Illinois state Sen. Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) | File Photo
Illinois state Sen. Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) | File Photo
As Illinois House Democrats met one-on-one with House Speaker Chris Welch (D-Hillside) behind locked doors of the Capitol Complex to view potential redistricting lines, some worry the preliminary map is being drawn without any U.S. Census data.
The complete U.S. Census data will not be available until late September, nearly three months after a state constitutional deadline for lawmakers to submit a final map to the governor to sign.
"Excellent reporting on the way the legislature map is being drawn," Sen. Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) said in a May 6 Facebook post in response to the WCIA report. "Listen until the end and you will see that they are being drawn with no Census data."
Republicans said that Democrats should wait until the complete data is released before working on the map or discussing it, and highlighted that low turnout at public proceedings is a factor in suggesting the wait.
Democrats have defended the redistricting process and have said the updated map would be presented to the public before being finalized.
“Soon, we will file the map and the public will be given a chance to weigh in, including at additional public hearings,” Jaclyn Driscoll, Welch's spokeswoman, said in a statement to WCIA. “We’ve conducted roughly 30 public hearings listening to Illinoisans from all corners of the state about what their communities look like to them.”
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