April 3, 2012 Meeting of the 2010 Redistricting Committee

Public Hearings Set on Redistricting, Public Invited to Submit Maps

Public Hearings

The Committee approved holding 4 hearings at which members of the public may provide comments on the redistricting process:

• Tuesday, April 17 at 6 pm at the Markham Court House, 16501 S. Kedzie, Room 098, Markham, IL
• Tuesday, April 24 at 6 pm at Oakton Community College, 1600 E. Golf Road, Room 1610, Des Plaines, IL.
• Thursday, April 26 at 6 pm at the Maybrook Court House, 1500 S. Maybrook Drive, Room 106, Maywood, IL, and
• Tuesday, May 1 at a time and location to be determined later.

Speakers are asked to pre-register with the Secretary to the Board and provide 30 copies of any written comments.  For more details, see the notice published on the Cook County web site.

Maps from Public and Help

The public is also invited to submit their own maps (either at the hearings or by the previously established May 1 deadline).  Computers and staff will be available in Room 1134 in the Cook County Building to assist the public and Commissioners in drawing such maps.  For information on what must be submitted in conjunction with the maps, see the official Committee Report of the March 13 meeting on the Secretary to the Board’s web site.

A web site is also supposed to be set up to provide the public with information and allow people to sign up for e-mail notices:  www.redistricting.cookcountyil.gov. 

Note:  At the time of this post, this web site is still not functioning, and the League has been told that Room 1134 will likely not be up and running until maybe the end of the week.  That means the public will have only about 2 weeks to prepare maps before the May 1 deadline.

Public Comment

League of Women Voters of Cook County President Cynthia Schilsky then spoke during the public comment period (1) stating that the May 1 deadline for the public to submit proposed redistricting maps did not provide a reasonable amount of time for the public; (2) asking what is the plan for informing the public of their right to submit maps; (3) asking how will the public know the parameters for drawing maps and the criteria the  Committee will use to assess the maps submitted; and (4) again urging that the Committee establish additional procedures for the public to have an opportunity to review and comment on any map(s) chosen by this  Committee for further consideration prior to the Committee taking a vote and then prior to the full Board voting to approve a map.

Chairman Deborah Sims responded that the Committee does plan to provide for further review and input by the public as Ms. Schilsky suggested, but said that she considers May 1 an appropriate deadline for the public to submit maps.

District 17 Map Source:  Cook County, accessed 4/10/12 

George Blakemore also spoke and similarly objected to the May 1 deadline as being too soon and wondered how the public would even hear about this.  He said that the purpose of redistricting was not to re-elect existing Commissioners, but to create compact districts of people who have things in common so they can be represented.  He pleaded with the Committee not to gerrymander the new districts, citing District 17 which  runs along the far west side of the county from very far south to close to the northern border of the county, as an example of a district that is definitely not compact.

Rest of Meeting

Chairman Sims then read from prepared remarks that included a statement that the Committee would produce a map and have public comment.  Nevertheless, Chairman Sims believes that an approved map can be submitted to the Board by June.

The Committee then heard from the people hired to provide advice and expertise.  Peter Creticos, who had been involved with prior County redistricting, said that public input was critical to the process.  In fact, he said, the current districts have their origin in a map submitted by the Urban League and a Mexican American group when the first districts were drawn in the early 1990’s. 

Kimball Brace, president of Election Data Services which is to provide census data for the redistricting, said that based on the total county population (which is 182,000 people less than in 2000), there should be 305,569 people in each district, though a 10% deviation (5% above or 5% below) is legally permissible. However, his staff is looking at only a 5% deviation ideally, so the range would be between 293,000 and 313,000 persons per district.  Looking at the total population of Cook County, it might be expected that there would be 3 to 4 African-American majority districts and 3.5 to 4 Hispanic majority districts.  But that does not take into account how each of these minority groups are dispersed throughout the county, which will, of course, impact how many such districts can feasibly be drawn.

Judd Minor, the lead outside counsel, reiterated that the districts could have up to a 10% deviation in population, as long as there were reasons for the disparity.  The law was very strict that districts could not be drawn so as to dilute the voting strength of protected minorities.  And he said that intent was irrelevant; courts look to the effect.  Districts also must be contiguous.  Then, there are requirements, that are very loosely construed, that districts are to be compact, not divide communities of interest, consider other government boundaries, consider shared interests, and may consider protecting the relationship of the incumbents with their current districts.

The Committee stands in recess until the April 17 public hearing in Markham.

Submitted by Priscilla Mims