Josh Christenson writes for the New York Post about an interesting exchange on late-night television.
Lame-duck CBS late-night host Stephen Colbert showed Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker just how gerrymandered the Land of Lincoln is after dozens of Texas Dem legislators stalled redistricting in their own state by decamping to Pritzker’s domain.
The face of “The Late Show” displayed a congressional map of Illinois during Pritzker’s appearance Tuesday night, highlighting one district that he said looked just like “the stinger on a scorpion.”
“If you are considering doing a little more redrawing in Illinois, you already have some crazy districts in Illinois,” Colbert told the governor.
“Take a look at this. Look at [District] 17 here. It does that, then it comes up here and it sneaks around there and goes all the way up here, and then goes right over there like that. And look at this one, kind of goes whoop up there.”
Pritzker had earlier doubled down on talk of further redrawing lines to benefit Democratic congressional candidates.
“It’s possible,” the rumored 2028 presidential contender had said when asked whether Illinois would answer Texas’ redistricting tit for tat.
“As I’ve said, everything’s on the table,” Pritzker added. “Look, we’ve got to fight fire with fire. They’ve frankly tossed the rulebook out. And they’re just acting in an unconstitutional fashion.”
Redistricting, which typically occurs every 10 years after a census is released, allows state legislatures or independent commissions to redraw congressional boundaries that determine the voting groups that will elect representatives to the US House.
Some states — including Texas, Pennsylvania and North Carolina — have convened special sessions before the decennial population count in an attempt to draw up new maps, but those have led to fierce legal battles.
The drawing of congressional districts for political advantage dates back to at least 1812, when the term “gerrymander” was coined after Massachusetts Democratic-Republican Gov. Elbridge Gerry signed off on a partisan map of state Senate districts.
