Independent Map Amendment (IMA), which seeks to take the legislative mapping process out of the hands of politicians, is confident its plan will go before voters in Illinois next year.
IMA plans to propose a State Constitutional amendment that will create an independent commission to form legislative districts. Currently, Article IV of the Constitution gives that power to the General Assembly.
Cindi Canary, Executive Director of Independent Maps, said the current system is rigged to keep incumbents in power, limiting the democratic process.
“You’re not bringing in new talent, you’re not bringing in new ideas, you’re not having debate in your community, and you’re not giving people a choice,” Canary said.
Canary said the group is working on having the amendment put on the November 2016 ballot. In order to do that, the group needs 292,000 valid signatures on a petition. She said the group has collected around 275,000 so far.
IMA aims to collect 600,000 signatures in total in order to create a safety net against signatures that are deemed invalid.
“It’s a very mobile population. Elizabeth might sign it as ‘Betsy’ and that’s not her voting registration name. All of these things can get you thrown off when they check the signatures,” Canary said.
The group, facing an April 2016 deadline, is collecting an average of 1,000 signatures each week.