Republicans and a Latino voting rights group have filed alternatives to the state legislative districts drawn by Democrats, with both challenges pushing for greater Chicago area Latino representation than provided in the map signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

       In federal court filings on Wednesday, both the GOP and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund contended the Democratic map violates constitutional and federal voting rights act guarantees by diluting the votes of a growing Latino population.

       Gov. J.B. Pritzker speaks to media at the Thompson Center, Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021, as he mandates COVID vaccines for teachers, college students, health care workers, and imposes indoor mask mandate for all. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)

       In a statement, Republican state Sen. Jason Barickman of Bloomington contended the Democratic governor either “didn’t really review the politician-drawn maps, or he agreed to protect politicians at the expense of Latino and African American voters in Illinois.”

       Pritzker and Democrats have defended the map, which the Democratic-led legislature approved on Aug. 31 and the governor signed Sept. 24, as legally reflecting the racial and ethnic diversity of the state.

       Though Illinois lost population in the 2020 federal census, its Latino population grew by nearly 310,000 over the last decade. But Republicans and MALDEF contended the new Democratic map provides fewer districts with a majority Latino citizen age voting population than the map in place for the last decade.

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       The number of districts with majority Latino citizen voting age populations fell from five to four in the House, and three to two in the Senate, Republicans and MALDEF said in separate filings with a three-judge federal court panel in Chicago.

       The Republican alternative would create four majority Latino House districts in northern Cook County, compared to none in the new map, and seven majority Latino House districts in southern Cook County, compared to four currently.

       The GOP map also would create a district in Aurora with an opportunity for a Latino to win election, and adds a Black majority district in the East St. Louis region where Black voters had been dispersed among three districts.

       The East St. Louis NAACP has made a similar argument against how the Democratic map splits up Black voting populations to the federal court.

       The GOP map also would create five Latino majority state Senate districts in Cook County.

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       In its filing, MALDEF contended the Democratic map violates the federal voting rights act “with regard to Latino voters on the North Side and Southwest Side of Chicago” and that Democrats engaged in a “racial gerrymander” aimed at protecting white Southwest Side incumbents.

       The MALDEF alternative would create three additional majority Latino citizen voting age House districts and one state Senate district on the North Side, in addition to two Latino majority House Districts, and one Senate district, on the Southwest Side and southwest suburbs.

       “Latinos comprise 11.2% of Illinois’ citizen voting age population,” MALDEF said. In contrast, it said under the Democratic map “Latino-majority districts comprise 3.3% of the House plan, 3.3% of the Senate plan and 3.3% of the Assembly as a whole.”

       Democrats have until Nov. 22 to file their response to the alternatives with the court. The challengers will have until the week after to respond to Democrats. In court arguments over the boundaries are scheduled to begin Dec. 6.

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