News Thing
It’s redistricting season, baby.
For one shining moment, Illinois will be politically relevant for a little while.
Despite Champaign County (and a few others), Illinois is losing population relative to other places, and subsequently will lose a House of Representative seat this year. Stay with me here, because this is where things get ~weird~
Illinois Democrats are trying to move forward with drawing maps before the most recent (delayed) Census results are tallied, instead relying on ACS Summaries, also produced by the Census Bureau. Due to delays to the Census caused by *checks notes* the unprecedented pandemic, the finalized Census numbers will likely not be available until late this summer in raw, unorganized form.
Enter everyone’s favorite local rhetoric slayer, Representative Rodney Davis. Rod took it on himself to bravely speak out about the issue:
Perhaps this explains what has been rumored, that Rodney is considering a run for Governor. He knows that his seat is in danger, and he’s seeking alternatives. IL-13 would be a natural target for Democrats, it wouldn’t take much to shift the district from majority-GOP to majority-Dem.
But the kicker in all of this? The reason that Rodney is so hot and bothered now, instead of weeks and months ago? Because a door opened for him.
If Democrats can’t come up with a redistricting plan by June 30th, they could lose their ability to draw maps altogether, due to an Illinois rule. After June 30th, the maps must be drawn by a committee consisting of four Democrats and four Republicans, and if they can’t agree, a ninth committee member is added.
That added member? They’re drawn out of a hat. Abe Lincoln’s hat, actually. I’m not kidding.
And that, folks, is what makes this so goofy. If the Democrats don’t draw the maps now using alternative data sources or postponements, like their partisan counterparts all over the country are doing, control of electoral maps (and perhaps Rod’s last chance at keeping IL-13) will be left up to a draw from, I shit you not, Abraham Lincoln’s hat. Incredible.
Sports Thing
What a poetic last shot of Giorgi Bezhanishvili:
Giorgi, along with pretty much every Illini player who played significant minutes last year, announced their intents to go pro and transfer this week, an event that was not unique to the Illini. In fact, more than 28% of NCAA basketball players elected to enter the portal after the season this year.
This is probably due to a couple of things - for one, the NCAA announced in December that every single player could transfer and be immediately eligible this year due to the pandemic. On Thursday, the NCAA will meet to pass a new transfer rule that allows more free movement of players by eliminating their sit-out requirement and offering immediate edibility to any player who seeks a one-time transfer, regardless of the year.
Some of these players won’t leave and are simply testing the waters, some of this is due to the pandemic year we’ve just had, and some is due to the new normal in college basketball: freedom of movement for players.
It’s a tired trope but it rings as true as ever: if coaches can leverage opportunities and move schools without any penalty (while also making money off of their own name), why can’t the players?
If Brad Underwood can pack up and leave for Chapel Hill, North Carolina tomorrow because UNC offers him a massive contract, why can’t Adam Miller look for more playing time or a new system somewhere else?
These players should try to get the most out of their various opportunities. If that means simply seeing what’s out there and then coming back to Illinois, so be it. If that means transferring to Oregon or something, so be it. If it means going pro, good for them. That’s the dream.
Everyone’s worried about this changing college basketball forever instantly, and while it certainly does make the continuity of a given team uncertain, it likely won’t be the sea change many are expecting. There are a lot of other factors at play here, but a more equitable NCAA, that actually works for the players instead of against them, is in every basketball fan’s best interest, even if a few players leave.