Dale Righter: Reformers, media must hold Dem leaders to promises

By Dale Righter
THE STATE JOURNAL-REGISTER

In recent days, the Illinois House of Representatives, despite near unanimous support by the chamber’s Democrats, defeated a proposed constitutional amendment on redistricting. Good government interests and editorial writers across the state saw it as nothing more than a symbolic reworking of the current system that allows incumbent legislators to draw their own districts.

A few hours later, the proponents of genuine redistricting reform acknowledged that they would be unable to reach the state’s extraordinarily high standards for securing a spot on the November ballot.

As the dust settles, it is important to set the record straight and to examine the options remaining in Illinois.

One could hardly think of an organization less tainted by politics than the League of Women Voters of Illinois. Over the past year, they and dozens of other reform groups have been exposed to the ugliest side of Illinois politics as Democratic leaders fought to preserve their authority. If these organizations ever had any doubt about the difficulty of bringing true reform to Illinois government, they have certainly been disabused of that notion.