Redistricting 2021

Voters may be able to vote on the map that redraws boundaries for the city’s 50 wards—or not.

CHANGE Illinois and the People’s Map Commission have joined the City Council’s Latino Caucus to propose a redistricting map that includes 15 majority-Latino wards, 16 majority-Black wards and one majority-Asian American ward.

The Chicago City Council Rules Committee scheduled four public hearings about the Chicago Ward remap in January. One has already been held, and it raised concerns about public input.

The Chicago City Council has scheduled four hearings in January to give members of the public time to comment on proposed ward maps.

Hearings have begun in federal court on the suits challenging state redistricting maps. The Chicago City Council will hold hearings on proposed ward maps into January.

New maps have been passed for Illinois and for Cook County. The Chicago City Council weighs three different ward map proposals.

The Chicago Advisory Redistricting Commission delivered its independently drawn city ward map to the City Clerk’s office on Monday, November 23.

Block Club Chicago quoted part of LWV Chicago President Anne Jamieson’s testimony before the City Council’s Rules Committee in its recent article about the redistricting process.

Chicago's City Council must legislate new ward maps based on population figures from the 2020 Census. Take action against gerrymandered wards that protect incumbents and fragment racial, ethnic and other communities of Chicago!

On October 26, LWV Chicago President Anne Jamieson wrote Michelle Harris, Chair, and other members of the Rules Committee to publish plans for redrawing the ward maps of the city of Chicago.

If ten alderpersons support the independent Chicago Advisory Redistricting Commission’s final People’s Map, it would trigger a special election to allow Chicago voters to choose the ward redistricting map they want.

Get a first look at the People’s City Ward Map, as well as an update on the ward mapping process and Illinois US Congressional Redistricting.

The Chicago Advisory Redistricting Commission has released its second ward map draft. Community members will have until October 1 to provide feedback on the draft map for commissioners to review and consider changes. 

Demographic data would lead to major shifts in city maps based on recent population increases and declines—but the City Council aren't likely to base new maps on them. What about the push for an independent map?

Three University of Illinois at Chicago professors make a strong case for taking Chicago ward redistricting out of the hands of politicians. In the past, maps drawn by the City Council were the norm.

Chicagoans interested in serving on an independent commission to redraw the city’s ward map need to submit an application online by April 9. The commission will create a map to compete with the one aldermen are expected to draw.

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.

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.”

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.

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.

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.