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| Illinois Senate Redistricting Committee Studying Ways to Improve Map-Drawing Process |
Population shifts and general frustration with the political map in Illinois are two top reasons why both Republicans and Democrats are gearing up for the redistricting process that comes up after the 2010 census, when results are released in 2011.
State Senator Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago) is chairing the Senate Redistricting Committee, which is starting to look at how to improve the process. The committee has scheduled four public hearings around the state:
*July 15 in Chicago
*August 19 in Peoria
*September 16 in Carbondale
*October 14 in Springfield
Raoul says he's not automatically going to support Iowa's process, which relies on a computer-drawn map. He says new technology or another state may have something better, and he's being open-minded about all the possibilities.
Eight Democrats and five Republicans are on the Senate's redistricting committee. One of the Republicans is Senator Dale Righter (R-Mattoon), who says it's ridiculous that a tie in the current process means the name of a Democrat or Republican is literally drawn out of a hat to break that tie. He does have one concern: that the committee is already stacked because it has three more Democrats than Republicans.
Senate Redistricting Committee members:
-Senator Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago)
-Senator Deanna Demuzio (D-Carlinville)
-Senator Michael Bond (D-Grayslake)
-Senator Don Harmon ( D-Oak Park )
-Senator Mattie Hunter (D-Chicago)
-Senator Kimberly Lightford (D-Maywood)
-Senator Edward Maloney (D-Chicago)
-Senator Iris Martinez (D-Chicago)
-Senator Dale Righter (R-Mattoon)
-Senator Brad Burzynski (R-Clare)
-Senator Kirk Dillard (R-Hinsdale)
-Senator Dan Rutherford (R-Chenoa)
-Senator Matt Murphy (R-Palatine)
(from the Illinois Radio Network) |
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| 06 07 09 by Newsroom |
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