Gov. Pat Quinn on Friday signed off on a new congressional district map for Illinois that Republicans say is "highly partisan" and "disrespects the will of Illinois voters as expressed in last fall's election."

But Quinn said the new map, which would first come into play with next spring's primary election, is fair.

"The people of Illinois provided input at public hearings for both the congressional and state legislative maps. I have carefully reviewed the congressional redistricting map. This map is fair, maintains competitiveness within congressional districts, and protects the voting rights of minority communities," the Democratic governor said. "I would like to thank Sen. Kwame Raoul and Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie for their commitment to encouraging public participation in the remap process."

Republicans said, however, that the new map is gerrymandered, is designed to splinter Republican bases and fails to respect voters' intent in the November elections when Illinois Republicans won five new congressional seats. They also condemned Democrats for failing to hold public hearings on the map proposal.

"Governor Quinn said that a fair redistricting process required hearings," said a statement signed by 10 of the 11 Republican Illinois congressmen. "Yet the map was unveiled on a Friday and passed the following Monday, with no hearings."

The only GOP congresssman from Illinois not to sign the statement was U.S. Rep. Tim Johnson, R-Urbana. Earlier this week Johnson told The News-Gazette that "we're going to file a lawsuit but it's not going to succeed."

On Friday, Johnson spokesman Phil Bloomer said the congressman believed that the map-drawing process was unfair "and left out the voices of all the Republicans, and he believes the challenge should be made."

Johnson lost most of his current 15th Congressional District in the redistricting process. His Urbana home is now in the 13th Congressional District that extends in an arc from Champaign-Urbana southwest to Collinsville and other parts of the Illinois suburbs of St. Louis.

The rest of East Central Illinois, all of which is currently in Johnson's 15th District, would be split among four congressional districts.

The new 13th District includes most of Champaign County, plus Piatt, DeWitt and Macon counties. The new 15th District takes in parts of Champaign and Ford counties, plus Vermilion, Douglas, Coles, Edgar and Moultrie counties. The new 16th District includes parts of Ford County and all of Iroquois County. And the new 18th District takes in much of McLean County although it excludes most of Bloomington-Normal.

Exactly who will challenge the new map in court is uncertain. The statement from the 10 GOP congressman stated the map "will be challenged in court, and we do not expect to comment further on a map that now will be the subject of litigation."

John Blessing, a spokesman for the Illinois Republican Party, said the party probably wouldn't file suit although "nothing's off the table."

"I believe it's unlikely the party will be among the plaintiffs in any suit, if there is one," he said. "But a lot of other groups are looking into it and doing it aggressively."

One possible plaintiff is a group headed by former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert and former Labor Secretary Lynn Martin. It is known as The Committee for a Fair and Balanced Map, and it sent Quinn a letter urging him to veto the congressional map proposal.