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SPRINGFIELD – Gov. JB Pritzker brushed aside suggestions Thursday that FBI agents could be deployed to arrest a group of Texas Democratic lawmakers who have fled to Illinois to delay voting on a mid-decade Republican redistricting plan.
Pritzker’s comments came amid escalating tensions over the Texas redistricting drama. Earlier in the day, according to the New York Times, Republican U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, of Texas, said the FBI had agreed to his request to help locate the absent Texas lawmakers.
“Look, I’ve said it before. This is a lot of grandstanding by the Trump administration, by John Cornyn, by Gov. [Greg] Abbott in Texas,” Pritzker told reporters after cutting a ribbon to officially open the Illinois State Fair. “The reality is that all that he has said, Cornyn, is that the FBI has been authorized to locate the Texas House Democrats, nothing more. And you know why? Because there is no federal law that allows them to arrest Texas Democrats who are here visiting the state of Illinois.”
“I welcome the FBI coming to the state,” he said. “I hope they take in the State Fair. I hope they go see the beauty of Lake Michigan. … But they won’t be arresting anyone because there is no U.S. federal law that prohibits those Texas House Democrats from being here in the state of Illinois.”
The drama began Sunday when dozens of Democratic members of the Texas House left the state while the Texas Legislature was meeting in a special session that was called primarily to respond to devastating floods that struck the central part of the state in July, leaving more than 100 people dead.
However, at the urging of President Donald Trump, the Republican-controlled legislature also is considering a congressional redistricting plan that is designed to give Republicans an additional five seats in the U.S. House.
Republicans currently hold a slim majority in the House: 219-212, with four seats vacant. Increasing the GOP’s margin among the Texas delegation could help Republicans from losing control of the House in the 2026 midterm elections.
But the idea of drawing new maps midway between federal censuses, solely for the purpose of gaining more partisan advantage, has sparked protests and threats of retaliation from leaders of Democratic-leaning states like Illinois and California.
Enacting a new congressional map for Illinois in time for the 2026 elections would be difficult. Democratic and Republican candidates for state and federal offices began circulating nominating petitions Tuesday.
It would also be hard for Democrats to gain any more advantage in Illinois since they already hold 14 of the state’s 17 congressional districts.
But speaking to reporters Wednesday, Pritzker would not rule out the possibility of drawing new maps for Illinois if Texas Republicans follow through with their plans.
“It’s never too late,” he said. “And the truth is that we’re going to think about all the options. We’ve already taken one of those options. … About six weeks ago, I talked about the possibility that Texas House Democrats would, in fact, have to leave their state. And I made it clear to them, as I have for the last six weeks, that they’re welcome in the state of Illinois.”
Illinois lawmakers are scheduled to return to the Statehouse Oct. 14 for the start of their annual fall veto session. But Pritzker said Thursday he had not yet had any specific discussions with legislative leaders about taking up a mid-decade redistricting plan.
“The only brief conversations that I’ve had about it have been about the fact that we’ve got to do everything we can. And we’re all looking for the right avenues. And let me be clear: We already have taken an enormous step. We have welcomed those Texas House Democrats to the state of Illinois. That is a big step.”
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.