Illinois Democrats are moving a constitutional amendment to change how the state draws its legislative maps, doing so at the last minute as national attention remains fixed on Virginia’s redistricting fight.
Lawmakers in Springfield are advancing House Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 28, which would rewrite the priority order used to draw legislative districts. The proposal keeps equal population as the top requirement but elevates race-based considerations, including directing mapmakers to create "racial coalition or influence districts," before turning to compactness and contiguity.
At a press conference this week, Republican lawmakers argued the amendment dismantles constitutional guardrails that have governed Illinois redistricting for more than 50 years.
"Our Illinois constitution, since it was adopted in 1970, has had three elements as guiding principles for redistricting — that districts shall be compact, contiguous, and substantially equal in population," said Rep. Ryan Spain, R-Peoria. "Some of those elements are routinely run over by Illinois Democrats, and now with the constitutional amendment introduced just days before the deadline… they double down."
Republicans tied the move to ongoing legal pressure over Illinois' current maps. They filed a lawsuit roughly a year ago, arguing the maps violated the state constitution's compactness standard and free and equal elections clause. Spain said the case was dismissed on timeliness grounds rather than on the merits, as it was filed nearly four years after the maps were drawn.
The resolution was filed just days before the May 3 deadline to advance constitutional amendments. Democrats also attempted to waive posting requirements to move multiple measures quickly, a move Republicans challenged on the floor.
"They have been caught cheating, and they want to change the rules of the game," Spain said. "This is as though you were caught playing with a corked bat in a baseball game, and rather than coming into compliance, you change the rules to say it's allowable for our team to cheat."
Democrats have offered a different justification. Speaker Chris Welch argued the amendment is meant to preserve minority representation if existing federal protections are weakened.
"This Supreme Court is poised to dismantle these protections, and when it does, some states will quickly undertake new gerrymandering schemes aimed at stripping away Black, Latino, and other minority representation," Welch said.
Illinois is not pursuing a mid-decade redraw like Virginia and other states, but the underlying battle is the same: who writes the rules that shape political maps. Welch acknowledged the distinction, saying the proposal is "vastly different than what's happening in Virginia."
Rep. Amy Elik, R-Alton, pointed at Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who campaigned on a promise to veto partisan maps and then signed them anyway. "The people of Illinois deserve fair maps, real transparency, and leaders who keep their word," she said.
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The deadline is closing in.
The amendment requires a three-fifths vote before the May 3 deadline. If it clears that hurdle, Illinois voters would decide in November whether to rewrite the rules governing the next decade of mapmaking.
Rep. Dan Ugaste, R-65th, called it "nothing short of the most blatant attempt to rig the system and permanently assure Democrat super majorities through a constitutional amendment."
Republicans say that outcome would lock in what they already consider an illegitimate system. Democrats say it would protect minority voters from a federal safety net they believe is about to be pulled out from under them. Both sides agree on one thing: whoever controls the rules controls the maps, and the maps control everything after that.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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