Kirk Blasts Congressional District Remap
CHICAGO (CBS) -- U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk says the new congressional district map drawn up by Illinois Democrats denies suburban voters a voice.
Kirk (R-Ill.) has a blow-up of the new maps in his downtown office.
"It divides up [Republican U.S. Rep.] Judy Biggert's DuPage district five separate ways," Kirk said. "The poor town of Downer's Grove is divided three separate ways."
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Some districts stretch from downtown far into the suburbs and beyond, Kirk said.
"The look of this map is to have the City of Chicago control the suburbs and deny the suburbs their own vote," he said.
The state's Democrats won the right to re-draw the districts, by winning elections. The Republicans have done the same thing.
"It shouldn't be politics," he said. "It should be the interest of the country, and it should be the long-term respect for the voters. The voters just elected fiscal conservatives, on average, to represent them in Washington."
But not in Springfield, where it matters when it comes to redistricting.
