I’m assuming you’ve already seen coverage of the Democratic
Texas state legislators who fled to Illinois to prevent a Republican-backed
redrawing of congressional district lines in their home state. Their absence
means their legislature doesn’t have enough members to legally conduct
business.
Like every Democratic governor, Gov. JB Pritzker needs his
party to win back the U.S. House next year to prevent further fiscal damage to
his state (among many, many other things). Hence his intense attention to Texas
attempting to pick up five seats with an intercensus remap.
This is also a bit of a public relations payback by Pritzker
after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott sent tens of thousands of asylum-seekers to
Chicago a while back.
Not to mention that the media-friendly press conferences and
public appearances raise Pritzker’s national profile ahead of a possible
presidential bid.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has his own national ambitions
and has floated an idea for a November referendum on redrawing his state’s
districts. So, hosting self-exiled Texas Democrats allows Pritzker to say he’s
doing something.
Texas state legislators are paid $600 a month. They all have
“real” jobs. The Texas Dems also walked out in 2021 over a voting rights bill,
but the stalemate ended five weeks later when three Democrats returned to the
state and a quorum was restored.
This isn’t Texas’ first intercensus redistricting move. In
2001, a federal judge drew Texas’ congressional boundaries, but the
Republican-controlled state legislature redrew the map in 2003 (after another
failed Democratic walk-out), resulting in big GOP wins in 2004. Illinois House
Speaker Michael Madigan refused to redraw Illinois’ maps in retaliation.
Illinois Democrats currently hold 82% of our 17
congressional seats. We live in a heavily gerrymandered state.
Texas Republicans currently hold 66% of that state’s 35
congressional seats. The remap could conceivably allow Texas Republicans to
pick up five more seats, giving them 79% of the state’s districts – which would
still be slightly below Illinois’ congressional gerrymander.
But it’s not quite that simple because Texas is being
accused of conspiring to undermine the Voting Rights Act by breaking up
existing minority-majority districts. The Illinois congressional map had no
such issue.
Pritzker has said that redrawing Illinois’ congressional
districts to elect another Democrat is a possibility. But Illinois’ petition
circulation process began last week.
Unless it’s done really soon, redrawing congressional
districts here might require either a separate primary for all U.S.
Representatives or moving the whole primary process back for everyone.
The best way to accomplish this goal is by diluting current
Democratic districts with more Republicans to make room for another Democratic
district. And that may make some Democratic incumbents nervous about elections
beyond 2026.
“Nobody’s done any work on a map for Illinois,” Pritzker
confessed to reporters late last week when asked.
Pritzker’s statement was confirmed by spokespersons for both
House Speaker Chris Welch and Senate President Don Harmon.
I just don’t see this remap happening here.
Meanwhile, Sen. Jil Tracy, R-Quincy, is listed as the sole
Illinois attorney in a state lawsuit filed in her native Adams County on behalf
of several Republican Texas legislators demanding that Illinois courts assist
Texas in forcing the skedaddled Democrats to return to face the music.
Ironically, Tracy’s Senate Republican caucus briefly tried
to shut down their chamber a few years ago when the Democrats wanted to redraw
some judicial circuit boundaries.
Related
Texas House Democrats in Illinois undeterred
Texas has issued civil warrants for the apprehension of the
absconded lawmakers, so their lawsuit is based on pretty thin gruel,
particularly since Illinois does not allow the cooperation of its police with
federal civil warrants issued by immigration authorities. Outside civil
warrants just don’t mean much here.
According to the lawsuit, Illinois has a “mandatory
constitutional duty to respect and give full faith and credit to the public
acts of the Texas House of Representatives, including the Quorum Order and the
Quorum Warrants,” under the “Full Faith and Credit” clause of the U.S. Constitution.
The plaintiffs want the Texas Democrats held in contempt and
a post-haste hearing where the southern state can “present evidence of
Respondents’ willful attempts to circumvent Texas law.”
President Trump won Adams County with 73% of the vote last
year, so prepare yourself for a possible initial win by the Texans. I seriously
doubt that the state’s overwhelmingly Democratic Supreme Court would ever go
along with any sort of punishment or detention, however.
In other words, this whole thing is mostly symbolic,
including (so far, let’s hope) the unfortunately predictable fake bomb threats
at the suburban hotel where the Texas Democrats are staying.
This article appears in Aug 7-13, 2025.
