Federal court dismisses Illinois redistricting lawsuit
SPRINGFIELD — A three-judge panel has upheld the legislative redistricting plan approved by Springfield Democrats earlier this year, finding that the approved boundaries “neither violate the Voting Rights Act nor the Constitution.”
The ruling answers the claims made in three separate lawsuits, brought by Republican leaders in the General Assembly, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund and the East St. Louis branch of the NAACP, that the Democratic map diluted minority voters, thus depriving those groups of the voting power needed to elect candidates of their choosing.
However, the judges concluded that the plaintiffs failed to prove that race was a predominant factor in the drawing of the districts and, in any case, found that they should not present a barrier to the election of minority candidates.
“The record shows ample evidence of crossover voting to defeat any claim of racially polarized voting sufficient to deny Latino and Black voters of the opportunity to elect candidates of their choice in the challenged districts,” the panel found.
Read more: https://thesouthern.com/news/state-and-regional/federal-court-dismisses-illinois-redistricting-lawsuit/article_b9d8dae5-8a9c-58a8-ba74-d3ff16a6afb5.html
(Carbondale Southern Illinoisan)