Keeping communities together was a common theme at the Illinois House’s last

Keeping communities together was a common theme at the Illinois House’s last scheduled public hearing on redistricting.

Representatives of Latino-, Middle Eastern- and Asian-American community groups urged legislators Monday not to break up their communities when considering legislative district boundaries, in order to protect the groups’ political power.

“We come from different countries and religious backgrounds, but we share many cultural and social similarities,” said Rabya Khan about various immigrant groups.

“Division of our community through redistricting will erase our voices and make it even more challenging to unite and organize on common issues,” said Khan, a community activist with the Asian-American Institute and the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago.

The House wrapped up its last public hearing on redistricting, the once-a-decade process where legislative and congressional district boundaries are redrawn based on new census numbers.

This year, Democrats control the entire process for the first time, so the public likely will see a map in May.

State Rep. Chapin Rose, R-Mahomet, criticized the committee for not holding any hearings farther south than East St. Louis.

A separate Senate redistricting panel held a public redistricting hearing in Carbondale on Thursday.

State Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie, D-Chicago, said House Democrats are still considering whether to hold additional hearings after the maps are drawn, something groups wish to see, so that they may suggest changes.

via qctimes.com