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| Dems Reveal House Redistricting Map -- Sort Of |
(IRN) -- House Democrats released their proposed redistricting map Friday -- or did they?
The map was posted to the Democrats' redistricting website, only to be taken down moments later. Some reporters downloaded the map before it disappeared, and it appears several Republican representatives were either drawn out of their districts or combined with other lawmakers.
State Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie (D-Chicago), chairman of the House redistricting committee, says she hasn't seen the map, but insists that outcome wasn't intentional.
"We were following requirements of the constitution, both state and federal. We were certainly making sure that there were equal populations from one district to the next," she says.
State Rep. Mike Fortner (R-West Chicago), the committee's minority spokesman, agrees. He says there's little that can be done to avoid such changes when considering population changes and demographic shifts. He says this even though he's one of the Republicans drawn out of his district.
"With population changes, there are going to be pairings of incumbents. Whether it's me or somebody else, that's going to be the basis," he says. "You have to look at what are the population numbers, what are the demographic numbers, and does it make sense from that point of view?"
The maps officially or unofficially released by both chambers are not the final product. Lawmakers will take public input at at least three more hearings before the final map is released.
(Illinois Radio Network) |
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| 05 20 11 by Newsroom |
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