The way Illinois draws boundaries for legislative districts came under scrutiny Wednesday. The state senate redistricting committee held its first meeting in downtown Chicago.

Republican senator Dale Righter asked Roosevelt University professor Paul Green to rate the way Illinois draws its legislative maps on a scale of zero to ten.

GREEN: I would put it at a four or a five, simply because the history of this state suggests it’s so difficult to do it, just to get it done is a plus.

Green notes Illinois went the first half of the 20th century without any legislative redistricting at all. He says there are obvious flaws with the current system (it ends up relying on a lottery to ultimately pick which party draws the map) but Green had no answer for how to remove politics from the process.

GREEN: If you can come up with a system that could do that, it would be a miracle, and I just - I can’t think of one.

Green and some lawmakers were dismissive of a process like one used in Iowa, which puts the mapmaking in the hands of a computer.