Rockford Sun

Illinois State Senate District 35 issued the following announcement on April 30.

State Sen. Dave Syverson (R-Rockford) is urging state leaders to call lawmakers back to Springfield to allow them to vote on critical issues facing the state of Illinois.

"In the midst of a health crisis, we've required our essential workers to continue working and watched as other state legislatures have returned to work. Meanwhile, Illinois’ state leaders have allowed our legislative process to stall,” said Sen. Syverson. “There's no reason why lawmakers cannot be held to the same standards. Our state leaders should allow lawmakers to return to Springfield and represent their constituents in the decision-making process.”

Sen. Syverson contends that as long as the General Assembly continues on this indefinite hiatus, serious issues facing the state are going unaddressed, deadlines are being missed and the people of this state aren’t being heard.

Due to lawmakers not returning to Springfield, Senate Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 18 (SJRCA18) will not be acted on in the General Assembly and will not be placed on the ballot for this upcoming General Election. SJRCA18 would have removed sitting legislators from Illinois’ legislative map-drawing process and prevented them from drawing their own districts.

“The Fair Maps Amendment would have prevented legislators from drawing their own districts. Voters should decide who represents them, not politicians,” said Sen. Syverson. “However, because state leaders have chosen not to call lawmakers back to Springfield, voters will never have the opportunity to vote on the issue. Instead, Chicago Democrat leaders will continue to draw legislative and Congressional district boundaries, and voters will endure another decade of unrepresentative district mapping and uncompetitive elections.”

SJRCA 18 would have needed to pass through the full General Assembly by May 3 for the amendment to be placed on the upcoming ballot.

"The current pandemic facing our state should not be used as an excuse to prevent lawmakers from representing their constituents and giving them a voice in their system of governance,” said Sen. Syverson. “I urge state leaders to bring lawmakers back to Springfield immediately and allow legislators to get back to work.”

Original source can be found here.