It’s been an interesting week for Illinoisans who feel their vote doesn’t count.
On Tuesday, Republican state House members asked the Illinois Supreme Court to agree the current 118 districts fail a state constitutional requirement for “compactness” – a term the 1970 Constitution does not define – and further that the gerrymandering is explicitly intended to favor the Democratic party.
“We’re not supposed to be depriving voters of their individual vote,” state Rep. Dan Ugaste, R-Geneva, told Capitol News Illinois.
The lawsuit came a day after state Sen. Dan McConchie, R-Hawthorn Woods, announced he would leave the General Assembly effective Sunday. Rather than finish his term, which expires in 2026, McConchie will start the nonprofit Accessibility Policy Institute to help advocate for people with disabilities. As with all mid-session vacancies, the resignation triggers an appointment process in which elected party committee officials name a replacement to serve the remainder of the term.
State Rep. Martin McLaughlin, R-Barrington Hills, quickly went public with his desire to replace McConchie. But McConchie – who bested McLaughlin and Casey Urlacher in a 2016 GOP primary where each candidate got between 30.6% and 36.6% – responded with his “full, complete, unequivocal endorsement for Joe Salvi” to serve as his replacement.
McConchie’s release listed several reasons he believes Salvi is the right person for the job, none of which are that Joe’s mother, Kathy, became chairwoman of the state party in July.
There are two aspects of the above stories I don’t understand: one is why House Republicans insist raw general election totals summarize the statewide political climate. In 2022, 104 GOP House candidates collected 1,943,438 votes, an average of 18,687. The 92 Democratic candidates garnered 1,872,947 votes, an average of 20,358. On the same ballot, U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth beat Kathy Salvi by 628,081 votes and Democrats swept statewide races with an average margin of 519,933.
The other (inconsequential) slight puzzler is why McConchie would start a new organization rather than work for the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, Equip for Equality, the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities, the National Council on Disability, the National Disability Rights Network, the American Association of People with Disabilities or any other established group.
What I do understand is that politicians leverage the tools at their disposal. Congressional Republicans have resisted federal legislation to outlaw partisan political maps. Illinois Democrats create deeply red districts and dilute the voting power of their own constituents in order to do the same to Republicans who live in the deep blue regions. And both parties abuse the resignation/appointment process to give incumbency advantages to people before they face the voting public.
Real reform includes both apolitical maps and mandatory special elections for General Assembly vacancies. Who’s circulating that petition?
• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Local News Network. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.
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