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Study Shows Voters Want Fair Map Process
Every 10 years, it's a chance to redraw the map of districts from which state lawmakers and members of Congress are elected. A new survey from the University of Illinois shows most registered voters prefer an impartially drawn map with simple shapes. The current congressional and Statehouse maps in Illinois resemble crazy jigsaw puzzles. You may suspect the districts are drawn to protect incumbents, favor one political party, or both.

Brian Gaines, a political science professor with the Institute of Government and Public Affairs at the U. of I., says the research indicates voters prefer fairness, even if their own party or ethnic group would benefit from the less fair map. The Illinois 17th and Fourth Congressional Districts are often poster children in national stories about gerrymandering.

"Even if they don't know what's up, they know something's up," says Gaines.

Gaines says the survey also shows a distrust of state government, with only 10 percent saying government does what is right "most of the time" and one third saying it "never" does.

(Illinois Radio Network)
09 20 10 by Newsroom
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