CHICAGO – Despite hundreds of thousands of collected signatures that passed the Illinois State Board of Elections scrutiny, the chances dimmed Wednesday that a reform referendum would be on the November ballot.
The Independent Map Amendment effort was to open the way for legislative maps to be drawn by an independent panel, rather drawn by political party chiefs after the toss of a coin.
House Speaker Mike Madigan, who has dominated the Democratic Party and the Illinois House for decades, worked with legal allies to stop the Independent Map Amendment effort, and the court granted Madigan's complaint Wednesday morning.
The decision against the Fair Map Amendment was in the hands of a Cook County judge – those which for the most part are slated and approved for election by Speaker Madigan. Judge Diane Larsen, who makes $184,000 per year as a subcircuit judge, worked for the City of Chicago before being first elected in 2004 and then being retained in 2010.
The legal lead against the referendum was Michael Kasper, general counsel for Madigan's Illinois Democratic Party.
The Illinois Republican Party was ready with a comment following the decision announcement, saying the court battle will continue. The Independent Map people say they plan to appeal the decision to the Illinois Supreme Court.
“Hundreds of thousands of citizens petitioned to put the Independent Map Amendment on the ballot. Instead of supporting the chance to vote for fair maps, Mike Madigan's allies sued to stop voters from having the opportunity to vote for reform. It's sad to see that Mike Madigan's Democratic Party would rather deny voters their voice than face fair, competitive elections," said IL GOP Party spokesman Steven Yaffe.
"It's more clear than ever that Illinois needs major political reform. While we expect this legal battle to continue, there is nothing preventing the legislature from passing fair maps and term limits. It’s time for reform-minded Democrats and Republicans to work together to get it done.”
