West Central Reporter

Partial data from the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau brought disappointing news for Illinois: one congressional seat must go. Now downstate Republican congressmen are worried about who it will be as Democrats push forward with redistricting the state's legislative borders. 

Wirepoint's Ted Dabrowski joined Dan Proft and Amy Jacobson on Chicago's Morning Answer to discuss the outcome and the expectation that either the district of U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Rockford) or that of U.S. Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Decatur) will be mapped out of existence. 

"It's a tough one," Dabrowski said of the expected outcome. "I don't know how they're going to do this. I'm sure it will be Davis or Kinzinger but I don't know how that's going to play out, these politics are too big for me to figure that out."

Of the Prairie State's 18 members of Congress, only five are Republicans. The state experienced its first population decline in 200 years, according to the census, and Springfield will likely spend months figuring out which two seats to merge. 

The district of U.S. Rep. Mary Miller (R-Danville) has also been speculated as a target for elimination.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker expressed disappointment in the state's loss of power in the U.S. Capitol; he said he was "concerned about it" at a press conference on Monday, according to WBEZ Chicago.

Illinois Republican lawmakers rallied together in alarm when the news broke. 

State Rep. Ryan Spain (R-Peoria) said that Illinois "is not growing, it is dying," WBEZ reported, and Senate Minority Leader Dan McConchie (R-Hawthorn Woods) added that "pro-growth policies" need to be enforced now to retain and attract employers, families and higher education students. 

“The 2020 Census numbers show that Americans continue to vote with their feet,” McConchie said in a statement.

The timeline of announcing the new districts creates a hazy future for legislature hopefuls seeking to be on the March 2022 primary ballot; the June 30 deadline for new state districts doesn't apply to U.S. Congress, but nominating petitions must be filed with the State Board of Elections by Nov. 29 to get on the ballot. 

“I urge the Democrats to keep their word on supporting independent redistricting, particularly Gov. Pritzker, who pledged to veto any partisan-drawn map,” Davis said, according to WBEZ. “The politicians in charge should not be using the census to pick their own voters and protect their own power.”