Texas House Democrats meet with Illinois governor over redistricting concerns

AUSTIN (Nexstar) -- A delegation of Texas House Democrats met with Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Friday to discuss concerns about proposed redistricting changes in Texas and seek support from other states in opposing the effort.

Speaking before the meeting while traveling through Chicago O'Hare Airport, Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston, chair of the Texas House Democratic Caucus, said the trip aimed to warn other states about what he described as widespread policy changes under the Trump administration.

"We're trying to warn the entire country," Wu said. "What is coming, the dangers that Donald Trump and his willing associates pose to this country is not just normal politics. This is extraordinary, and what we're saying to people is extraordinary stuff requires an extraordinary response."

The meeting came as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has called a special session focused on redistricting, which Democrats characterize as an attempt to redraw congressional districts mid-decade to benefit Republicans. Wu said the broader concern extends beyond redistricting to federal budget cuts affecting health care, food assistance and education programs.

"How many people are going to lose their health care? People are going to lose food support? Schools are going to close and hospitals are going to close, and people need to know that this is going to come across the nation," Wu said.

"What Gov. Abbott and the Republicans are trying to do is cheat," Pritzker said during the roundtable. "I think there should be free and fair elections in 2026 as there should be in every year, and that the districts are have been drawn, and they now see that they might lose, and so they want to redraw them and change the rules."

When asked about potential tactics to block redistricting legislation, Wu said Democrats would "use every tool available to us" and that "nothing is off the table." However, he clarified that Friday's trip was not a quorum break, as the delegation planned to return to Texas the same day.

"We're not fighting for Democrats in Texas. We're fighting for the whole country. This is a national fight. This is the fight for the soul of America," Wu said.

Texas lawmakers also discussed their decision to extend public testimony at a redistricting hearing Thursday night after the formal session was cut short. Wu said Democrats wanted to ensure all Texans who traveled to testify could be heard on what he called "the most important process that we have."

"One hundred percent of the witnesses testified against this mid-cycle redistributing, testified against gerrymandering, testified against racial discrimination in their maps," Wu said.

When asked about potential retaliatory redistricting efforts in Democratic-controlled states, Pritzker said, "everything is on the table" in response to what he characterized as attacks on democracy.

"If you're going to attack democracy by going state by state, and here they're starting in Texas, but you've heard it talked about for other places too, then the rest of us are going to have to say, well, what can we do?" Pritzker said.

The Illinois governor defended his state's current congressional map, which has faced criticism from Republicans. When pressed about previous campaign promises regarding independent redistricting. Pritzker said legislation for an independent commission was not taken up by the state legislature, but that Illinois followed the Voting Rights Act in drawing its current districts.

The Democrats said they plan to return to Texas the same day and may continue outreach efforts to other governors across the country regarding the redistricting issue. The delegation was split between meetings in Illinois and California, with a separate group meeting with California Gov. Gavin Newsom.

"My pain is nothing compared to the pain that Texans will feel," Wu said, referring to potential impacts from policy changes. "We are going to do everything we can to make sure that they don't get hurt even more."

Texas Republicans have defended the special session as necessary to address redistricting concerns, though Democrats argue it diverts attention from flood relief efforts following recent disasters in Central Texas that killed more than 130 people.