Advocacy Groups, Southwest Side Residents Critical of Congressional Map
House Redistricting Committee Chair Rep. Lisa Hernandez (D-Cicero) testifies on legislative redistricting maps earlier this year. Democrats received numerous complaints about proposed congressional maps Wednesday.
Advocacy groups and residents from residents of an area of southwest Chicago issued complaints over the General Assembly’s proposed congressional redistricting plan Wednesday.
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Ryan Tolley, policy director for the reform advocacy group CHANGE Illinois, noted that the proposal had been given a grade of “F” by the Princeton Gerrymandering Project, a nonpartisan project at Princeton University that seeks to eliminate partisan gerrymandering.
“Splitting a county alone does not necessarily mean that a district is gerrymandered,” Tolley said. “For instance, Cook County and DuPage County have to be split due to their population sizes being larger than what is allowed in congressional districts to meet equal population standards. However, a district map with a higher number of split counties does raise questions about what goals mapmakers set out to achieve.”
A number of other people who spoke to both committees Wednesday testified about their particular areas of the state, including residents of southwest Chicago who are currently in the 3rd congressional district.
Under the proposed map released last week, that district would be greatly reshaped, stretching farther west, reaching into Will, Grundy and LaSalle counties.
“I've seen the proposed congressional map, and I'm surprised at seeing the district I've called home for decades replaced by something unrecognizable,” said Dale Fast, who lives in the Beverly neighborhood of Chicago. “The southwest side of Chicago is a diverse place. I've connected with my neighbors in Berwyn, Cicero, Orland Park and many other suburbs around my home, because we have common interests. The southwest side has consistently had representation in Congress that hails from the same area, not the rural parts of the state that share less in common with us.”
Democrats have insinuated they’ll release a revised version of the congressional map before a vote next week.