Welch, House Democrats Advance Measure Enshrining Voting Rights Act in State Constitution

Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch and House Democrats are standing up to Washington’s attacks on voting rights by advancing a state constitutional amendment ensuring every person’s voice is heard—guaranteeing these rights in Illinois ahead of an anticipated Supreme Court ruling gutting the federal Voting Rights Act.

“In Illinois, we have never hesitated when our most cherished rights are at risk, and we won’t wait today as extremists chip away at the bedrock protections that make democracy work,” Welch said.

“With this measure, we can preserve the fundamental belief that a democracy of the people, by the people, and for the people must include all of the people.”

The Supreme Court’s right-wing majority has signaled their intent to undermine elements of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in a ruling that could come as soon as this spring.

Without the protections of that law, states across the country would undertake new gerrymandering schemes aimed at stripping away Black and Latino representation.

The Illinois Voting Rights Amendment, introduced in the House by Speaker Welch as HJRCA 28, ensures that no citizen is denied the opportunity to elect the representatives of their choosing on the basis of race, and prioritizes the creation of voting districts where racial minorities can have a meaningful impact.

The amendment passed the House Wednesday.

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Ray Hanania is an award-winning opinion columnist, author & former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977-1992). A veteran who served during the Vietnam War and the recipient of four SPJ Peter Lisagor Awards for column writing, Hanania writes weekly opinion columns on mainstream American & Chicagoland topics for the Southwest News-Herald, Des Plaines Valley News, the Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers, and Suburban Chicagoland.

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Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.

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