Illinois will lose one seat in the U.S. House of Representatives due to population shifts reflected in 2020 Census data, the U.S. Census Bureau announced today.
The state’s congressional delegation currently has 18 members, including 13 Democrats and 5 Republicans. After the upcoming redistricting process, that count will be reduced to 17.
Asked about the reapportionment at an event Monday, Gov. J.B. Pritzker said his administration sought to identify the populations that were leaving the state.
“Unfortunately, this has been happening for more than a decade --that we've had outward migration from the state. When I took office, this unfortunately had continued. I looked very closely at the numbers of people, who they are, where they come from, why they're leaving, and what you see is actually the largest portion of the population that was moving out were young people who were choosing to go to college out of state, because they couldn't afford to go to college in Illinois,” Pritzker said.
The governor said that increasing funding for things like grants through the Monetary Award Program and merit-based scholarships has helped stabilize college enrollment in Illinois, despite the adverse impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on colleges and universities nationwide.
Illinois House Republicans Monday noted that Illinois is one of only three states that has seen a net population decrease since the previous census. They said that policies of the Democratic majority in the General Assembly and the governor’s office have led to this decrease.
Rep. Ryan Spain (R-Peoria) said the news is a sign that the congressional redistricting process should not be in the hands of the General Assembly.
“One thing is clear: the majority party, the Democratic Party, who has led us to this very unfortunate position of being one of three states that are losing population and has sent population packing and people fleeing the state of Illinois, should not be the people that are taking the initiative to select their very own voters. The Democratic Party has put our state into this position, and they want to be the only organization that draws legislative districts. I think it’s patently unfair and will lead to more of the same for the state of Illinois,” he said.
There are 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. Each state is given one member, and the remaining 385 are distributed based on population. California, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia are also losing one seat each. Florida, Colorado, Montana, North Carolina, and Oregon will be receiving one additional seat, while Texas will be receiving two.
Allison Richard
Legislative Consultant
