Amid the Schumer Shutdown, Democrat House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08) has reportedly been pushing Illinois Democrats to take part in the redistricting scheme to redraw the state's congressional map to favor more Democrats in response to Republican redistricting efforts in Texas.
But some in Jeffries' party aren't buying it.
Jeffries wants Illinois to follow the lead of states like deep blue California, which has taken steps to further gerrymander its districts to give Democrats even more representation in the U.S. House of Representatives. In Illinois, the congressional district map already ridiculously and overwhelmingly favors Democrats 14-3.
MORE: NC General Assembly Acts Swiftly and Approves New Congressional Map - Here's What's Next
According to Capitol News Illinois, however, some Democrats in the state see no reason to go along with Jeffries' demands.
"I think there is next to zero appetite to do it," one unnamed House Democrat lawmaker told the outlet. Another noted, "There is no world where I see this happening."
On top of that, Black elected officials have expressed concern that if they go along with the plan, a new map could dilute the black vote.
NEWS: IL Senate Black Caucus has a warning for Hakeem Jeffries + Dems pushing redistricting
— Ally Mutnick (@allymutnick) October 22, 2025
It won't back any map that dilutes the Black vote in any historically Black district
Chair @SenWPrestonIL: We're going to fight back. We just won't do so at the expense of our own power
Congressional candidate and state Sen. Willie Preston, D-Chicago, the Senate chair of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus, told Punchbowl News that they were going to "fight back. We just won't do so at the expense of our own power."
The Capitol News report went on:
Currently, three of the state's congressional districts are at least 40% African American, according to U.S. Census data, and Illinois has four Black representatives in Congress.
But a more aggressive gerrymander would likely require these majority-minority, overwhelmingly Democratic districts to absorb additional rural, majority-white parts of the state that overwhelmingly vote Republican.
SEE: Greg Abbott Ends Gavin Newsom and Fleeing Texas Democrats With Hilarious, Brutal Message
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Punchbowl News shared that another major hurdle is that there's little to no time to get a new map on the agenda:
The state legislature would have to move very fast on the new map or shift the date of its primaries next year. Legislators will be in a veto session next week. Jeffries has been trying to influence this, but Illinois Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker may have more sway.
Pritzker recently avoided giving a direct answer to the question about whether he supports gerrymandering.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on gerrymandering: "In general, I do not think mid-decade redistricting for political purposes is something that any state should be doing. That's why I have to say that if we're forced into it… we can."pic.twitter.com/vWy1omeB2K
— Thomas Sowell Quotes (@ThomasSowell) October 15, 2025
"In general, I do not think mid-decade redistricting for political purposes is something that any state should be doing," Pritzker said. "That's why I have to say that if we're forced into it… we can" redraw lines that would allow for Illinois Democrats to possibly pick up another seat.
Editor’s Note: The Schumer Shutdown is here. Rather than put the American people first, Chuck Schumer and the radical Democrats forced a government shutdown for healthcare for illegals. They own this.
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