A once-in-a-decade legislative session. That's what Statehouse insiders are calling it, and they're not blowing smoke. A lot is riding on what happens over the next few months. For those insiders, yes. For the rest of us too.
Why? The short of it is this: It's the year of the remap and we're in for a heck of a show. The process amounts to political gamesmanship in its purest form - fun to watch, fun to report. Yet the results add up to something more.
Legislative careers are on the line, certainly. Partisan control is at stake, surely. And representative government will come down to whether the border of an Illinois House or Senate district is drawn on this side of town or the other, this side of the block or the other.
We'll be hearing a lot about that in the coming months - in fact, we'll be writing a lot about that in this magazine. But let's be clear at the outset: There are other stakeholders in this decennial rite. Citizens' claims to fair representation in their government also will be at issue in the coming partisan battle at the state Capitol.
And that's what will matter most in the long run.
How did we come to this pass? The states are required to redraw legislative and congressional district boundaries every 10 years to reflect population changes. So as soon as the new General Assembly is sworn and seated, as soon as the U.S. Census Bureau delivers those long-awaited numbers, state officials will begin to do the political math.
