Illinois State Representative Charles E. Meier said on Apr. 22 that a proposed constitutional amendment by Illinois Democrats would change the way legislative maps are drawn in the state. The measure, known as House Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 28 (HJRCA 28), was filed by Speaker Chris Welch and has passed the Illinois House with only Democrat votes.
The proposal seeks to alter the existing fairness standard in the Illinois Constitution used for judging legislative maps. Currently, maps must be “compact, contiguous and substantially equal in population.” Under HJRCA 28, five ranked criteria would be introduced: districts must first be substantially equal in population; second, ensure no citizen is denied an equal opportunity to participate in the political process or elect representatives of their choice based on race; third, create racial coalition or influence districts where practical; fourth, be contiguous; and fifth, to the extent practicable, be compact.
Meier said this change would weaken requirements for compactness by moving it to last place among priorities and qualifying it with “to the extent practicable.” He said that he and his Republican colleagues believe this adjustment could make partisan gerrymandering easier. “We point to our lawsuit filed last year which alleges maps passed by Democrats violate Illinois’ compactness standard in 52 of the state’s 118 House districts,” Meier said.
The bill now moves to the Senate for consideration. Meier urged residents to contact their state senator and ask them to vote against HJRCA 28. He also encouraged residents to sign a petition at RedoRemap.com opposing the amendment.
Meier was elected as a Republican representative for Illinois’ 109th House District in 2023 after replacing former state representative David Reis, according to available information.
