Gov. J.B. Pritzker promised to pass fair maps. On Aug. 31, politicians enacted maps that go back on that promise.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed Democrats’ partisan legislative and judicial redistricting plans. He had repeatedly promised to veto any maps drawn by state lawmakers for their own benefit.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker gave fellow Democrats a very clear signal to gerrymander state legislative maps when he backed off his veto threat and said he trusted them to be fair. Mike Madigan-style maps place 23 Republicans into races against other incumbents.

Illinois is listed as one of the states under ‘extreme’ danger of partisan gerrymandering of its state legislative and congressional redistricting maps. Gov. J.B. Pritzker can stop that threat.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker promised on the campaign trail and repeatedly after that, including earlier this year, to end partisan gerrymandering of political maps. Now he says, ‘Nevermind.’ He trusts lawmakers.

Illinois legislative maps are drawn by state lawmakers who pick their voters, instead of the other way around. Without independent mapmaking, nothing will be changed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s threat to veto a partisan map.

There is little doubt the FBI is targeting the longtime House speaker and Democratic political boss in their sweeping investigation of Illinois corruption.

Even without a constitutional amendment, there are changes lawmakers could make as soon as session resumes to get politics out of mapmaking.

With support for fair maps in the Illinois General Assembly, a hungry electorate and a national conversation on gerrymandering, is the Land of Lincoln finally ready to change its own backwards mapmaking?

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot voiced support for establishing a fair mapmaking process in Chicago ahead of the 2020 census.