Illinois Redistricting Court Hearing Begins

Four Republican congressmen from Illinois are in a federal courtroom in Chicago for a trial on the state's new Democrat-drawn congressional map.

Congressmen Judy Biggert, Peter Roskam, Don Manzullo and John Shimkus are scheduled to testify.

Court proceedings are expected to last through Friday.

Illinois Democrats dominated the map-making because they control the General Assembly and the governor's office. The new map drew Republicans out of their districts and lumped incumbent GOP members together or threw them into Democrat-friendly territory.

The fight over Illinois' map is an important one nationally. Democrats are out to try to regain control of the U.S. House in next year's election after losing it in 2010 as part of a GOP wave that sent five freshman Republicans from Illinois to Congress.