Metro East Sun

Republican state Sen. Jason Plummer (R-Vandalia) seethes over just how little has changed with Mike Madigan finally out of the picture in Springfield, especially when it comes to the current map redistricting process.

“The Democrat majority has made repeated promises to the people of this state that their redistricting process would be open, transparent and fair,” Plummer said in a video posted to YouTube. “Their late Friday night release of unworkable PDF maps on their website is just another one of their broken promises. No one would believe that the level of transparency would have decreased from what we experienced under Speaker Madigan.”

Plummer said it’s all by design and carried out with just one goal in mind.

“Given the file format, the public couldn’t begin to understand where the district boundaries had been drawn,” he said. “This type of secret governing just shows how much nothing has changed here in Springfield. No one would believe that the level of transparency would have decreased from what we experienced under Speaker Madigan.”

With the once-every-decade task of redrawing districts now underway, Republicans had hoped to have more of a say in the process.

“The lack of public information and refusal to listen to good-government groups just demonstrates that the Democrats have no real interest in providing the transparency that Illinoisans deserve and demand,” Plummer said. “This shouldn’t be about politicians; this should be about the people of our great state.”

 Instead, Plummer argues it's clear Democrats care about staying in power more than anything else. He hints Pritzker's ongoing silence speaks volumes about where he stands.

“When he was traveling the state seeking the vote of the people of Illinois, he committed to them that he would veto a partisan process,” he said. “He’s been very silent now. I hope he proves to be a man of his word.”