While candidates filed petitions Monday to run under Illinois’ existing congressional district lines, U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries brought his redistricting campaign to Illinois, pitching top state Democrats on a new map in a series of closed-door meetings.
Dozens of congressional candidates were in Springfield that morning for the biennial spectacle of petition filing for the primary election, which is slated for March 17.
At the same time, Jeffries met with members of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus and Black members of the state’s congressional delegation in Chicago. Later Monday, he traveled to Illinois’ capital city to meet with House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, and Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, on the matter.
Jeffries told reporters in the Capitol that his talks with Harmon and Welch were “positive” and focused on “the need for us to keep all options on the table and respond decisively.” Welch echoed Jeffries’ sentiment in a statement released after their meeting.
State lawmakers return to Springfield for the final three days of their fall veto session on Tuesday — likely their last trip to the Capitol until January. Even though dozens of Illinois congressional candidates have already filed their petitions, Jeffries downplayed any urgency for lawmakers to act this week.
“We're not convinced that this is something that needs to happen in the next two to three days,” Jeffries said. “It's something that needs to be strongly considered and we can figure out a path forward.”
Post-veto session action?
Gov. JB Pritzker, who has been coy about redrawing Illinois’ map, echoed Jeffries, telling reporters before he filed his petitions for reelection that redistricting was “possible,” but “doesn’t have to happen during veto session.”
“It could happen after that,” Pritzker said. “But right now, I think there's just a lot of conversation going on.”
Jeffries’ push is meant to counter President Donald Trump’s mid-decade redistricting project in GOP-led states ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
So far, Texas, Missouri and North Carolina have redrawn their lines to favor Republicans. And Indiana Gov. Mike Braun on Monday called a special session for his state’s legislature next week to redraw the Hoosier State’s map.
“It's clear that Democrats are going to have to respond thoughtfully but forcefully across the nation,” Jeffries said, citing the latest GOP remap effort.
But Jeffries’ pitch has been met with a cool reception from Illinois Democrats, who note that the state’s map already has a 14-3 split in favor of the party. Black lawmakers had expressed concerns over the potential dilution of Black voting power in the state’s three historically Black congressional districts.
“I'm open to listening, but I think Illinois has done our fair share for the Democratic Party,” said state Rep. Marcus Evans, D-Chicago, in Springfield filing his petitions for reelection. “I think there's some other states that can definitely do more.”
Jeffries told reporters that the “eight to ten” Black lawmakers who attended the meeting in Chicago were “very open minded about finding a path forward.”
“Our commitment is to make sure that the ability of Black and Hispanic communities to continue to elect the candidates of their choice is not diluted in any way that will prevent that from happening now and into the future,” Jeffries said.
Illinois’ partisan map
Illinois lawmakers in 2021 enacted one of the most partisan gerrymanders in the country.
Republicans have been relegated to just 18% of the state’s congressional seats despite President Donald Trump winning 43.5% of the statewide vote in 2024.
Democrats achieved this by “packing” Republicans into as few districts as possible while consolidating Democratic pockets of strength downstate and stretching out their partisan advantage in the Chicago region as far as they possibly could.
But with Democrats’ options to counteract Republican gerrymandering limited outside of California, they are turning to states like Illinois, where the party has unified control of state government and the power to redistrict is in the hands of the state legislature.
Harmon, speaking with Capitol News Illinois ahead of his meeting with Jeffries, said “everything’s on the table,” but that he had not yet seen a concrete proposal.
Jeffries confirmed that he did not show Harmon or Welch any maps during their back-to-back meetings in the legislative leaders’ Capitol offices.
New primary date?
If they were to move forward, lawmakers would have to consider moving the primary date or tweaking signature requirements for petitions.
Noting the logistical challenges of a remap, Harmon — standing outside the Illinois State Board of Elections — said “there's a whole lot of folks filing for Congress standing behind me in line right now.”
“All things are possible, but timing is not optimal,” Harmon said.
There are more candidates running for Congress than usual on account of a once-in-a-generation turnover among Democratic elected officials.
Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin’s retirement set off a domino effect, with two Democratic incumbents — Rep. Robin Kelly of Lynwood and Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Schaumburg — giving up their seats in bids to succeed him in the upper chamber.
Rep. Danny Davis, D-Chicago, and Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Evanston, are retiring, thus creating a mad dash for safe Democratic seats that haven’t been open in decades.
State Rep. La Shawn Ford, D-Chicago, one of 10 Democratic candidates who filed to run in Illinois' 7th Congressional District, a historically Black seat based on Chicago’s West Side, said he would support a remap if it complies with Voting Rights Act provisions protecting majority-minority representation.
“The goal is to do it right,” Ford said. “We haven't seen a map, so there's no reason to be against something that we haven't seen.”
‘Fight fire with fire’
Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Springfield, appearing at rally with Gov. JB Pritzker and other top Illinois Democrats later Monday morning, said she was “supportive” of a new map.
“If we can pick up a seat, I think we have to fight fire with fire,” Budzinski, whose snaking district connects major Democratic constituencies in central and southern Illinois, said. “And I think that there's a path forward to doing it.”
Budzinski acknowledged her concerns that a new map could dilute Democratic support in her district and thus make her more vulnerable to a Republican challenge. But she said “I’m ready for a fight.”
“If we don't have a check and balance on this administration after 2026, this country is going to look fundamentally different after 2026,” Budzinski said, adding that “all options, as unprecedented as they are, should be on the table.”
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.