Greg Brownfield

PRESS ADVISORY January 18, 2010

State Rep. Candidate Joins Push for Fair Map Amendment

Bartlett IL.- As another step toward good government and independence from ideological battles, state representative candidate Greg Brownfield (D-Bartlett) has joined efforts to amend Illinois’ constitution to ensure that future legislative districts will be drawn in a fair, non-partisan manner. The Illinois Fair Map Amendment would create a Temporary Redistricting Advisory Commission (TRAC), a nine-member group of independent Illinoisans that would be responsible for drawing legislative districts. The objective of the initiative is to create a non-partisan process of drawing district lines in the state that invented political gerrymandering. If successful, this effort would produce fairly drawn districts starting with the 2012 election cycle.

While the Chicago Tribune described Democrats in the General Assembly as “non-committal” on the Fair Map Amendment, Brownfield strongly supports the effort:

“Allowing legislators to choose their voters violates the most basic principles of representative government. Among other things, the current process enhances the prospects for career politicians by allowing them to create safe districts that are virtually immune from challenge. The Fair Map Amendment would end this loathsome practice and replace it with a non-political process that would promote competitive elections and give voice to the shared values of a particular community.”

While most of the members of the TRAC would be appointed by the state’s legislative leaders, the Amendment prohibits insiders and their family members from TRAC service. The Amendment will also bring transparency to the redistricting process by requiring TRAC to hold public hearings and accept suggestions from citizens.
The legal requirement for getting the amendment on the ballot in November of 2010 is 280,000 petition signatures but proponents are seeking 500,000 signatures to ensure that opponents cannot kill the amendment with a petition challenge.

On Monday January 18, Brownfield kicked off his campaign’s Fair Map efforts at a candidate forum hosted by the Wayne Township Democrats. He announced that he will personally collect signatures while he canvasses the 55th legislative district in the three months between the February 2 primary and the May 2 petition deadline. He set a goal for his campaign to collect 1% (2,800) of the required signatures.

For more info on the Fair Map Amendment, go to www.ilfairmap.com. For more info on Greg Brownfield and other upcoming events, visit www.gregbrownfield.org