A report published by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute suggests Illinois’ current redistricting process is incredibly political and in need of an overhaul.

Cindi Canary and Kent Redfield wrote a redistricting process review released by the institute in September 2014. This review was commissioned by the nonprofit advocacy group Change Illinois to assess and recommend solutions for the process.

Canary is a policy consultant and advocate of campaign and government reform in Illinois, and Redfield is a professor emeritus of political studies at the University of Illinois-Springfield.

Redistricting is the process in which voting districts are drawn for elections in the state. Gerrymandering is a term used to describe this process; it is an inherently negative term that implies partisanship influence in the process.

“Illinois is a great example of a bad partisan redistricting process,” Canary said. “The current process puts partisanship and incumbency first, which distorts true representation.”

District sizes are initially distributed equally based on population from the U.S. census, then are redrawn by incumbent politicians.

The incumbents draw maps of election districts behind closed doors every 10 years. This allows them to ensure their party has a majority representation in all 102 Illinois districts.

“We strongly believe that not only should the map be drawn in public view, but that the public should have an opportunity to comment on and influence the map,” Canary said. “Both through public hearings, and by submitting their own proposed maps.”

Canary is not alone on this. Gubernatorial Republican candidate Bruce Rauner said he feels there needs to be a change as well. He said Illinois should institute term limits of eight years to help prevent politicians from gerrymandering their districts and protecting incumbents.

The Illinois Constitution requires the shape of legislative districts be contiguous and compact. Another core mapmaking principle is “Communities of Interest,” but it is not explicitly referenced in the Illinois constitution. This presents more ambiguity and gives politicians free reign to draw districts as they please, according to the report.

“We should have rational shapes of districts,” Rauner said. “So the voters can pick their politicians and that is critical to change that culture in Springfield.”

John Jackson of the Paul Simon Institute said a community of interest could have varying definitions, and some of them might overlap other criteria. Some communities may be a certain city or county, or the ethnic makeup of an area. He said it could also be more intangible, like the media market of the area.

Rauner said he would appoint groups to try to define what these communities are.

“What we need to do is form a commission to make sure we get a bill that is respectful of different communities,” Rauner said. “I have my thoughts and you will have yours, and we are going to need to bring together a whole bunch of people and get some compromise on that.”

The Illinois Constitution must adhere to the Voter Rights Act of 1965, a Federal law that prohibits racial discrimination of voters.

“There are varying interpretations of what the Voter Rights Act requires when it requires that minorities have recognition,” Jackson said. “It depends on how compact they are how they are spread across a geographical map.”

Canary said Illinois citizens can improve the process, but it is going to take an amendment to the Illinois Constitution.

“To change the process we need to change the Illinois Constitution,” Canary said. “This requires citizens to circulate and sign petitions and most importantly to talk to their friends and neighbors about the issue.”