Last week, Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law an aggressive gerrymander that aims to stretch Democrats' lead in Illinois's delegation from 13-5 to 14-3. Outraged Republicans allege it's a betrayal of Pritzker's campaign pledge to reform redistricting, but past GOP lawsuits challenging lines in state courts have had little success. Whether the map performs as Democrats intend in 2022, however, is a separate question.
The new map an ambitious makeover that pairs three sets of incumbents (two Republican and one Democratic) and creates a new predominantly Hispanic seat. But if Republicans have a great midterm, a few blue-leaning seats could flip red and Democrats could end up wishing they had drawn a slightly different map. A similar dynamic played out after 2011, when the GOP captured two Downstate seats intended to elect Democrats.
Illinois lost a seat in the census, and Democrats effectively axed a seat by merging GOP Reps. Adam Kinzinger (IL-16) and Darin LaHood (IL-18) in one north central GOP "vote sink." Kinzinger, who would likely lose a primary, announced his retirement in October.
Democrats have also given
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