It shouldn’t be this difficult to say no.

As I write this, the State Board of Elections Office has been open for a few hours, beginning to process candidate nomination petitions for the 2026 statewide primary cycle. By the time you read this, General Assembly members will have completed another fall veto session day and several prominent Illinois Democrats will have met with U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the New York Democrat and House minority leader who wants as many Democratic-controlled states as possible to redraw Congressional maps.

That the conversation about midstream reconfiguration of already gerrymandered districts is even a possibility must be understood in the larger context of national politics, but it’s important to note Illinois officials could’ve definitively ended any speculation about the possibility several times over the past few months.

Also worth noting is years of missed opportunities to statutorily address any potential uncertainty following the 2019 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that clarified the feds wouldn’t be interfering in states’ political maps. Neglecting to proactively erect our own guardrails helped paved the way to the present moment in which elected officials offer poor excuses for why they don’t want to engage in further bad government.

State Sen. Willie Preston, a Chicago Democrat who chairs the Illinois Senate Black Caucus, has repeatedly told Jeffries a remap is off the table, but the resistance is framed in concerns over dilution of political power. Gov. JB Pritzker hasn’t warmed up to the idea, but has generally punted to lawmakers, shifted focus back outward to the national scene or suggested even if Illinois does pursue a change, it doesn’t have to happen this week.

Other General Assembly Democrats gave quotes to Capitol News Illinois without their names attached, landing glancing blows such as “I think there is next to zero appetite to do it” and the somewhat stronger “there is no world where I see this happening.”

The real answer is: No. It is simply too late. Candidates have expended considerable time and resources gathering petition signatures, the filing deadline is Nov. 3 and any alteration now costs money the state doesn’t have while inviting legal exposure that could exponentially increase fiscal liability.

Saying that much would suffice without getting into the political consequences. Even if it’s true new maps would likely dilute certain constituencies’ power with little upside on Capitol Hill, there’s value in just sticking to the basics that apply to all Illinoisans, not just those concerned with the weight of Democrats’ influence.

As with soft denials about allocating public money to a football stadium development, it’d be nice for some officials to assert what options they consider entirely off the table and then take steps to codify those conditions.

• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Local News Network. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.