CASE SUMMARY
On June 10, 2021, a group of Latino voters filed a federal lawsuit against the Illinois State Board of Elections, its members, and the Illinois General Assembly’s legislative leaders challenging the state’s legislative redistricting plans, which were enacted before 2020 Census redistricting data was released using population estimates from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (“ACS”), as malapportioned in violation of the 14th Amendment’s one person, one vote requirement, citing the inherent inaccuracies in ACS population estimates as making it impossible to guarantee substantially equal populations amongst districts. They sought a judicial declaration the plans were unconstitutional, a permanent injunction barring the plans from use in future elections, and an order requiring the state to enact properly apportioned legislative districts after the release of 2020 Census redistricting data.
- On June 25, 2021, this case was reassigned to a judge handling a similar challenge to Illinois’s redistricting plans, McConchie v. Ill. State Bd. of Elections.
- On September 24, 2021, Illinois enacted revised versions of their legislative plans using the official 2020 census data and, soon after, plaintiffs amended their complaint to challenge these new plans as diluting minority voters’ voting strength in violation of § 2 of the Voting Rights Act (“VRA”) and as racial gerrymanders in violation of the 14th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.
- On October 19, 2021, the three-judge district court panel granted summary judgment for the plaintiffs and invalidated the state’s legislative plans as violating one person, one vote, citing its particularly large deviations in population, the Census Bureau’s explicit statement that ACS data shouldn’t be used for redistricting, and the fact there would’ve been ample time for the state to enact redistricting plans after the delayed release of 2020 Census data regardless of whether it was by the General Assembly or the state constitution’s backup redistricting commission. The court also struck down the state’s revised plans as substantially based off the malapportioned original plans but stated it would treat them as the General Assembly’s remedial plan submission. On November 10, 2021, plaintiffs submitted their own remedial plan proposals to the court.
- On December 30, 2021, the district court panel upheld the revised legislative plans, finding there was sufficient evidence of crossover voting to defeat the plaintiffs’ § 2 claim and rejecting their racial gerrymandering claim on the grounds the legislature’s predominant consideration was partisan, not racial, gerrymandering, which SCOTUS had held to be nonjusticiable in federal courts.
Related Cases: McConchie v. Ill. State Bd. of Elections; East St. Louis Branch of the NAACP v. Ill. State Bd. of Elections
CASE LIBRARY
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division - No. 1:21-cv-3139
- Complaint - 6/10/21
- Request for Three-Judge Court - 6/17/21
- Notification of Docket Entry - 6/25/21
- Order - 6/28/21
- Order - 7/14/21
- Defendants Illinois State Board of Elections and Its Members' Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs' Complaint - 7/16/21
- Defendants Illinois State Board of Elections and Its Members' Memorandum of Law in Support of Their Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs' Complaint - 7/16/21
- Defendants' Welch, Office of the Speaker, Harmon, Office of the President's Rule 12(B) Motion to Dismiss - 7/16/21
- Plaintiffs' Proposed Updated Expert Discovery Plan - 7/23/21
- Defendants Welch and Harmon's Proposed Expert Discovery Plan - 7/23/21
- Defendants Illinois State Board of Elections and Its Members' Proposed Expert Discovery Plan - 7/23/21
- First Amended Complaint - 7/28/21
- Defendants Illinois State Board of Elections and Its Members' Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs' Complaint - 8/11/21
