In Gerrymandering Wars, Republicans and Democrats Are Both At Fault

He was seething, leaning into the microphone at his wooden desk in the committee room, banging his hand on the table, pointing his finger, shouting. Illinois state Rep. John Fritchey was chairing a redistricting committee, and he was scolding me for having asserted that many of the politicians making much rhetorical hay about protecting black voting rights were very likely to support maps that diluted the voting power of black communities in favor of maximizing Democratic majorities in the state Legislature and the Illinois congressional delegation.