McHenry Times

Rep. Ryan Spain (R-Peoria) was critical of the Democratic County Chairs' Association president's comments about using available data to create redistricting maps. 

Kristina Zahorik, an Oakwood Hills trustee and president of the association, commented at the April 9 House Redistricting Committee hearing in McHenry County. 

The census data needed for redistricting will not be available by the June 30 deadline. In its place, officials can use American Community Survey, which may not be as accurate but produced yearly by the Census Bureau.

The Peoria Republican took issue with Zahorik's comments saying this is "exactly the problems in the state." 

“We cannot rely on existing members of the legislature to say we know best and we can craft our own boundaries and Districts and in effect choose our own voters and so to say that we're going to rely on our own individual expertise as legislators is part of the problem that delivered us into the amazing challenge that we see ourselves in Illinois right now,” Spain said.

Spain and other Republicans have been pushing to remove politicians from the legislative redistricting process by enacting the People's Independent Maps Act. The legislation would empower the state Supreme Court to create 16-members citizens independent redistricting commission. Those individuals would be tasked with creating new maps. Lawmakers, state employees and lobbyists would be barred from being commissioners. 

The redistricting committee would include seven Democrats and Republicans and two independents representing the state's demographics. 

Zahorik reminded lawmakers to pay attention to the election calendar in the process of drawing the maps with whatever best data they can use to proceed with this year’s redistricting.

Redistricting is required once every 10 years after the census to readjust congressional and legislative maps to account for population shifts.