From the Cook County Record
Faced with the possibility of losing their slim majority on the Illinois Supreme Court next year, Democrats in Springfield have moved to redraw the lines for the state high court’s five districts, carving up the bulk of the state in a new way for the first time since 1963.
On May 25, the Democrat-dominated Illinois State Senate Redistricting Committee released a proposed new map to geographically distribute the state’s Supreme Court justices.
And the new map could carry heavy political consequences for decades to come, as Democrats could improve their odds of holding their current 4-3 majority on the court, or even add yet another seat in a heavily Democratic election season.
The Illinois State Senate Redistricting Committee has released a proposed new map for the Illinois Supreme Court’s five districts. Here, the new proposed districts are shown by color shading, while existing district lines are outlined in black.
“It’s possible they (Democrats) could still potentially lose their majority,” said John Pastuovic, president of the Illinois Civil Justice League, a legal reform advocacy organization. “But, based on the data we’ve run on this, I think Las Vegas would set the odds in their favor.”
For decades, Illinois’ counties have been divided up into five Supreme Court districts. From those districts, Illinois voters elect seven state Supreme Court justices.
Three of the justices are elected from Cook County, which is counted as the state’s First District. Cook County has its own First District appellate court, as well.
Voters in the other four districts – with appellate courthouses in suburban Elgin and downstate Ottawa, Springfield and Mt. Vernon – each select one justice from their districts.