- Defendants Illinois State Board of Elections and Its Members' Memorandum of Law in Support of Their Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs' Amended Complaint - 8/11/21
- Defendants Welch, Office of the Speaker, Harmon, and Office of the President's Motion for Extension of Time to Answer or Otherwise Plead - 8/11/21
- Plaintiffs' Motion to Compel Legislative Defendants to Respond to Plaintiffs' Discovery Requests - 8/11/21
- Order - 8/12/21
- Order - 8/12/21
- Defendants' Opposition to Plaintiffs' Motion to Compel - 8/14/21
- Plaintiffs' Reply in Support of Their Motion to Compel Legislative Defendants to Respond to Plaintiffs' Discovery Requests - 8/16/21
- Order - 8/17/21
- Order - 8/18/21
- Petitioner/Defendant's Motion and Memorandum of Law to Intervene Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 24 - 8/19/21
- Defendants Welch, Office of the Speaker, Harmon, Office of the President's Rule 12(B) Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs' Amended Complaint - 8/19/21
- Defendants' Motion to Adjourn the Expert Discovery Schedule and Set Status Conference for September 1, 2021 - 8/20/21
- Defendants' Memorandum in Support of Motion to Adjourn the Expert Discovery Schedule and Set Status Conference - 8/20/21
- Notice of Motion to Adjourn the Expert Discovery Schedule - 8/20/21
- Notice of Motion to Intervene - 8/20/21
- Order Granting in Part and Denying in Part Motion to Compel - 8/20/21
- Plaintiffs' Opposition to Defendants' Motion to Adjourn the Expert Discovery Schedule and Set Status Conference for September 1, 2021 - 8/20/21
- Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment - 8/20/21
- Memorandum of Law in Support of Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment - 8/20/21
- Plaintiffs' Statement of Material Facts - 8/20/21
- Notification of Docket Entry - 8/23/21
- Opposition to Defendants Illinois State Board of Elections and Its Members' Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs' Amended Complaint - 8/25/21
- Plaintiffs' Response in Opposition to Representative Guerrero-Cuellar's Motion to Intervene - 8/27/21
- Petitioner/Defendant-Intervenor's Reply in Support of Her Motion to Intervene Pursuant to Rule 24 - 8/31/21
- Order - 9/2/21
- Petitioner-Intervenor's Motion to Withdraw Motion to Intervene Without Prejudice - 9/7/21
- Order - 9/8/21
- Defendants Illinois State Board of Elections and Its Members' Response to Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment - 9/10/21
- Defendants Illinois State Board of Elections and Its Members' Response to Plaintiffs' Statement of Material Facts - 9/10/21
- Plaintiffs' Response in Opposition to Defendants Welch, Office of the Speaker, Harmon, Office of the President's Rule 12(B) Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs' Amended Complaint - 9/10/21
- Defendants Welch, Office of the Speaker, Harmon, Office of the President's Opposition to Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment - 9/10/21
- Defendants' Responses to Plaintiffs' Statement of Material Facts - 9/10/21
- Defendants' Additional Statement of Material Facts - 9/10/21
- Plaintiffs' Reply in Support of Their Motion for Summary Judgment and in Response to Legislative Defendants' Opposition - 9/14/21
- Plaintiffs' Response to Legislative Defendants' Statement of Additional Material Facts - 9/14/21
- Defendants Welch, Office of the Speaker, Harmon, Office of the President's Reply in Support of Their Rule 12(B) Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs' Amended Complaint - 9/17/21
- Defendants Illinois State Board of Elections and Its Members' Reply in Support of Their Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs' Amended Complaint - 9/17/21
- Plaintiffs' Reply in Support of Their Motion for Summary Judgment and in Response to Board Defendants' Opposition - 9/17/21
- Plaintiffs' Status Report - 9/24/21
- Joint Motion to Extend the Motion to Compel Briefing Schedule - 9/24/21
- Plaintiffs' Motion to Compel Legislative Defendants to Respond to Plaintiffs' Discovery Requests - 9/30/21
