End injustice of unfair districts

I want to begin by thanking Sauk Valley Newspapers for bringing the Fair Map Amendment issue to the attention of area voters. I believe that the Fair Map Amendment may be the best hope for redistricting reform in Illinois.

One of the cornerstones of this reform is the independence in the mapping process. First, politicians would not draw the maps, and incumbency would not be considered. Also, political data, such as voting history, would not be considered.

Second, and probably most important, is transparency. The new process would be open to the public through statewide public hearings, and the public would be able to participate.

As part of this reform, important considerations would be used in determining legislative districts. Districts would need to be contiguous, equal in population, compact, and MOST IMPORTANT, the districts would have to follow geographic features and municipal boundaries.

In the 90th District, Byron, Mount Morris, Erie, Geneseo and Atkinson all are divided into two legislative districts. It is an injustice to the residents in those municipalities to have divisions drawn affecting their representation, and to have no voice in the process.

The Fair Map Amendment also may be the driving force that would lead to change in the congressional redistricting process. If the state redistricting process were successfully reformed, members of the General Assembly would have a motivation to use a similar process for the redrawing of the congressional maps.

The city of Sterling is divided into two congressional districts, and the city of Rock Falls is divided into three congressional districts. It begs the question whether those municipalities have too much representation or, because of the division, too little representation. My ultimate hope for reform in both redistricting processes starts with the Fair Map Amendment.

If the Fair Map Amendment gets the attention it needs and becomes the way Illinois establishes redistricting, it easily could spark a renewed interest in the political landscape. With greater transparency and public input, the Fair Map Amendment would increase public interest, and voter turnout should increase. I wholeheartedly believe the more fairness there is in the process, the greater participation of the general public.