The Democratic Illinois delegation is throwing its full support behind national calls for the Land of Lincoln to engage in redistricting, despite pushback from black lawmakers who are hesitant to adopt a new map that dilutes minority voters.
The 14 members in the Illinois congressional delegation sent a letter to state lawmakers on Tuesday saying that they “firmly support advancing a new congressional map,” coming one day after House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) met with leaders in Chicago and Springfield about redistricting.
BLACK LAWMAKERS ‘HOLD THE LINE’ ON ILLINOIS REDISTRICTING OVER REPRESENTATION FEARS
“In the interest of minimizing disruption to the Illinois election calendar and providing voters certainty, we strongly encourage the legislature to seriously consider this new congressional map,” the congressional delegation wrote.
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is also heavily advocating for redistricting in Illinois to counter the GOP’s efforts to increase its majority in the House ahead of the 2026 midterms.
DCCC Executive Director Julie Merz said in a statement that a proposed congressional map was submitted to state legislative leaders in Illinois last week for their consideration.
“Importantly, the map preserves Black and Hispanic representation in key districts across the state, is [Voting Rights Act] compliant, and keeps together communities of interest,” Merz said.
Jeffries’s presence in Illinois and redistricting pleas from Washington are getting a cool reception from state lawmakers. Illinois adopted a new map in 2022, which has received criticism from Republicans as it is considered one of the most gerrymandered maps in the U.S.
However, Merz’s statement addresses significant concerns among black caucus leaders in the Illinois state legislature. Jeffries met with members of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus on Monday morning in Chicago and was joined by U.S. Reps. Danny Davis (D-IL), Jonathan Jackson (D-IL), Robin Kelly (D-IL), and Lauren Underwood (D-IL).
Black state lawmakers, particularly state Sen. Willie Preston, gave Jeffries and the congressional delegation a firm reality check: if a new map dilutes the black vote and separates historically black communities into red districts, they will oppose the measure “100%.”
“If there is a requirement of us to lose the 1st, the 2nd, or the 7th Congressional District, that’s something I’m going to have to oppose, and I’m going to lobby against it,” Preston, chairman of the Illinois Senate black caucus, told the Washington Examiner on Monday.
Preston said that he’s hearing from black lawmakers across the country that Illinois needs to “hold the line,” as redistricting in southern states is causing them to potentially lose black representation on Capitol Hill. He also said he has not seen a single map, despite the DCCC saying one had been submitted last week.
Jeffries, for his part, has said national Democrats are “completely and totally committed” to preserving minority voter representation so that “communities of color can continue to elect candidates of their choice.”
The General Assembly is scheduled to wrap up its legislative calendar later this week. The filing deadline for candidates to appear on the March 2026 primary ballot is also Nov. 3, but Jeffries brushed off the idea that there is a firm deadline to create a new map.
“We’re not convinced that this is something that needs to happen in the next two to three days,” the minority leader said on Monday night.
His comments echo those from Gov. JB Pritzker (D-IL), who said on Monday redistricting is “possible” but “doesn’t have to happen during veto session.”
Pritzker has caught flak for promising to veto partisan maps and campaigning on amending the Illinois constitution to create an independent redistricting commission similar to California’s, only to renege on that promise in 2021, signing the map that essentially forced out former GOP Reps. Rodney Davis and Adam Kinzinger in the 2022 midterm elections.
The governor has been lukewarm in his comments regarding redistricting. Last week, he told reporters that Jeffries’s team floated a plan to “pair” states in redistricting.
“If Missouri does it, maybe Maryland should do it. If Indiana does it, maybe Illinois should do it,” the governor said. “Nobody on our side thinks mid-cycle redistricting is proper. But if they’re doing it and it’s going to be legal, then apparently we’re going to have to think about responding.”
DEMOCRATS TRY TO KEEP UP WITH REPUBLICANS IN NATIONAL REDISTRICTING WAR
So far, Texas has successfully added five seats to its delegation at the behest of President Donald Trump to draw more winnable seats for the House GOP. Missouri and North Carolina have adopted maps that seek to write out Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-MO) and Rep. Don Davis (D-NC), respectively.
Gov. Mike Braun (R-IN) announced on Monday that he’s convening the Indiana General Assembly for a special session on Nov. 3 to redraw the congressional map after weeks of pressure from Trump and his allies. Virginia has also kicked off a special session to draw a new map, and the DCCC is pressing Maryland to join the redistricting war.