Boundaries draw lawsuits

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- Republicans in the Illinois Legislature are using a district-by-district strategy to oppose a Democrat-drawn map of new legislative boundaries.

Republican senators have filed four lawsuits challenging particular districts, and GOP representatives have filed eight. The lawsuits ask the state Supreme Court to make changes in specific districts but not to throw out the entire map.

The changes would make districts more politically competitive, reducing Democrats' chances of winning control of the Legislature.

After lawmakers deadlocked over new districts to reflect population changes, Democrats won control of the process in a special drawing. They produced a map likely to give them control of at least one legislative chamber, and perhaps both, for the next decade.

Republicans have challenged the overall map in federal court. At the state level, their challenges are narrower.