April 10, 2024
For Immediate Release
For all inquiries, please contact:
DuShaun Branch
Community Organizing Director
312-857-3146
Fair Maps referendum questions make it on key township ballots for the November election
Illinois – Voters in Rock Island, Proviso and Oak Park townships will have the opportunity to vote for Fair Maps this November. At last night’s annual township meetings, residents brought forth non-binding referendums and successfully put those on the ballot for the upcoming General Election.
CHANGE Illinois regional organizer Maria Franco and Proviso Township residents celebrate adding the Fair Maps question to the ballot!
Fair Maps continues to speak directly to the needs of voters and their preference to pick their elected representatives, instead of politicians choosing voters. Gerrymandering in Illinois and across the country has stifled the will of voters because those with the power draw maps they directly benefit from by including certain voters in their districts and excluding others.
In the last election, voters in Peoria showed their strong support for Fair Maps through the same non-binding referendum process. Once again, this election, voters in Illinois can show their strong support for an independent commission drawing a truly fair map for Illinois.
“We are very encouraged by the amount of volunteers and organizers from local communities that want their friends, family, and neighbors to vote on Fair Maps this November,” said DuShaun Branch Pollard, CHANGE Illinois’ community organizing director. “Voters remain committed to ending gerrymandering and putting residents in control of the remap process.”
CHANGE Illinois regional organizer and Oak Park resident Will Skubish presents the fair maps non-binding referendum question to Oak Park residents.
Over the coming months CHANGE Illinois’ Road to Redistricting Reform initiative will be focused on educating residents in these three townships about what is at stake in the November election and continue building community-led, grassroots support for Fair Maps across the state.
###
CHANGE Illinois is a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan, nonprofit that conducts research, educates and advocates for ethical, efficient government and elections. The CHANGE Illinois Action Fund is an affiliated 501(c)(4) nonpartisan nonprofit.