Kane County Board member won’t attend national conference in Louisiana, cites state’s redistricting

A Kane County Board member said she won't attend the National Association of Counties Annual Conference in New Orleans this weekend, in protest of the state legislature eliminating a majority-Black Congressional seat.

The National Association of Counties Annual Conference & Exposition is this weekend in New Orleans. But Kane County Board Member Michelle Gumz, D- Aurora , issued a news release announcing that she is not going. The reason?

Louisiana’s state legislature passed a new voting map eliminating a majority-Black Congressional district. “There is no way I can participate,” Gumz said. “They were never going to crack that district, then they did it.

... It goes against the core values that I have. I’m not going to to give them any of my money or the taxpayers’ money.”

The NACo Annual Conference is a gathering of elected and appointed officials from 3,069 counties, parishes and boroughs in the country, according to its website. NACo officials did not respond to an email seeking comment. The new Louisiana congressional map is expected to help elect five Republicans and one Democrat to Congress.

The state legislature redrew the congressional boundaries following a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in April. The high court ruled 6-3 in Louisiana vs. Callais that the congressional map then in place in Louisiana, drawn to protect minority voters under the Voting Rights Act, was an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. “Because the Voting Rights Act did not require Louisiana to create an additional majority-minority district, no compelling interest justified the State’s use of race in creating [the state’s former congressional map] and that map is an unconstitutional racial gerrymander,” according to the 92-page ruling.

Gumz said she is not boycotting Louisiana or disrespecting the work of the National Association of Counties. “I love the people of Louisiana. The work NaCo does is super important,” Gumz said.

“I make my own decisions on my attendance and use of public funds and I don’t expect any of my colleagues to do what I’m doing because I’m doing it.” The conference will include dozens of committee and caucus meetings, educational workshops and general sessions offering “learning and best practices on the full range of county responsibilities and domestic policy issues,” according to NaCo’s website. If anyone should ask why Kane County should care about what happens in Louisiana, Gumz said it is because representation matters everywhere.

Acknowledging Illinois’ history of gerrymandering to the advantage of Democrats, Gumz said the difference is that it’s not done to win a particular election. “No matter where you are in this country, there’s one giant caveat: It’s only once every 10 years,” Gumz said, referring to congressional redistricting tied to the census. “We don’t have to cheat within a decennial to win an election.

These words are coming out of their mouths – they’re saying they have to pick up five seats in Texas to win an election.” Senate Bill 3750 was introduced Feb. 7, 2024, to stop mid-decade redistricting and prohibited the use of a redistricting plan drawn with the intent or with the effect of favoring or disadvantaging a political party, records show. It went to the Judiciary Committee and no further.

House Resolution 4889 , introduced on Aug. 5, 2025, also sought to prohibit states from redistricting before the next decennial census, unless a court orders it to comply with the U.S. Constitution or the Voting Rights Act, records show. That resolution was also referred to the Judiciary Committee. On May 12 this year, U.S. Rep. Kevin Kiley , I-California, moved to have it discharged from the committee for consideration on the floor, but it was not discussed or acted upon, records show.

The registration cost for the conference for county officials who are members of NACo ranges from $575 to $676, according to the website. Individual board members pay their own way first, then submit their receipts for reimbursement. Last year, Gumz was reimbursed for $3,572 for her expenses attending the NACo Legislative Conference in March Washington, D.C., and $2,796.76 for attending the group’s national conference in July in Philadelphia, records show.

Gumz, whose seat is not up for reelection this year, was the only board member to attend the conferences, records show. According to the County Board Office, Board Chair Corinne Pierog and members Mavis Bates, D-Aurora; Myrna Molina, D-Aurora; and Jarrett Sanchez, D- Carpentersville registered with the office, indicating they plan to attend the national conference. County Finance Director Kathleen Hopkinson said in order to be reimbursed for travel expenses, board members need to register with the board office after receiving permission from their respective committees.