CASE SUMMARY
On June 9, 2021, the Illinois Senate and House Minority Leaders filed a federal lawsuit against the Illinois State Board of Elections, state election officials, the Illinois Senate President, and the Illinois House Speaker 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 a writ of mandamus requiring the defendants to appoint members to the state constitution’s mandated bipartisan commission charged with enacting legislative plans when the legislature fails to do so.
- On June 25, 2021, a similar challenge, Contreras v. Ill. State Bd. of Elections, was reassigned to the judge handling this case.
- 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 is 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: Contreras 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-3091
- Complaint - 6/9/21
- Request for Three-Judge Court - 6/9/21
- Motion for Expedited Schedule and Trial - 6/17/21
- Memorandum of Law in Support of Motion for Expedited Schedule and Trial - 6/17/21
- Joint Status Report on Reassignment - 6/25/21
- Unopposed Motion for Reassignment - 6/25/21
- Notice of Case Reassignment - 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
- Motion to Intervene by the Illinois Republican Party - 7/27/21
- First Amended Complaint - 7/29/21
- Motion to Withdraw Motion to Intervene by the Illinois Republican Party - 8/2/21
- Plaintiffs' Memorandum of Law in Support of their Motion - 8/4/21
- Plaintiffs' Motion to Compel Leadership Defendants - 8/4/21
- Plaintiffs' Notice of Motion to Compel - 8/4/21
- Notice of Order Granting Withdraw of Motion to Intervene - 8/6/21
- Transfer of Case to Executive Committee for Referral to Another Judge - 8/6/21
- Order - 8/11/21
- Defendant Members of the Illinois State Board of Elections' Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs' Amended Complaint - 8/12/21
- Defendant Members of the Illinois State Board of Elections' Memorandum of Law in Support of Their Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs' Amended Complaint - 8/12/21
- Defendants Welch, Office of the Speaker, Harmon, and the Office of the President's Motion for Extension of Time to Answer or Otherwise Plead - 8/12/21
- Plaintiffs' Reply Memorandum in Support of Their Motion to Compel Leadership Defendants to Respond to Discovery Requests - 8/16/21
- Order - 8/17/21
- Order - 8/18/21
- Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment - 8/19/21
- Memorandum of Law in Support of Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment - 8/19/21
- Plaintiffs' Local Rule 56.1 Statement of Materials Facts - 8/19/21
- Defendants Welch, Office of the Speaker, Harmon, and 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 for September 1, 2021 - 8/20/21
- Notice of Motion to Adjourn the Expert Discovery Schedule - 8/20/21
- Order Granting in Part and Denying in Part Motion to Compel - 8/21/21
- Plaintiffs' Combined Motion for Expedited Briefing Schedule With Respect to Pending Dispositive Motions and Opposition to Defendants' Motion to Adjourn the Expert Discovery Schedule and Set a Status Conference for September 1, 2021 - 8/21/21
- Notice of Combined Motion to Expedite and Opposition to Defendants' Motion - 8/21/21
- Notification of Docket Entry - 8/23/21
- Status Report - 9/1/21
- Order - 9/2/21
- Order - 9/8/21
- Defendant Members of the Illinois State Board of Elections' Response to Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment - 9/10/21
- Defendant Members of the Illinois State Board of Elections' Response to Plaintiffs' Local Rule 56.1 Statement of Facts - 9/10/21
- Plaintiffs' Memorandum in Opposition to the Motion to Dismiss the Amended Complaint Filed by Defendants Welch, Office of the Speaker, Harmon, and Office of the President - 9/10/21
- Plaintiffs' Opposition to Illinois State Board of Elections Members' Motion to Dismiss - 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' Response to Plaintiffs' Statement of Material Facts - 9/10/21
- Defendants' Additional Statement of Material Facts - 9/10/21
- 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
- Defendant Members of the Illinois State Board of Elections' Reply in Support of Their Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs' Amended Complaint - 9/17/21
- Reply Memorandum in Support of Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment - 9/17/21
- Plaintiffs' Response to Leadership Defendants' Statement of Additional Material Facts - 9/17/21
- Plaintiffs' Status Report - 9/24/21
- Joint Motion to Extend the Motion to Compel Briefing Schedule - 9/24/21
- Second Amended Complaint - 10/1/21
- Order - 10/7/21
- Illinois State Board of Elections' Status Report Regarding Scheduling - 10/8/21
- Plaintiffs' Response to the Illinois State Board of Elections' Status Report Regarding Scheduling - 10/12/21
- Joint Proposed Schedule - 10/15/21
- Defendant Members of the Illinois State Board of Elections' Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs' Second Amended Complaint - 10/15/21
- Defendant Members of the Illinois State Board of Elections' Memorandum of Law in Support of Their Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs' Second Amended Complaint - 10/15/21
- Answer and Affirmative Defenses to Second Amended Complaint for Declaratory, Injunctive, and Equitable Relief - 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
- Order - 10/27/21
- Defendant Members of the Illinois State Board of Elections' Motion to Withdraw Their Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs' Second Amended Complaint - 10/29/21
- Petitioner/Defendant-Intervenor's Motion and Memorandum of Law to Intervene - 11/1/21
- Plaintiffs' Motion to Compel Leadership Defendants to Respond to Category 2 Discovery Requests - 11/2/21
- McConchie Plaintiffs' Motion to Withdraw Their Motion to Compel Leadership Defendants to Respond to Category 2 Discovery Requests - 11/4/21
- McConchie Plaintiffs' Response in Opposition to Angelica Guerrero-Cuellar's Petition to Intervene - 11/5/21
- Petitioner/Defendant-Intervenor's Reply in Support of Her Motion to Intervene - 11/9/21
- Plaintiffs' Brief in Support of Their Remedial Legislative Redistricting Map - 11/10/21
- Defendants' Motion for Extension of Time to File Responsive Submission - 11/16/21
- McConchie Plaintiffs' Response in Opposition to Defendants' Motion for Extension of Time to File Response Submission - 11/17/21
- Order Establishing Remedial Submissions Deadlines - 11/17/21
- 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 - 11/29/21
- Defendants' Response to Plaintiffs' Statements and Proposed Remedial Redistricting Plans - 11/29/21
- Order - 11/29/21
- Plaintiffs' Reply Brief in Support of Their Remedial Legislative Redistricting Map - 12/1/21
- Order - 12/1/21
- Defendants' Response to Plaintiffs' Joint Notice Regarding Remedial Hearing - 12/2/21
- Plaintiffs' Reply Notice Regarding Remedial Hearing - 12/2/21
- Plaintiffs' Notice of Corrections to Expert Rebuttal Reports - 12/3/21
- Guidelines for Proceedings - 12/3/21
- Defendants' Motion for Leave to File Corrected Expert Report of Dr. Lichtman - 12/6/21
- Plaintiffs' Notice of Filing and Adoption of Motion to Exclude - 12/6/21
- Plaintiffs' Notice of Filing of 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