Illinois is one of the most heavily gerrymandered states in the country.
Illinois is one of the most heavily gerrymandered states in the country.
In an effort to battle gerrymandering, a group of Chicago civic group want to create a nonpartisan committee to create ward maps.
Gerrymandering is the practice of manipulating boundaries of an electoral constituency in order to provide one party an advantage over the other. This practice has been going on in several states across the nation.
In Illinois, Democrats only register 55 percent support statewide, but hold 69 percent of the Senate due to the practice.
But Chicagoans are now trying to fight back and they no longer want their aldermen to have the authority to manipulate their boundaries. This is the reason why a coalition of civic groups is working to have their committee approved so that ward maps can be created fairly.
The organization called ‘Change Illinois’ is spearheading the movement and they hope that forming a nonpartisan committee will get enough support from the City Council to set up a referendum vote in 2022.
If all goes well, Chicago voters will be able to choose between ward maps drawn up by a nonpartisan committee or by elected officials.
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