Letting Chicago Residents Redraw Ward Maps

An Interview with CHANGE Illinois’ Madeleine Doubek

The boundaries of Chicago’s 50 wards will be redrawn to reflect population changes shown in the 2020 census. Instead of politicians redrawing ward maps to ensure their reelection, as was done in the past, there is a call for meaningful citizen participation in remapping. The nonprofit organization CHANGE Illinois, with the support of other groups including LWV Chicago, is leading the effort. Here, CHANGE Illinois executive director Madeleine Doubek talks about what is at stake and how Chicago residents can get involved.

Where does the CHANGE Illinois effort to have citizen participation in redrawing Chicago’s ward map stand now?

We are proceeding with plans to organize and collaborate with as many community groups in Chicago as we can to help them understand the remapping process and why it’s important that residents get involved and stay engaged. We are collaborating with the Princeton Gerrymandering Project and their Representable website.

Our aim is to host sessions to get Chicago residents thinking about their communities of interest, help them map those communities of interest, and then use that map and knowledge to advocate for themselves in front of those who will draw new ward maps next year. Ultimately, our hope is that an independent commission of residents draws that map, or at least an alternative to one that aldermen draw, so that Chicagoans see they have choices.

Why is this such an important issue for CHANGE Illinois?

Remapping is one of those things that is difficult for people to grasp, but it plays such a pivotal role in whether you get the representation you deserve or whether your voices and choices are suppressed, so we want to help people understand that. The way wards and other political districts are drawn forms the foundation, the building blocks, of our democracy.

If incumbent aldermen or other politicians draw the ward map to protect their reelection chances, then they are effectively suppressing your vote and taking away your voices and choices. At the state and federal level, it’s about which major party keeps control. That’s not the case in Chicago, but gerrymandering still occurs, and it’s about preserving incumbents’ jobs when it really should be about what best serves the needs of the people. The ward map should be the people’s map, not the politicians’ map.

If an independent map could be drawn that didn’t splinter neighborhoods, especially in minority communities, then we believe people would get better representation, better access to services, and they’d likely have more choices on the ballot at election time. No more backroom deals by aldermen. If we return power to the people, and the map serves them, they will get better service and representation from their elected officials.

In 2019, Mayor Lightfoot expressed support for an independent commission to draw ward boundaries. Has there been any indication since then that the city is planning to invite citizens into the process?

We have seen signs that some people in City Hall and some aldermen have heard us, and we hope to see more evidence soon that they are willing to engage residents meaningfully in the remap process. The mayor needs to honor her long-standing support for independent redistricting.

The census response wasn’t great in some parts of Chicago. How will that affect remapping?

We are gravely concerned that the low census response in historically hard-to-count communities will mean that the remap might not fully reflect all of the people in these parts of the city where there was an undercount. We’re concerned they won’t get the representation they deserve.

The constant turmoil as the census was conducted over who could be counted and whether the count would be extended and for how long certainly added to the fear and anxiety in immigrant communities over participating, and that should be of concern to us all. We need to do whatever is necessary to make sure every voice counts. The city might need to consider requesting a special census, or there might be legal options to consider to ensure that the count is accurate.

The city is belt-tightening, as is every government body in Illinois. How does the funding crunch affect redistricting plans?

While governments need to be efficient, the people budgeting also need to make sure they set aside enough money to conduct the once-in-a-decade process of remapping so that people are engaged. We suggested at least $250,000 be included in Chicago’s next budget to ensure significant outreach efforts are made to engage Chicagoans in the ward remap.

City officials have to be transparent and allow the proper time and resources so that people can consider the maps proposed and provide feedback. We have requested money be set aside for citizen participation in redistricting. The recently passed city budget contains money for redrawing the ward map, but we don’t know how much of that might be for citizen participation.

What are you advising people who want to get involved to do?

Reach out to info@changeil.org and let us know that you’d like to attend one of our Representable sessions coming soon.. Sign up for our newsletter. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for updates.