If you don’t vote, you can’t complain.
The underlying assumption of that aphorism is that participating in the democratic process gives everyone an equal say. And you’re at fault if you don’t exercise that right.
We take issue with that finger-wagging, because in Illinois this idea no longer is true. In reality, our system is so rigged that a significant chunk of voters effectively have no voice and no power over how this state is run.
Here in Illinois, the most urgent threat to democracy is concrete: political maps deliberately and specifically designed to disenfranchise voters.
Here’s a specific example of how that plays out.
Illinois last redrew its state legislative maps in 2021. When that happened, state Rep. Ryan Spain, a Republican from Peoria, saw his district get completely distorted.
Peoria is a big enough place that it’ll always be in multiple districts. The 73rd District, which Spain represents, used to cover about a third of the city of Peoria and the surrounding suburban areas.
But the new 73rd District includes nine counties and chops up many small communities — Morrison, with fewer than 4,000 residents, got split in half by the mapmakers.
Spain’s district now also includes areas along the Mississippi River, north of the Quad Cities. He no longer represents many of his own neighbors in his own town.
There’s no logic to that. And Spain’s district is hardly the only one that makes little geographic sense.
We have long called for leaders to address this problem, known as gerrymandering, by which politicians in power pick their voters and retain that power, no matter if it completely undermines our system of government.
There’s a debate going on at the national level about Congressional maps, a separate and similarly important issue involving who Illinois sends to Washington. We’ll return to that in future. Right now, though, we’re asking you to focus on how our own state is governed. To our minds, that’s a distinct issue and one that is in our control.
State legislative maps, which we’re focused on today, cover 59 Senate districts, each split into two House districts, for a total of 118. These are redrawn after each census. Unlike congressional maps, which are about federal representation, state legislative maps have a direct impact on who ends up writing Illinois laws and controlling the state budget.
Scott Stantis editorial cartoon for Sunday, Sept. 28, 2025 on gerrymandering in Illinois. (Scott Stantis/For the Chicago Tribune)
State legislators draft and enact the map. The governor can veto it, but a three-fifths vote in both chambers can override him — and Democrats currently hold veto-proof majorities.
In practice, the party in power in Springfield designs political maps to maximize its advantage. Voters don’t choose their politicians; politicians choose their voters.
Democrats have had full control of the General Assembly for the past two decades, and today enjoy a supermajority that makes Republicans largely irrelevant.
That’s not representative of the makeup of our state, and the 2024 election results fully bear that out.
After the 2024 elections, Democrats hold 78 of 118 House seats and 40 of 59 Senate seats — the same partisan split as before the election. In other words, no seats changed hands. Statewide, the GOP won about 44% of the presidential vote yet holds just 34% of House seats.
Fair representation isn’t happening.
Half of legislative races go uncontested, which means voters in these districts don’t have options. In 2024, just 4% — 4% — of state legislative races were competitive. We see this during our endorsement season, when we meet a plethora of unserious candidates who have little to zero chance of being elected. It’s hard to stand up a candidate when their mission is doomed from the start. Who wants to stand for an election they have no hope of winning?
This is disenfranchisement, plain and simple. And it helps explain Illinois’ dysfunction. The consequences of uncompetitive politics are written all over our balance sheet.
Illinois is burdened with $144 billion in pension debt. The state budget has ballooned to $55 billion from $38.5 billion in 2019, inflated by temporary federal COVID-19 aid and never right-sized. Meanwhile, Illinois’ population has fallen by more than 110,000 since 2020, driven primarily by residents leaving for other states.
A shrinking state with a growing budget and soaring debt is a dangerous equation. Yet no foundational fixes are on the table in Springfield. Why? Because in Illinois politics, competition is rare and accountability weaker still.
“Even when we have a good year for Republicans, which comes in waves, the map is skillful at taking that Republican turnout and making sure it is fractured among lots of different legislative districts,” Spain told us, adding that this is especially evident in the suburbs of Chicago.
South suburban District 27 has an irregular, almost jigsaw puzzle-like shape that runs from Roseland past Orland Park, and neighboring District 28 is a carved-out sliver shaped almost like a hook, running from Calumet Park on a winding path around Tinley Park and all the way to Fernway and Orland Hills.
This unfairness seems obvious when you look at the districts, but the courts have been unwilling to tackle the problem, most recently refusing to hear a lawsuit filed by Illinois Republicans.
How does that make voters feel? Too often, like their vote doesn’t count. That depresses turnout, and worse. A nagging sense of hopelessness drives outmigration and contributes to a sense that nothing will ever change here.
That’s a fair feeling. But we can’t let it linger on.
It’s time for change.
Illinoisans deserve a map-drawing process that restores competition and accountability, and some courageous Illinois leaders are getting out to make that case.
We’ll return with precisely what that looks like next Sunday. But for now, we’ll leave you with this: It’s time to unrig Illinois politics.
Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
