CHICAGO — Common Cause Illinois announced today that it is boycotting the hastily scheduled Joint Redistricting Committee hearing, scheduled for this Monday evening, in protest of yet another example of how mishandled and undemocratic the redistricting process has been in Illinois. 

The organization, which has repeatedly testified at previous hearings and has mobilized its over 30,000 supporters to participate in the process, will not be engaging its network as lawmakers rush to revise maps in the shadows. The General Assembly is set to vote on revised maps on Tuesday, August 31st. 

“Since the beginning, we’ve pleaded with lawmakers to keep the redistricting process open, transparent, and accessible to no avail,” said Jay Young, Executive Director of Common Cause Illinois. “This latest, last-minute hearing provides almost no notice to the public. The new maps have been released less than a day before lawmakers vote on them. It’s shameful, and our organization refuses to add any legitimacy to such an undemocratic process.”

“At each opportunity in this redistricting process, it’s as if lawmakers went out of their way to ensure the creation of these maps had as little public input as possible. Rejecting an independent bipartisan redistricting commission, politicians chose to draw maps themselves. They did so behind closed doors, with a series of hearings attempting to add a veneer of public access. Yet, these hearings were consistently hastily scheduled, poorly noticed to the general public, and sparsely attended. As a result, the maps to be voted on tomorrow will not be crafted of public input, but of pure politics.”

Common Cause Illinois will be continuing its work on the creation of an independent redistricting commission in Illinois to give residents a voice in future mapmaking. 

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