PEORIA, IL -- Will a redistricting commission and open primaries become realities in the future of Illinois?
A key player said "maybe" at a League of Women Voters of Greater Peoria event on March 5.
Brad McMillan, who was a top aide to former Cong. Ray LaHood (R-Peoria), is on the state's redistricting committee working to set up another citizen drive to place that issue on the 2016 ballot. Petitions will be ready May 1, he predicted.
The Peoria League was active in the failed attempt last year, and plans to work hard again to gain signatures. The state League supports the effort.
If that petition drive is successful, and voters then approve it, the next step would be open primaries, like those in California and a few other states, he said.
Though forms of open primaries can differ, the basic idea is that the top two candidates in a primary compete for the seat in the general election, despite political party affiliation.So two Democrats or two Republicans may compete. Or a Republican and Democrat or a Democrat and a Green party candidate.
McMillan believes that redistricting is necessary before the Illinois General Assembly will place open primaries on the ballot. Unlike redistricting, the open primary issue can be placed on the ballot only by the legislature.
Both redistricting and open primaries were approved by California voters at the same time, he said. The result is new interest in elections and new candidates being elected, he said.
Redistricting by an independent commission might also mean fewer gerrymandered Congressional districts and polarized candidates, he said. Redistricting in Illinois applies only to the Illinois General Assembly, not Congressional districts.
The Arizona lawsuit, recently argued in the U.S. Supreme Court, included Congressional districts, he said. But that situation is governed by the U.S. Constitution.
The failed attempt to put a redistricting measure on the 2014 ballot stemmed from opposition from Democrats in Illinois who feared they would lose seats and power. Their operatives examined the petitions and threw out signatures, so the measure could not be placed on the ballot.
This attempt will need 500,000 signatures to be sure enough are valid, McMillan said.
He said he now leans toward being an Independent, not a Republican, and added open primaries would encourage independent voters who now don't want to take a party ballot. Third party candidates also likely would find running for office easier, he said.
Political parties may suffer, as they would lose lists of their voters, he said,
-- Elaine Hopkins
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