Prairie State Wire

It's a date: A three-judge panel set the week of Dec. 6 to hear consolidated cases challenging Illinois' newest legislative district maps signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

The first of the consolidated suits was filed by the Mexican American Legal  Defense and Education Fund; the second by the East St. Louis Branch of the NAACP and other civil rights groups; and the third by Sen. Dan McConchie, Rep. Jim Durkin, and their respective GOP caucuses, according to Capitol News Illinois. All three named the Illinois State Board of Elections, Senate President Don Harmon and House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch as defendants.

Republican state Rep. Ryan Spain was quick to spread the news, quoting the article on Facebook.

U.S. District Judge Robert M. Dow Jr. set the timetable during a recent status conference held by teleconference, Capitol News Illinois reported. While final details remain a work in progress, Dow Jr. also hinted that the hearing more than likely will be held in-person in the ceremonial courtroom of the Dirksen Federal Building in downtown Chicago.

The maps in question were approved by both houses back in August during a special session following the delayed release of detailed 2020 U.S Census data, and the governor signed them into law just over a month later. The maps establish the boundaries for all 118 districts in the Illinois House and 59 districts in the state Senate.

Plaintiffs in the lawsuits in question claim that the plan violates both the U.S. Constitution and the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965. Each of the suits also charge that the new maps effectively dilute the power of minority voting groups by breaking up concentrated areas of voters who tend to vote as a bloc.

In September, Spain spoke about problems with the Democrat-drawn maps. He said the census data confirmed that the maps were unconstitutional on the state and federal levels, the Peoria Standard reported.

“The official 2020 decennial counts released by the U.S. Census Bureau last week confirm that the Democrats’ redistricting plan violates the U.S. Constitution and federal law, as well as comparable provisions of the Illinois Constitution,” Spain posted on Facebook.

That follows this summer, when he'd accused Democrat colleagues of blocking independent redistricting, the Peoria Standard reported.