Having an independent commission redraw the city’s ward map—as a coalition led by CHANGE Illinois is promoting in Chicago—is unusual but not unheard of in this country. It worked in 2013 for Austin, Texas, which is about to repeat the process.

Check out some of the highlights of our interview with Ald. Roderick T. Sawyer of the 6th Ward.

In cooperation with neighborhood organizations and good government groups, CHANGE Illinois will be creating the Chicago Advisory Redistricting Commission. “Our goal is to see an independent remapping commission that will reflect the core rich diversity of the city.”

Check out some of the highlights of our interview with Ald. Daniel La Spata of the 1st Ward.

Ann Williams (D-Chicago), Illinois General Assembly Representative for the 11th District, has been actively involved in environmental work and legislation for more than a decade. In this interview with LWV Chicago, Rep. Williams discusses her involvement in environmental issues and CEJA.

Check out some of the highlights of our interview with Ald. Brian Hopkins of the 2nd Ward.

No Chicago neighborhood has suffered more from municipal gerrymandering than Englewood. The largely African American community on the South Side has been divided among six wards since the 1970s and has never had a single alderman.

“Opaque,” “confusing,” “obscure”: the descriptions of Chicago’s decennial ward remapping tell how the process has appeared to the average citizen. Since knowing the rules may lessen confusion, we’ll try to explain the procedure.

CHANGE Illinois and other groups are planning to create an independent commission to draw the next Chicago ward map even if aldermen draw their own map.

With schools turning to remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, we decided to look at how schools were dealing with online education, comparing traditional and charter schools.

CHANGE Illinois is spearheading the development of the Chicago Advisory Redistricting Commission, whose goal is to create a transparent ward map centered on and drawn by residents.

Chicago’s 50 wards are stretched and twisted into tortured shapes, a not-surprising result of being drawn by politicians to serve their interests. If we have our way, the next map will be drawn by an independent citizens’ commission.

Check out some of the highlights of our interview with Ald. Michele Smith of the 43rd Ward.

Under state law, 25% of revenues collected from recreational marijuana sales are slated for communities that have been disproportionately impacted by the justice system. As a result, more than $25 million from cannabis sales are expected to fund organizations that operate in historically underserved Illinois communities.

Chicago Department of Public Health officials rejected a plan that would allow the General Iron metal recycling plant to move and expand on the East Side. Public comments on RMG’s application are still being accepted.

Surveys from voters in the 2020 Local School Elections, plus feedback from election-day hotline queries and a post-election debriefing involving community members, found that expanded voting options, including mail-in and curbside voting, were successful and should be retained for future elections.

With 50 aldermen representing 50 wards, Chicago’s City Council is unusually large among major US cities. There have been proposals over the years to reduce the number of wards or even eliminate the ward system.

The boundaries of Chicago’s 50 wards will be redrawn to reflect population changes shown in the 2020 census. CHANGE Illinois executive director Madeleine Doubek talks about what is at stake and how Chicago residents can get involved.

The competing interests of politicians, racial and ethnic groups, and neighborhoods are likely to make for a contentious process to redraw the boundaries of Chicago’s 50 wards after the 2020 census data arrive.

More than 40 local labor, community, faith, youth and environmental organizations called on the City of Chicago to deny recycling and air operations approvals for General Iron’s proposed Southeast Side facility.