Texas Lawmakers Head To Illinois
And there it is — the Texas Democrats have dusted off their favorite stunt, hopped on a plane, and fled the state. This time, it’s to Illinois, which is both ironic and hilarious because Illinois is arguably the most aggressively gerrymandered state in the country.
So if you’re keeping score at home: they’re running away from Texas to hide behind Governor JB Pritzker — whose state map makes the Texas proposal look like a kindergarten coloring project — all so they can play heroes for the cameras.
A closer-up view of Chicagoland in the hypothetical above. #IL14 Underwood (D) would go from Biden +2 to Biden +14 (#IL11 Foster (D) also Biden +14). pic.twitter.com/89HLwXJxJg
— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) August 31, 2021
This latest temper tantrum comes as Governor Greg Abbott pushes a redistricting plan through a special session. The math? Pretty simple. Republicans control the state, so they draw the map — just like Democrats do in their own strongholds. But now, roughly 30 Texas Democrats, led by House Democratic Caucus Chair Gene Wu, are crying “Trump gerrymander” and announcing that they’re “walking out on a rigged system.”
That’s rich. You want to talk about rigged? Go take a long, hard look at Illinois’ congressional map, where Republicans are barely clinging to three seats, or California’s map, where Democrats turned one of the most politically diverse states into a single-party playground.
If Democrats ignore their duty to their constituents by breaking quorum, they should be found and arrested no matter where they go. The people of Texas elected them to do a job, not run away and hide like cowards. Lawmakers must answer the special session call and pass the… https://t.co/sxLvZCIOB1
— Attorney General Ken Paxton (@KenPaxtonTX) July 15, 2025
But here’s the good news: Abbott isn’t exactly out of options. Texas law allows him to call as many special sessions as he wants. In other words, he can keep these Democrats living out of suitcases in Illinois until they break.
He’s also got some pretty big hammers in his toolbox: $500-a-day fines for starters (which, let’s be honest, progressive donors will gleefully cover), but more importantly, the constitutional authority to send law enforcement after them. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is already sharpening his claws, pledging to “track down and arrest” the runaway lawmakers when they return.
If Abbott really wants to set the tone, he could go even further — like pursuing the legal avenue of vacating their seats for abandonment. Imagine the message that would send.