Kankakee Times

Lindsay Parkhurst, Republican House candidate from District 79, Kankakee, recently revealed good news with a caveat when she expressed criticism of Speaker Mike Madigan’s opposition to an approved map amendment ballot item for the general election. 

“Today, the State Board of Elections approved the Independent Map Amendment to be on the general election ballot, but Mike Madigan and his cronies are still fighting in court to keep their legislative map-drawing power,” Parkhurst said via Facebook. 

The measure that would permit Illinois citizens to decide whether an independent commission should be allowed to revise political boundaries was approved unanimously this week by the State Board of Elections after it was confirmed that the Independent Map Amendment group had collected the requisite number of signatures.

The group desires a bipartisan committee to determine congressional and legislative political districts, a process executed every 10 years based upon census results. The platform advocates transparency and, if successful, would upend the current system of map revisions being handled by the controlling political party.

A lawsuit has been filed by attorneys who have previously represented Madigan and Senate President John Cullerton claiming that the proposal is unconstitutional.

“Let me be unequivocally clear,” Parkhurst said. “I support the Independent Map Amendment and condemn Mike Madigan's lawsuit. There should be absolutely no political considerations when determining legislative district lines. People should be able to choose their politicians, not the other way around.”

The lawsuit, which many Republicans see as being a direct effort from the Democratic leadership, has drawn heavy criticism from the Republican party.

“Illinoisans want the opportunity come November to vote to stop entrenched Springfield politicians from drawing legislative districts," Illinois Republican Party spokesman Steven Yaffe said. "The public overwhelmingly realizes that it’s wrong and antithetical to democracy for politicians to pick their voters. Mike Madigan, the living embodiment of entrenched power, does not care about democracy or doing the right thing. He is sponsoring the lawsuit to get the Independent Map Amendment thrown off the November ballot because he wants control over who you can even cast your vote for. He has no shame.”

The Independent Maps Amendment would move the authority to draw election district maps from the state legislature to an independent commission. It would create an 11-member commission, with the make-up of the commission designed to reflect the demographic and geographic diversity of the state. The commission's meetings and records would be open to the public, and any adoption of maps would require a seven-vote majority, with at least two Democrats and two Republicans.

"The current redistricting process in Illinois has state legislators in charge of drawing the boundary lines of their own districts," Canary said. "It has so damaged our democracy that nearly 60 percent of legislators elected last year didn't even have an opponent. Redistricting by an independent commission will help restore representative democracy and give voters more choices."