THE ILLINOIZE: The latest lawsuit over legislative maps...More on congressional map...Stadelman or West in the new 17th?....Durkin blames Foxx on guns...What will Pritzker say about COVID?
October 19, 2021
Good morning. Welcome to the first day of the two week veto session. There’s a potential ton on the agenda, but we’ll have to see what gains traction. Here was the rundown we had for subscribers Friday.
For those of you around Champaign-Urbana, I’ll be on my old station, WDWS-AM, with my friend Brian Barnhart around 10:10 this morning discussing redistricting. You can also listen live at this link.
If you’re new here, welcome. “Free” subscribers receive this here Tuesday newsletter along with our Monday and Thursday “Free for All” emails. Paid subscribers get two specific subscriber-only newsletters each week on Wednesday and Friday. They also get breaking news and exclusive coverage. For instance, paid subscribers got the congressional map first Friday morning. Saturday morning, subscribers got a detailed look at campaign finance reports.
That’s well worth $75 per year, I think. But if you subscribe by the end of October, we’ll give you a free month trial and you can decide whether you want to keep it or stay on the free level. Talk about a win win.
As always, e-mail me with any questions or comments you may have. You can get me anytime at patrick@theillinoize.com.
Let’s get to it.
NEW SUIT FILED OVER LEGISLATIVE MAPS
Another minority group has filed a lawsuit against legislative maps passed in May and edited in August.
The East St. Louis branch of the NAACP, Illinois state conference of the NAACP, and the United Congress of Community and Religious Organizations (UCCRO) filed the suit in federal court in Chicago Friday.
The suit alleges Democrats moved Black voters from East St. Louis into mostly white district represented by Rep. Jay Hoffman (D-Swansea), minimizing the influence of Black voters in their current district, which is currently represented by Rep. LaToya Greenwood (D-East St. Louis).
Removing Black voters from a majority black district and redistributing them to other districts is known as “cracking” a district. The NAACP argues that constitutes racial gerrymandering, which is illegal under federal law.
S.B. 927 used race as the predominant factor in cracking the Black population in the East St. Louis area in House District 114 [Greenwood] to provide safe seats for the White Democratic incumbents in House Districts 112 [Katie Stuart (D-Edwardsville)] and 113 [Hoffman].
In its drawing of House District 114, [the legislative redistricting plan] deviates from its stated redistricting principles by cracking a politically cohesive community of Black voters in the East St. Louis area and submerging them in an adjacent district, House District 113, which is comprised of predominately White municipalities represented by a White Democratic incumbent.
The resulting House District 114 fails to provide Black voters with equal opportunities to elect their candidates of choice, in violation of the United States Constitution and Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
It isn’t clear yet whether the case will run separately or be folded in with the existing suits filed by Republicans and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund (MALDEF).
MALDEF filed an amended complaint with the court earlier this month. I’m told Republicans filed theirs earlier this month, but I haven’t been able to get my hands on it yet.
I asked spokespeople for House Speaker Chris Welch and Senate President Don Harmon to respond to the suit yesterday, but we did not hear back from them.
The goofy looking congressional map was released Friday and we’ve heard plenty about the winners (Budzinski, Underwood, Bost) and the losers (Newman, Casten, Mary Miller) already. But, I wanted to go over some of the stranger things we see in the current proposal.
The LaSalle-Peru area would get three different members of Congress.
LaSalle and Peru, with their combined population of around 19,000, would get three different members of Congress under the new map. The new 15th gets the western side of LaSalle County, the new 2nd gets the southern half, and the new 3rd district goes to the northeast. The 2nd is represented by Congresswoman Robin Kelly (D-Matteson) and the 3rd is currently held by Congresswoman Marie Newman (D-LaGrange).
The new 15th is ungodly big.
That’s the northern tip of the new 15th district which is north of Freeport. The line is just 9.5 miles south of the Illinois/Wisconsin border. The line farthest to the southeast is along the Wabash River south of Robinson, just a few miles north of Vincennes, IN. It’s some 327 miles by car between the two.
The current 15th is the largest district in the state now, stretching about 280 miles between Metropolis and Hoopeston in Vermilion County.
Congressman Rodney Davis (R-Taylorville), who lives in the district, hasn’t yet announced whether he’ll run in that district, the new 13th, which was drawn with a Democratic edge, or if he’ll run for Governor.
Let the Mary Miller speculation begin.
Congresswoman Mary Miller (R-Oakland) was drawn into the southern tip of the new 16th District, making her a clear underdog against seasoned pol Congressman Darin LaHood (R-Peoria).
