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The desire for change in Illinois is growing, it's up to us
"We need independent maps in the state…. Right now people feel like they walk into the voting booth and because of the way that their district has been gerrymandered they really have only one choice.”
This wasn’t said by the Illinois Republican Party, or minority leaders state Rep. Jim Durkin or state Sen. Dan McConchie. This was a quote from Gov. J.B. Pritzker.
He is right. The maps used for decades in Illinois are gerrymandered for the benefit of politicians in power.
This is why 67% of Illinoisians support a “fair map,” according to polling by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute. People want to have a say when they go to the voting booth, not face a stacked deck that predetermines election results.
And this is not a Republican or Democratic issue: this is an issue of democracy.
The promise between people and government is that people decide their elected officials, not that politicians decide their voters.
But instead of respecting the people of the state, in Illinois the politicians pass and sign maps that look more like a Picasso painting than a map grouping people by region and common interest.
People are rightfully angry about this.
As we requested a fair voice, politicians responded with an eye roll.
Marriage therapists have investigated the correlation between anger and divorce. And study after study shows – a lack of any correlation.
John Gottman is a marriage psychologist. He has studied thousands of married couples.
After watching a couple interact for only one hour, he can tell if that couple will get a divorce.
He is correct 94% of the time.
How does he do it?
What Gottman looks for is contempt.
The manifestation of this is usually sarcasm, mocking and eye rolling.
Contempt says, “I don’t care what you think. I’m better than you. I don’t respect you.”
What to know if a couple will stay married? See if they roll their eyes.
And this is the reason people are frustrated with Illinois.
People of our state are angry: angry over the rising crime, angry over our failed schools, angry over our rising property taxes, angry over the endless corruption and angry over our B.S. legislative districts.
How do our politicians respond?
Eye rolling.
So people have started to look for alternatives besides the government. They have started looking to the Illinois Policy Institute.
Let me give you an example.
In 2017, there were 100,000 on our email list. By most accounts, that was a pretty big list.
In 2018, there were 400,000.
In 2019, it grew to 600,000.
In 2020, there were nearly 1.6 million people on our email list.
And now, we're closing in on 2 million this year.
What this tells me is people are tired of being treated with contempt. They want solutions.
We are at a tipping point. People are congregating and demanding to be seen as more than votes to be grouped or diluted.
Our job is to stop the eye rolling and help ensure politicians focus on Illinoisans’ interests rather than their own self-interests.