The national tussle over congressional district maps continues.  The state legislature in Texas has passed a new map – which is expected to benefit Republicans – for next year’s midterm elections.  Meanwhile, efforts in California and New York are underway to boost Democrats’ House numbers in response.  The congressional districts in Illinois have also come under the spotlight, though they are not likely to change before the next census.  

Dr. Kent Redfield is a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Illinois-Springfield.  He expects leaders in more states to join the effort to change their district maps to benefit their parties.

A non-partisan organization, Fair Maps Illinois, is pushing to introduce an amendment to the state constitution.  It would delegate congressional district boundary drawing to an independent commission appointed by the legislature.  This is one of the few ways in which the state constitution allows a citizen-led amendment initiative.

Away from maps, President Donald Trump has announced plans to deploy troops to a number of cities across the country.  Chicago is among those cities.  Trump’s effort is similar to what he has brought out in Washington, D.C., but Dr. Redfield and other experts say he does not have the same authority elsewhere.

The president has on multiple occasions across both terms considered invoking the Insurrection Act of 1807 to make this deployment.  This could lead to the federal courts having their say on whether he is allowed to invoke that law. 

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker has claimed that President Trump’s potential deployment of troops to Chicago would be an abuse of power.

More information on UIS’s political science program is available at www.uis.edu/spia.

Dr. Kent Redfield appeared as a guest on the WTIM Morning Show.