The Democrat-controlled House and Senate Redistricting Committees Tuesday released their draft map of new Illinois Supreme Court districts, which substantially changes the regions electors will choose justices outside of the Chicago area.
An interactive map can be found HERE
Democrats say the rationale for the change is to equalize population between the five districts “to better reflect the population and demographic shifts that have occurred in the state of Illinois over the past 60 years.” The map was last drawn in 1963.
“The boundaries for Illinois Supreme Court districts have not been updated for several decades, it’s time we make changes in recognition of the population changes and demographic shifts that have taken place since the 1960s,” said Sen. Omar Aquino (D-Chicago), chair of the Senate Redistricting Committee, in a statement. “Illinois is a very different state than it was sixty years ago, and the voters of Illinois deserve to elect members to our state’s highest court that reflect their values.”
Democrats took a political blow in Nov. 2020 when electors voted not to retain former Justice Thomas Kilbride in the Second Judicial District. Much of that district, which currently contains much of northern Illinois, has been split between districts four and two in the draft released Tuesday.
House Republican Leader Jim Durkin (R-Burr Ridge) said in a press conference Monday that Democrats would attempt to release a map that would shore up their political power in the Supreme Court.
“Last November, when Justice Kilbride was not retained, it sent shockwaves through the Illinois trail lawyers and labor unions and all the other people that are in the majority in Springfield. [They knew] that their days were numbered if that district was going to remain the same. Quite frankly, if they don’t change the district, the balance of power would go to Republicans. … I imagine within the next few weeks, there will be some type of map … that is going redraw that district to make it more appealing to Democrat voters,” Durkin said Monday.
Changing Supreme Court districts will likely result in major changes throughout the state, as the districts dictate where certain judicial precedents are applicable and the administration of appellate courts.
