North Cook News

Fremd High School junior Prashanth Ramachandra recently appeared before a Senate Redistricting Committee hearing to testify about the impact he feels map redistricting will ultimately have on Illinois.

“The 2020 census data will soon be used for redistricting Illinois’ political map, a process which includes redrawing legislative boundaries of our local, state, and congressional districts,” Ramachandra told lawmakers during the Northwest Cook County Committee hearing. “However, this redistricting process that lets politicians decide who votes where, referred to as gerrymandering, jeopardizes the integrity of our system of government. As a teenager who will be of legal age to vote next year, I am astounded by the absurdity of politicians selecting the voters by creating district maps that favor their preferred election outcome before a single vote is cast.”

In sizing up what he sees as the absurdity of it all, Ramachandra asked lawmakers to imagine students having the power to decide what questions they would be asked on a given exam.

“This is anathema to our deep-rooted value of representative democracy,” he added.

Ramachandra and other hearing witnesses are asking lawmakers to delay map redistricting until all the most up-to-date and relevant Census Bureau data can be tabulated and used in the equation, even if it means having to ignore the initial June 30 deadline for the process to be completed.

“We, the people of Illinois, do not have to let partisan politics hijack our system of governance or be silent spectators of power prevailing over principles,” he said. “An independent redistricting commission provides a clear path to restore our sacred faith in elections. Illinoisans need to have their voices heard by participating in their district’s public hearings and supporting the efforts of Fair Maps Illinois.”