Her husband, State Rep. Chris Miller, was drawn into a potential primary with Rep. Adam Niemerg (R-Dieterich). For Chris Miller to get residency in a new district, rumors have started to swirl the Millers could move to Charleston. If Chris Miller runs in the new 101st district, he would have to move into it within the next two years. Mary Miller can run in either district, but you get opened up to plenty of attacks when you don’t live in your congressional district.
Mary Miller’s next move may be up to Davis, though, whether he leaves the district to run for Governor or not.
House Redistricting Committee Chair Rep. Lisa Hernandez (D-Cicero) said Friday the map released Friday was a “first draft,” so there are expected to be changes made sometime this week.
THE ROCKFORD FILES
Now that we’ve seen the new 17th district in the congressional map leans slightly Democratic and encompasses large chunks of Rockford, the Quad Cities, Peoria, and Bloomington-Normal, speculation on a top Democratic candidate has already begun.
Sen. Steve Stadelman (D-Rockford) confirmed last night he’s waiting for the maps to be finalized before he makes a decision whether or not to run. Stadelman, who turns 61 next week, spent 25 years as a reporter and anchor at WTVO-TV in Rockford. He was elected to a new seat in 2012 and has represented it the entire decade. He is popular in the Rockford area and has gigantic name ID.
If Stadelman takes a pass on the race, eyes will likely turn to Rep. Maurice West (D-Rockford). West is closely aligned with House Speaker Chris Welch, but you have to know Democrats would love a young African American candidate for the seat.
I spoke to West last night and he said a primary against Stadelman “wouldn’t be a good idea.” But he says local Democratic leaders want to make sure the seat is held by someone from Rockford.
Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara has already taken a pass on the race. It sounds like Republican Esther Joy King will run for the 17th again next year after she fell just short of the retiring Cheri Bustos last year.
DURKIN BLAMES FOXX FOR GUN CRIMES
In a news conference yesterday announcing legislation that would give Cook County police chiefs the ability to override the State’s Attorney when the office declines to pursue charges, House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) made an interesting comment.
Most gun crimes being committed during the current crime wave are being done with illegal, stolen, or home built “ghost” guns without a serial number. So I asked Durkin if Republicans are willing to go to the table to work on cutting the number of illegal guns out there.
He pivoted, instead making the issue about Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx.
“I believe in a State’s Attorney who believes that a person who is illegally in possession of a loaded firearm should be prosecuted under the felony [unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon] (UPW) statute,” Durkin said. “State’s Attorney Foxx has publicly stated that she does not feel that those individuals, who are illegally in possession of a loaded firearm, pose a threat to the community. That’s why she is dismissing narcotics cases as well as gun cases or reducing those cases. That is a major problem.”
A spokesperson for Foxx did not respond to our message yesterday.
Durkin, a former prosecutor, is absolutely right that Foxx should not be trimming down the workload of her staff on violent crimes. I’ve also been told by prosecutors around the state that getting people to testify in a gun case is almost impossible. Nobody wants to rat. No evidence. Out the case goes.
But Republicans also need to remember that it isn’t lawful gun owners that are committing these crimes. These are bad people who steal guns, buy stolen guns, or file off serial numbers. Getting these guns off the streets has to be a bigger priority. And it should be a bipartisan priority.
PRITZKER COVID ANNOUNCEMENT
Governor JB Pritzker had a 9:30 news conference scheduled for this morning to discuss COVID-19. There are no details about what he may say.
The state test positivity is still around 2.4% and COVID-19 hospitalizations have fallen from around 2,000 per day a month ago to around 1,400 today. Around 1,300 positive cases were announce yesterday, down from more than 3,500 September 22.
There is a JCAR meeting this morning and two of the Governor’s COVID-19 order issues are on the agenda: mandatory vaccinations for school personnel and school recognition (though, that may have more to do with teaching about gay and trans history than COVID).
We’ll keep you updated.
CONGRATULATIONS
Congratulations to the Governor’s Press Secretary, Jordan Abudayyeh, who got married this weekend to longtime boyfriend Ken Steele. He’s a budget analyst for the City of Chicago. Best wishes.
HAPPY BIRTHDAYS
Tomorrow: Former U.S. Senator Peter Fitzgerald, Former State Representative Carolyn Krause, former Rep. Bob Biggins
Friday: Former Rep. Bob Flider, now at the U of I, former Sen. Pat O’Malley
Monday: Sen. Brian Stewart, farmer, Livingston County Board member, and accomplished 4x8 sign fixer Joel Barickman
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