East Central Reporter

It's been more than three weeks since Illinois lawmakers held the first hearing as part of the process to redraw congressional and state legislative districts even though detailed data from the 2020 census still won't be available for another five months.

Still, one Republican lawmaker wants politics left out of how the maps will be drawn.

"Removing partisan politics from the redistricting process is the best way to ensure all the people of Illinois are fairly represented in the new legislative maps," state Rep. Chris Miller (R-Coles) wrote in an April 7 post on his Facebook page.

The Illinois Constitution sets a June 30 deadline in the year following a census for lawmakers to approve new maps, if not, the process goes before a bipartisan panel of eight people who'll make up the Legislative Redistricting Commission. That commission would have to come up with maps with support from at least five of the members by Aug. 10. If that deadline isn't met, another person would be placed on the commission to have the maps drawn by Oct. 5. 

Besides a delay in receiving census data, the state faces another redistricting challenge this time around. Due to a population decrease, Illinois will likely lose one of its 18 congressional districts. 

Often times the political party that holds the majority can draw the maps to their advantage, but WGLT reported Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D-IL) has committed to not signing off on unfair maps.