Macon Reporter

State Rep. Regan Deering (R-Decatur) is calling out Gov. J.B. Pritzker, saying his support for Texas Democrats fleeing to Illinois to block redistricting contrasts with his approval of a highly partisan map in Illinois that critics say undermines fair representation.

“Governor Pritzker’s decision to harbor legislators from Texas while signing the most partisan map in Illinois history is appalling and wrong,” Deering told the Macon Reporter.

Deering’s remarks come amid national attention on redistricting battles, as Texas Democrats fled to Illinois in a walkout aimed at blocking Republican-led redistricting efforts in their state.

“Governor Pritzker promised to sign a fair map, but when given the chance to veto a very clearly gerrymandered legislative map, he bent a knee to partisan power and signed the map into law,” she said.

Deering, serving her first term in the House, said Pritzker signs and supports legislation that works for him, not the people of Illinois.

“Pritzker signs and supports legislation that works for him, not the people of Illinois,” she said. “By signing deliberately gerrymandered maps, the Governor’s message is simple: Politics over people.”

Deering represents the 88th House District, which has been packed with Republicans as part of the gerrymandering process.

The district includes parts of McLean, Piatt, De Witt, Macon and Livingston counties.

Illinois’ redistricting, signed into law by Pritzker in 2021, has been widely condemned by nonpartisan groups like Princeton’s Gerrymandering Project, which gave the state’s congressional maps an “F” for fairness. 

The maps have solidified Democratic dominance in the state.

In the General Assembly, Republicans hold only 33% of House seats and 32% of Senate seats. The gerrymandering of the state’s congressional districts is even more pronounced, with Republicans holding just 18% of seats despite 44% of Illinois voters supporting Donald Trump over Kamala Harris in the 2024 election.

Deering herself ran in one of the state’s heavily gerrymandered congressional districts in 2022, losing to Democrat Nikki Budzinski in the general election for the 13th Congressional District, receiving 43.4% of the vote to Budzinski’s 56.6%.

The current gerrymandering practices date back to former House Speaker Michael Madigan, who was involved in shaping electoral boundaries. Gov. Pritzker has continued using maps drawn under this framework.

Madigan, the longest serving legislative leader in the country’s history, is notably set to begin serving a 7.5 year prison term this October for public corruption.  

Deering emphasized the real-world consequences of such maps. 

“We are seeing in real time just what that does to the people of Illinois,” Deering said. “The minority party is left out of important decision making. Budget drafting and map drawing is done behind closed doors. Year after year, Republicans remain hopeful that our colleagues will embrace our good ideas and want to work together towards the best possible solutions for all of Illinois. But Democrats refuse to include us. This hurts Illinoisans; by not allowing them to be fully represented by the individuals they elected to do a job.”

She further criticized the resulting “one-party rule” in Springfield. 

“The unfair maps have also resulted in one-party rule, allowing Democrats to do as they please in the House and Senate, passing legislation without following the Illinois Constitution or that is highly unfavorable, just because they can,” Deering said. “The unfair maps have led to decreased accountability for Democrats, and they have taken full advantage of that fact by raising taxes year after year, not calling good legislation that Republicans have filed and refiling it themselves, and choosing to suspend House Rules, to get what they want.”

In recent legislative sessions, Democrats controlling the General Assembly have limited Republicans’ ability to debate legislation and redirected millions of dollars in grant money to Democrat districts while excluding Republican districts.

Efforts to challenge the maps have been unsuccessful. 

“The Illinois House Minority Leader Tony McCombie, in her official capacity, filed a lawsuit asking the State Supreme Court to throw out the current legislative map, mid-decade, and redo it. In April, the Court threw out the lawsuit, refusing to act on the very partisan maps,” Deering said.  

Despite the setback, she expressed cautious hope. 

“Redoing the maps would not lead to a Republican Majority in Illinois, or even close to it—as we are 78-40, but it would level the playing field by allowing our constituents to choose their representation, not elected officials choosing their voters,” Deering said. “With the current inaction from our State Supreme Court, achieving a nonpartisan map will be much harder, but House Republicans remain optimistic that future efforts to achieve fair maps is possible.”

Deering’s remarks highlight the stark contrast between Pritzker’s vocal criticism of Texas Republicans’ redistricting and his own support for Illinois’ heavily gerrymandered maps. While Texas Democrats fled to Illinois to delay a vote on a GOP-proposed map shifting five congressional seats to Republicans, Pritzker has dismissed similar concerns about his state’s partisan maps as distractions.

On NBC’s Meet the Press, he condemned Texas Republicans for attempting to “steal seats” but did not address Illinois’ own congressional map’s irregularities.

Political analysts point to the irony of Pritzker’s position, given Illinois’ skewed maps produce a disproportionate Democratic advantage despite substantial Republican voter support.

Adding to the controversy, Pritzker joked on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert about Illinois’ bizarrely shaped districts, saying, “We handed it over to a Kindergarten class and let them decide,” while downplaying concerns about voter suppression.

Critics say such comments highlight the governor’s disconnect from the harms caused by partisan gerrymandering.

As Texas Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to arrest absent Democrats for their legislative walkout, Illinois Democrats stayed in Illinois under Gov. Pritzker’s protection during the dispute.

“The Democrats flew to Illinois, one of the most gerrymandered states in the country, under the protection of Governor J.B. Pritzker (D.), the fat billionaire scion who is desperate to be president,” Andrew Stiles wrote in the Washington Free Beacon.

After a two-week walkout aimed at halting GOP-led redistricting, Texas Democrats returned to Austin, allowing a vote on a new congressional map that could flip five seats to Republicans in 2026. 

Meanwhile, California has announced plans to redraw its own districts in response, seeking to offset potential Republican gains.