officials, instead of legislators selecting their voters.
House Republicans have championed independent redistricting through HJRCA 5 and fought illegal maps in Illinois’ courts.
WSJ Editorial: The Democratic Protectorate of Illinois
The Wall Street Journal highlighted the hypocrisy and grandstanding from Illinois Democrats as they rally against gerrymandering – despite consistently passing the most gerrymandered maps in the nation.
Texas Democrats have fled to Illinois to escape having to vote in Austin on the Republican plan to gerrymander the Lone Star State’s Congressional district map. The destination is amusing since no one knows more about partisan gerrymanders than Illinois Democrats.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and his allies purport to be outraged by the new Texas map, which could yield the GOP from three to five new House seats. But ol’ JB knows how that’s done. Illinois has 17 House seats, and 14 of them are held by Democrats.
BUDGET
CGFA Revenue Report Shows Worsening Fiscal Picture
The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability’s July 2025 revenue report showed weakness in a key number that represents a vital element of the State’s cash flow. Personal income tax receipts for July 2025, reported to CGFA by the Illinois Department of Revenue, showed a negative trend line, with income taxes paid dropping by $114 million from the year-earlier level. July 2025 corporate income tax receipts were also down from one year earlier.
While Illinois reported higher revenue in July 2025 from taxes on sales, estates, insurance, and sports betting, these increases were not sufficient to make up for the loss in income tax receipts. The consolidated figures, reflecting combined revenue totals covering a variety of income lines, show a new July 2025 decline (relative to one year earlier) of $33 million in Illinois taxes oriented towards general revenue; a parallel decline of $29 million in general revenues with respect to general revenues other than taxes, such as Illinois State Lottery proceeds and federal aid; and a decline of $35 million in all general funds available to the Comptroller in FY26, after slices of these general funds have been set aside for Illinois tax refunds and for aid payments to Illinois local governments.
TRANSPORTATION
Illinois Tollway Explores Dynamic Pricing Scheme
The Illinois Tollway system is exploring a scheme to charge drivers according to traffic conditions. Learn more about how this change would impact your commute and the cost you pay to drive during times of high traffic congestion.
ILLINOIS STATE FAIR
Illinois State Fair began last week
Running from August 7th through the 17th, the Illinois State Fair includes concerts, rides, exhibits, Illinois-grown food and wine, races, and many specialty events. Each day of the Fair is devoted to a specific theme, such as “Veterans and Gold Star Families” (Sunday, August 10) or “First Responder and Healthcare Heroes Day” (Friday, August 15). While an adult admission fee is charged, children up to age 12 are always free, and three of the theme days offer free admission to theme-honored persons with status identification.
The Illinois State Fair is celebrated annually in Springfield. The DuQuoin State Fair, a full-fledged second State Fair centering on the culture and life of Southern Illinois, will be held near DuQuoin from Friday, August 22, until Labor Day on Monday, September 1.