A Cook County Judge in July ruled against a proposed constitutional amendment being on Illinois voters’ ballots in November that would appoint an independent commission to draw the state’s political boundaries.
The Illinois Supreme Court has decided to expedite an appeal on that ruling to possibly decide before a late August deadline for the amendment to get on the ballot.
Independent Map’s Chairman Dennis FitzSimons spoke with Galesburg’s Morning News on WGIL today and says the distrust of state government is at an unprecedented level in Illinois.
He says voters want to see their legislators compromise and get things done.
“Our intent is to put more power in voters hands but if they go to the polls and they’re angry about something and they only have one candidate to vote for they really can’t express their displeasure when 97 percent of incumbents, as they did in 2014, win because there’s virtually no competition,” FitzSimons says.
IMA has the support of several prominent political figures from both major political parties as well as political groups as varied as the NAACP Chicago South Side Branch to the Champaign County Chamber of Commerce.
Opponents say that the amendment would be unconstitutional because it gives the authority to draw political lines to a panel not directly accountable to tax payers and would jeopardize minority representation.
FitzSimons says all they want is for voters to have a chance to change their constitution.
