With Chicago ward remapping underway, ICPR looks at City Council's pledge to open process
Chicago aldermen committed in November to open the historically secretive process of redrawing the city's 50 wards to the public. But have they fulfilled this pledge?
ICPR testified before the Council committee charged with overseeing the redistricting process Wednesday evening at the first public hearing to discuss the three complete city maps which have been filed.
Read our comments and then take action!
Testimony to the Committee on Committees, Rules and Ethics
Concerning the Redistricting Process
January 11, 2012
Good evening, and thank you to the aldermen, city staff and Chicago residents for attending tonight’s meeting. Redistricting is a vitally important part of our government, so it is no surprise to see so many people in attendance tonight.
My name is Whitney Woodward and I’m with the Illinois Campaign for Political Reform. ICPR is a non-partisan, non-profit organization that researches and advocates for transparency and accountability in government. ICPR is also a member of the steering committee of the Illinois Campaign for Accountable Redistricting, also known as Draw the Line Illinois.
For the last two years, ICPR and our coalition have sought to increase public awareness about the redistricting process. We have worked to educate the public about the impact of redistricting on their government and the historic lack of opportunities for citizens to monitor and participate in it. We also have proposed models to increase public engagement and advocated for substantive change.
Given the profound impact that redistricting has on Chicago municipal elections, and the inherent problems that arise in a system that gives incumbent aldermen the sole authority to approve the wards governing their future elections, there clearly exists a need for sunshine in Chicago’s redistricting process.
While both ICPR and the ICAR coalition supported Chairman Mell’s redistricting transparency resolution, which was approved by the Council in November, we also noted that simply adhering to the letter of that resolution alone would be insufficient in guaranteeing residents a meaningful opportunity to observe and participate in the redrawing of their wards.
As such, now is a good time to review what steps the Council has already undertaken and outline what work remains.
First, I would like to again acknowledge and thank the Council for holding six preliminary hearings in November, in compliance with the resolution and in addition to the community meetings held by the Black and Hispanic caucuses. I attended several of those hearings and was pleased to see such diverse interest and testimony. However, we have noted that it would be preferable to have held those hearings with at least two weeks’ notice and more vigorous advertising. Luckily the Council still has a chance to meet our request as it continues its work.
The resolution also called on the Committee to hold “one public hearing on any Ward map submitted to the Committee … for final consideration.” While we are pleased the committee will hold two public hearings this week, including tonight’s, we expect additional hearings to be held on the 3 proposals already released and any forthcoming maps which may be drafted. In addition to two weeks’ notice, ICPR and ICAR members believe that providing demographics and criteria well in advance of these hearings is essential to understanding proposals and enabling thoughtful feedback.
Chairman Mell’s resolution also called for providing residents access to redistricting terminals, so they can draft maps. While I have not personally used these terminals, I’ve heard that they are functional and wanted to acknowledge this.
The resolution also called for the creation of an “informational website,” which has been done to some degree with www.chicagoredistricting.com. However, up until this weekend, the site was devoid of any relevant meaningful information outside of a copy of the hearing schedule from November. None of the draft maps – not even that from the Black Caucus, which was announced in September – were posted until just a few days ago.
While the site provides users with a table of demographics of the proposed districts, it doesn’t provide a key to understanding that data or a narrative explaining the intent behind the given proposals. The site does not contain copies of testimony given to the committee through in person hearings or electronically, nor does it contain transcripts or videos of those meetings. As of yesterday afternoon, the original location of this meeting was still listed; It was changed only after I left a message for Mr. Jaime Andrade in Chairman Mell’s office.
This website has the potential to be a valuable resource, but it’s not there yet. The additions I’ve outlined should be made promptly and prior to any drafts are acted upon.
On that note: In November, I asked that the committee make public the criteria that will be used to draft and evaluate new ward maps. And, indeed, the resolution states that the “Committee shall also provide to the public mapping criteria and an explanation of any redistricting proposal presented to the full City Council.”
But this has not happened. The public has no information about the criteria or goals furthered by any of these maps before you, such as which communities are protected under a given proposal, and how each ward would create opportunities for various communities to be heard. We again ask that this committee promptly release objective criteria that will be used to evaluate draft maps. Doing so will enable Chicago residents to better understand this complex process, the factors being weighed by aldermen, and how their community stands to be impacted by a given proposal.
The resolution stated that the City Council “commit to conducting the 2011 redistricting in a transparent and accountable manner.” While you have taken some laudable steps in this direction, much work remains.
Careful redistricting can encourage a healthy political environment by creating opportunities for communities to elect candidates who understand their needs. Likewise, careless redistricting carries a cost, and I don’t mean the millions of taxpayer dollars that could be expended fighting a lawsuit or the tab for a referendum, but the cost to our democracy and the public’s faith in its government and elected officials.
As you continue your deliberations, we again encourage you to consult your constituents, for their thoughts on their future ward map. We welcome any opportunity to help accomplish our shared goal of making Chicago’s redistricting the most open and fair process yet.
Thank you, and I welcome any questions you may have.
Illinois Campaign for Political Reform principles
1. An accurate and complete count in Census 2010 is an essential building block for all redistricting efforts;
2. The process used for redistricting must be transparent to the public;
3. The redistricting process, at all levels of government, must provide data, tools and opportunities for the public to have direct input into the specific plans under consideration by the redistricting body;
4. In order to achieve representative democracy, redistricting plans must be drawn in a manner that allows elected bodies to reflect the diversity of the populace, especially racial and ethnic diversity; and
5. The redistricting process must be structured to promote fair, competitive, and representative districts.
Illinois Campaign for Accountable Redistricting principles
With respect to the map drawing process, ICAR organizations agree that maps produce by the State and City of Chicago should respect the following criteria:
1. That every ward drawn must achieve population equity; each ward must be comprised of the same number of people;
2. That compliance with the Federal Voting Rights Act, providing for majority‐minority
districts or wards is imperative;
3. That the wards be compact and contiguous;
4. That communities of interest must, where possible, be respected, including minority
populations; and
5. That wards be drawn without consideration of an incumbent’s address and without
regard to political considerations.
