South West Illinois News

Republican state Rep. Terri Bryant (R-Murphysboro) is saluting all the students from her 58th District set to graduate this season.

“I believe I have 50-plus school districts and I don’t want to leave anyone out so I’m going to do it like this: All of you folks in Sinclair, Monroe, Randolph, Perry, Jackson, Union, Washington, and Jefferson Counties who are graduating from high school this May, I want to say to you ‘congratulations,’ Bryant said in a video posted to the Senate Republican Caucus YouTube site. “And more than that, you’re more than just the future of this country. You are the beating heart of who we really are and there’s so many great things ahead of you.”

Bryant reminded graduates they are not alone and have many people in their corner as they move forward with their endeavors, including her administration.

“I’m here, just a phone call away if there’s anything that I could do as you work through these next few months and into a great life,” she said. God bless you, and I wish you nothing but awesomeness going forward.”

It’s been a busy last few weeks for Bryant, who is also among the Republican lawmakers supporting Senate Bill 1325, which calls for a fair process in the once-every-decade map redistricting now playing out.

“Every Illinoisan deserves to be represented in our democracy and an independent map drawn by the people for the people NOT by the politicians for the politicians is the best way to make their voices heard,” Bryant said in an April 2 Facebook post. “For too long, the people of Illinois have been deprived of this right, that’s why we have filed SB 1325, the People’s Independent Maps Act.”

Under current state law. legislators from the party in power are entrusted with creating legislative maps that are typically approved by June 30.

“Given Illinois’ longstanding history of gerrymandering, it is clear that steps have to be taken to fix our state’s broken redistricting system,” Bryant said in her Facebook post. “Now is the time to remove politicians from the process and give voices to the voters who have been silenced for far too long here in Southern Illinois.”

Known as the People’s Independent Maps Act, SB 1325 seeks to grant the state Supreme Court the power to appoint 16 independent, citizen commissioners to the Independent Redistricting Commission within 30 days of becoming law.

The makeup of the commission would be required to reflect the ethnic, gender and racial demographics of the state, and party affiliation would be evenly split between the two parties and members with no affiliation. Legislators, state employees and lobbyists would be prohibited from serving on the commission.