Fact check: What role did the Illinois General Assembly play in redrawing district maps in 2021?

1. Summary of the results

The Illinois General Assembly played a role in redrawing district maps in 2021, as stated in multiple analyses ^{[1] [2]}. The current process leads to overrepresentation of Democrats and few competitive legislative districts ^[1]. A group of former Obama administration officials and election lawyers are attempting to reform the way the state draws district maps for the state legislature by passing a state constitutional amendment via a ballot initiative during the 2026 general election ^{[1] [2]}. The proposed 12-member Legislative Redistricting Commission would be responsible for drawing the maps, and the initiative would need 320,000 valid signatures to appear on the 2026 November ballot ^[2]. The federal court upheld the Illinois General Assembly's redistricting plans in December 2021 ^[3]. The redistricting efforts have resulted in a 5-2 Democratic advantage in the Supreme Court ^{[1] [2]}.

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

Some analyses do not explicitly state the role of the Illinois General Assembly in redrawing district maps in 2021 ^{[4] [5] [6] [7]}. However, they imply the General Assembly's involvement in the process by mentioning that legislative maps are drawn in a way that protects the majority party ^{[5] [6]}. The goal of taking partisanship out of the process and giving voters a better voice in elections is mentioned in some analyses ^[7], which could be an alternative viewpoint on the General Assembly's role in redistricting. Additionally, the challenges of adding more Democratic districts in Illinois are discussed in one analysis ^[4], which could be a missing context in the original statement. The use of population estimates rather than 2020 Census data for redistricting is also mentioned in one analysis ^[3], which could be a relevant context.

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The original statement does not provide any information about the potential bias in the redistricting process or the overrepresentation of Democrats ^[1]. The fact that the current process leads to few competitive legislative districts could be seen as a bias in the system, which benefits the Democratic party ^[1]. The effort to reform the redistricting process through a constitutional amendment could be seen as an attempt to address this bias ^{[1] [2]}. The fact that the federal court upheld the Illinois General Assembly's redistricting plans in December 2021 could be seen as a validation of the current process, but it could also be argued that the court's decision was biased ^[3]. The sources that imply the General Assembly's involvement in the process without explicitly stating it ^{[5] [6] [7]} could be seen as having a bias towards the majority party. Overall, the potential misinformation or bias in the original statement could be attributed to the lack of context and alternative viewpoints ^{[4] [5] [6] [7]}.