URBANA-- Facing an April 15 deadline to submit a recommended map of new county board districts, a special Champaign County redistricting commission has scheduled an extra meeting for next Wednesday.

The commission will review three staff-drawn maps, two others submitted Wednesday by commission members Michael Richards and Augustus Hallmon, and another one drafted by one-time county board candidate Eric Thorsland.

The board assessed the staff-drawn maps Wednesday night and voted down a motion that would have "de-selected" one of them. The three other maps weren't even examined by the commission.

Asked bluntly by commission chair Rick Winkel if their maps were based on any political considerations, Hallmon and Richards said they were not. Under the rules for the commission adopted by the county board, the new county board district map is not to be based on partisan politics.

Commission member Alan Kurtz, a Champaign Democrat who also is one of four county board members on the commission, decried the lack of public participation so far in the landmark redistricting process, which is believed to be the only one of its type in the nation.

There were only 12 "public" members at Wednesday's meeting.

"I don't see any public, other than some special interests, out here," Kurtz said. "It's almost like we're in a smoke-filled room."

But Winkel noted that the commission has already held four public hearings, has publicized its meetings, set up a website that includes the map proposals (at the Champaign County Regional Planning Commission website) and has received media coverage.

"It's talked about. People know we're doing this," said the University of Illinois political scientist and former state lawmaker. "This is certainly not a closed, backroom, smoky room deal here."

He also noted that the public will be able to comment to the county board about the map submitted later this month.

Further, there's no guarantee, commission member Ron Bensyl said, that the county board won't reject the map and ask for another submission.

"I'm under no illusion that the county board is going to adopt the first map we send to them," Bensyl said.

The county board has until July 1, Winkel said, to adopt a county board district map that would be used for the first time in next year's primary and general elections.