Why Are Congressional Dems Still Pushing Redistricting?
Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski (D-Springfield) speaks at a House Democratic news conference in 2023. (Photo: USA Today)
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Even though legislative Democrats appear reticent to redraw the state’s already gerrymandered congressional districts, the pressure from the state’s congressional Democrats doesn't appear to be slowing.
Even with five congressional Democrats not seeking re-election or pursuing another office next year, they've been lock-step with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to convince the legislature to squeeze a 15th Democratic seat out of the state’s 17 districts.
Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski (D-Springfield) told me on the radio this week the push is a response to Republican remapping in Texas (which has essentially been offset by California):
“I’m not excited about it. I would just say, though, that we have to fight fire with fire. It’s not just about being pissed off about what happened in Texas or any other state, it’s about the future of this country and having a check on this administration,” she said. “I’m not hankering for a redistricting process in Illinois, but there is so much at stake in this country. We can’t walk away from this fight.”
While Governor JB Pritzker has appeared less interested in the move in recent weeks, he left the door open a little further Wednesday.
“An awful lot of people want us to consider redistricting and I have to say we’re watching what Indiana does. You know, we’ve been looking at pairing with different states,” Pritzker said during an unrelated news conference in the Metro East.
“We don’t think that this is a good idea, the redistricting across the country, not a good idea. But unfortunately, Donald Trump is trying to cheat,” Pritzker said. “So we’re watching what Indiana does. We may have to react to that. It’s certainly something that people have considered here and the legislature has considered here, but we’ll have to see what happens.”
Indiana lawmakers are expected to return to their Capitol next month after DC Republicans have pushed hard on the GOP majorities in that state to make their 7-2 Republican majority a 9-0 majority. It still isn't clear if Hoosier Republicans will be able to pass the effort.
If Democrats in Illinois do advance a new map, it will likely water down some Democratic districts, including, potentially, Budzinski’s.
“I’m not afraid of a fight,” Budzinski said.
A top Democratic strategist said potentially making their own re-election bids more difficult is likely an easy choice for the Illinois Democrats.
“They see it as a sacrifice they're willing to make to get a Democratic majority in Washington,” the strategist said.
But there are still a lot of unanswered questions. Petition filing has already opened and closed and by the time lawmakers return to Springfield in January, they'll be just a few weeks from the opening of early and mail-in voting for the March primary.
“Let’s see how it shakes out,” Budzinski said.
