The redrawing of Illinois’ legislative districts — which occurs every 10 years — has landed in court this year over a decision to use population data from a source other than the official U.S. Census.
The lawsuits focus on whether American Community Survey data, rather than full Census data, is a permissible source for drawing the new legislative district lines.
State Senator Jil Tracy represents the 47th Senate District, which includes all of Warren and parts of Henderson, Knox and McDonough counties. She believes the use of complete Census data would ensure an accurate and equitable redistricting throughout Illinois.
“If you look at it (the newly redrawn district),” Sen. Tracy said, “it looks like a very difficult jigsaw puzzle. A good reason to wait for the Census data is to figure out where the pockets of population and interest are, and draw contiguous maps based on that.”
The case is before a three-judge federal panel, which has a tentative trial date set for late September. Click below to listen to the entire interview with Senator Tracy.