- Plaintiffs' Second Amended Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief - 10/1/21
- Defendants' Opposition to Plaintiffs' Motion to Compel - 10/5/21
- Contreras Plaintiffs' Reply in Support of Their Motion to Compel Legislative Defendants to Respond to Plaintiffs' Discovery Requests - 10/6/21
- Order - 10/7/21
- Illinois State Board of Elections' Status Report Regarding Scheduling - 10/8/21
- Order - 10/15/21
- Defendant Members of the Illinois State Board of Elections' Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs' Complaint - 10/15/21
- Defendant Members of the Illinois State Board of Elections' Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs' Second Amended Complaint - 10/15/21
- Defendants Illinois State Board of Elections and Its Members' Memorandum of Law in Support of Their Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs' Second Amended Complaint - 10/15/21
- Defendants' Answer to Plaintiffs' Second Amended Complaint and Affirmative Defenses - 10/15/21
- Memorandum Opinion and Order - 10/19/21
- Order - 10/20/21
- Defendants' Motion for Clarification - 10/21/21
- Order - 10/25/21
- Contreras Plaintiffs' Response to Legislative Defendants' Motion for Clarification - 10/25/21
- Order - 10/27/21
- Defendants The Illinois State Board of Elections and Its Members' Motion to Withdraw Their Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs' Second Amended Complaint - 10/29/21
- Petitioner/Defendant-Intervenor's Amended Motion and Memorandum of Law to Intervene - 11/1/21
- Joint Motion for Limited Extension of Fact Discovery - 11/4/21
- Plaintiffs' Response to Petitioner/Defendant-Intervenor's Amended Motion and Memorandum of Law in Intervene - 11/5/21
- Petitioner/Defendant-Intervenor's Reply in Support of Her Motion to Intervene - 11/9/21
- Contreras Plaintiffs' Proposed Alternative Remedial Plan and Statement in Support - 11/10/21
- Plaintiffs' Motion for Leave to File Corrected Brief - 11/15/21
- Defendants' Motion for Extension of Time to File Responsive Submission - 11/16/21
- Contreras Plaintiffs' Corrected Proposed Alternative Remedial Plan and Statement in Support - 11/17/21
- Order - 11/17/21
- Brief for Amici Curiae NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., Chicago Westside Branch NAACP, and NAACP Chicago Southside - 11/18/21
- Notice of Amended Exhibit A to Proposed Brief of Amici Curiae - 11/19/21
- Defendants' Opposition to NAACP's Motion for Leave to File Brief as Amici Curiae in Support of Plaintiffs - 11/22/21
- Order - 11/22/21
- Defendants' Response to Plaintiffs' Statements and Proposed Remedial Redistricting Plans - 11/24/21
- Defendants' Motion for Leave to File Corrected Responsive Statement - 11/24/21
- Plaintiffs' Joint Notice Regarding Remedial Hearing - 11/28/21
- Defendants' Response to Plaintiffs' Statements and Proposed Remedial Redistricting Plans - 11/29/21
- Order - 11/29/21
- Order - 11/29/21
- Contreras Plaintiffs' Motion to Strike Declarations of Theresa Mah, Celina Villanueva, and Cristina Pacione-Zayas - 11/29/21
- Defendants' Opposition to Plaintiffs' Motion to Strike - 11/30/21
- Contreras Plaintiffs' Reply to Defendant's Response to Plaintiffs' Support of Their Proposed Alternative Remedial Plan and Statement in Support - 12/1/21
- Order - 12/1/21
- Defendants' Response to Plaintiffs' Joint Notice Regarding Remedial Hearing - 12/2/21
- Contreras Plaintiffs' Reply in Response to Defendants' Response to Plaintiffs' Joint Notice Regarding Remedial Hearing - 12/2/21
- Guidelines for Proceedings - 12/3/21
- Motion to Join by Proposed Intervenors - 12/3/21
- Defendants' Motion for Leave to File Corrected Expert Report of Dr. Lichtman - 12/6/21
- Contreras and McConchie Plaintiffs' Joint Motion to Exclude Dr. Lichtman's Gingles Prong III Testimony - 12/6/21
- Contreras Plaintiffs' Notice of Filing Hearing Demonstratives - 12/8/21
- Order - 12/8/21
- Defendants' Notice of Filing of Hearing Demonstratives - 12/9/21
- Joint Status Update Regarding Further Briefing and Submissions - 12/9/21
- Opinion - 12/30/21
- Judgment - 12/30/21