While candidates filed petitions Monday to run under Illinois’ existing congressional district lines, U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries brought his redistricting campaign to Illinois, pitching top state Democrats on a new map in a series of closed-door meetings.

Dozens of congressional candidates were in Springfield that morning for the biennial spectacle of petition filing for the primary election, which is slated for March 17.

At the same time, Jeffries met with members of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus and Black members of the state’s congressional delegation in Chicago. Later Monday, he traveled to Illinois’ capital city to meet with House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, D-Hillside, and Senate President Don Harmon, D-Oak Park, on the matter.

Jeffries told reporters in

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