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​In Illinois, redistricting is a two-step process, one for redrawing the districts of the state’s 118 House and 59 Senate seats, another for remapping the state’s congressional district boundaries. Currently, under Democratic-drawn maps, Democrats hold majorities over Republicans of 72-45 in the Illinois House, 41-18 in the Illinois Senate and 13-5 in the U.S. House delegation.

Redistricting is traditionally the most political procedure conducted by Illinois lawmakers, the maps’ boundaries a determinant for which political party will control the General Assembly for the next decade as well as partisan control of the state’s congressional delegation in Washington.

The process is complicated, legally technical and often messy. Federal and state laws, and judicial rulings require provisions for racial and ethnic representation, keeping communities of shared interest intact and for districts to be compact, contiguous and as equal in population as possible.

Complying with those requirements in a diverse state, along with partisan political factors, is what prevents districts from simply resembling squares and instead result in odd jagged jigsaw-puzzle-shaped boundaries.

Drawing boundaries based solely on favoring a political party is known as gerrymandering. But legal requirements to design districts to guarantee a chance for representation by racial and ethnic groups is a form of legal gerrymandering that has been upheld by the courts.