Redistricting Panel Headed to Macomb to Receive Public Input

MACOMB – On Thursday April 28th, the Senate’s Redistricting Committee will be traveling to Western Illinois University to receive input from the public on what congressional and state legislative maps should look like.

The hearing will take place in the University Union’s Lincoln Room on WIU’s campus at noon. Citizens seeking to testify should send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to reserve a place on the agenda. However, individuals not on the agenda will also be given the opportunity to testify.

"This is an opportunity for the residents of western Illinois to voice their concerns and express their interests in the redistricting process," said Senator John Sullivan. "An open and transparent process allows people to have input in the drawing of new legislative maps which only comes around once every decade." 

Redistricting Chairman Kwame Raoul welcomes Senator Sullivan’s hospitality and looks forward to a productive committee hearing.

“The whole premise of these hearings is to get input from citizens before a map is drawn. To that extent, this process has been extremely helpful thus far. We’ve received a variety of ideas – some conflicting - from a diverse group of people thus far” said State Sen. Kwame Raoul who chairs the Senate Redistricting Committee. “Obviously we won’t be able to incorporate everyone’s ideas, but this committee is committed to having a meaningful dialogue with the public about what the upcoming map should look like.”

Senator Sullivan helped break ground on the new Performing Arts Center on Western Illinois University's campus. The McDonough County Voice was on hand to take photos, seen below:

Photo Credit: The McDonough County Voice

Senator Sullivan recently passed 3 bills through the State Senate on behalf of constituents from the 47th district. The ideas behind each of the 3 bills were brought to Senator Sullivan by constituents after they encountered problems with current law.

Dan and Susan VanBrooker from Plymouth came to testify before the Senate Transportation Committee on SB 954, or "Devin's Law," a bill which would require high-risk drivers to carry additional liability insurance. Dan, seen in the photo above, came to Senator Sullivan with this issue after his son, Devin, was tragically killed by a high-risk driver.

Read the release after the jump.

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In March, Senator Sullivan visited the Illinois School for the Deaf (ISD) & the Illinois School for the Visually Impaired (ISVI) in Jacksonville. This week, students from ISD returned the favor and visited Senator Sullivan at the Capitol. See photos from their visit, below:

Senator Sullivan recently wrote a letter to Comptroller Judy BaarTopinka asking for a detailed breakdown of the State's backlog of unpaid bills. Comptroller Topinka kindly obliged, revealing a backlog of more than $4.5 billion. Learn more about the backlog by reading the release after the jump, or see the document, below:

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