If you’ve ever tried to keep up with the ward remapping in Chicago, you’d know it’s a deeply flawed system that largely takes place away from the public eye. While some public commentary is allowed during the hearings, there is no obligation for City Council members to take in that feedback or even respond to concerns. This creates a system that allows for politicians to draw ward boundaries without those most directly impacted in the room, Chicagoans.
The City Council has the opportunity to overhaul this flawed process with an ordinance (O2026-0025452) introduced by Ald. La Spata (1) with support from co-sponsors Sigcho-Lopez (25), Fuentes (26), and Knudsen (43). The proposed legislation establishes an independent redistricting commission composed of everyday Chicagoans representing seven distinct geographic areas of the City.
The application and selection process
The chance to serve on the Commission will be open to application to all Chicagoans, with eight criteria related to residency, conflicts of interest, and demonstrated leadership. The goal is to ensure that the Commissioners are involved in the communities they are applying to represent and can be objective — are not registered lobbyists, current elected officials, or working on behalf of special interests. The Chicago City Clerk will handle the application process, with an emphasis on attracting a broad pool of applicants representative of the city’s diversity. The applications will be open from June 1st to September 1st of the Census year.
By October 1st of the Census year, the City Clerk will recommend 100 qualified applicants, equally distributed among the seven geographic areas, to the City Council. The City Council will then be responsible for reviewing the applicants, with each member selecting two names from different geographic areas from the pool for consideration. The City Clerk will conduct a randomized elimination and strike one name from each aldermanic submission. The Mayor will receive and review the remaining 50 applicants and recommend 13 members and 5 alternates to the City Council for final approval. The Commission must be appointed by February 1st of the year following the Census.
The Commissioners, including alternates, will be representative of the geographic areas, with at least two but no more than three representing each of the seven areas.
The Commission’s commitment to transparency
The Commissioners are responsible not only for creating the ward maps in Chicago, but also for ensuring the process is inclusive and transparent for all.
Before any mapmaking, the Commission must host at least three public hearings in each of the geographic areas, for a total of 21 meetings. The meetings will engage communities, establish connections, educate on redistricting, and gather feedback on neighborhood boundaries. These meetings must be accessible to racial and language minorities for participation. Any hearing notices need to be in multiple languages, and translation services will be available at the hearings. The meetings must also be open to all and have an option for real-time virtual participation.
The Commission will maintain a website where all meetings, both live and recorded, can be viewed, all assessments and reports will be posted, and any information about the Commission can be found. The website will be where any map proposals are uploaded for public commentary and feedback. It will also have a submission portal for anyone interested in creating their own map for consideration. The Commission must consider and respond to all public input.
Approving a ward map
In compliance with Illinois law, the City Council will still have final approval of the ward map. The Commission is responsible for submitting three map proposals to the City Council. The Council will conduct a nonbinding straw poll on each of the three maps to find which one garners the highest percentage of City Council approval. Should none of the three maps reach 60%, the Commission will reconvene and have 60 days to provide 3 more proposed maps. Once a map proposal reaches 60% or more, the City Council will vote to adopt the map, and it will go into effect.
Why does Chicago need this?
By establishing a transparent process, Chicago allows its residents to take a leading role in their representation. At a time when representation is being diminished federally, and people are feeling frustrated with political power plays, it is a ripe time to show Chicagoans that they can be involved and heard in their government. It is also critical to ensure that we are no longer placing incumbent protection over community cohesion. We need our government to work for us, and this is the way to do it. Transparency and public participation should not be a radical idea.
