Illinois’ congressional district map is facing a new legal challenge after former state representative Jeanne Ives filed a federal lawsuit against J. B. Pritzker and the Illinois State Board of Elections. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois, argues congressional maps drawn following the 2020 Census are unconstitutional because the Illinois Voting Rights Act of 2011 requires the creation of what the complaint describes as “racial districts.”
Ives, who formerly represented Illinois’ 42nd District, said recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings involving Louisiana redistricting helped prompt the challenge. She claims Illinois lawmakers relied too heavily on race when drawing district boundaries.The lawsuit is being supported by J. Christian Adams and the Public Interest Legal Foundation. Adams said the lawsuit does not seek to eliminate race entirely from the redistricting process, but instead challenges state requirements that explicitly call for the creation of districts based on racial considerations. The filing also references previous Republican-led legal challenges to Illinois legislative maps, including a case dismissed last year by the Illinois Supreme Court on procedural grounds.
Following a recent Supreme Court ruling involving Louisiana’s congressional map, Illinois Senate leadership reportedly halted efforts to amend the Illinois Constitution to further establish minority-representation district requirements.
Under court procedures, Governor Pritzker and the State Board of Elections have approximately three weeks to respond to the lawsuit. A hearing in the case is not expected until at least next month.