REDISTRICTING BOOTCAMP:

UNDERSTANDING THE RULES

OF ENGAGEMENT
Presented April 21,2011 Revised April 24, 2011
What We Will Cover
 Lay of the Land
 The Issues
 How You Can Get Involved
Acknowlegments
 We would like to thank State Representative Arthur
Turner, Jr., State Representative La Shawn Ford and
Commissioner Robert Steele for lending their
support to this non-partisan event.

 We thank Toni Pitchford and Nikol Miller of the US

Census Bureau for their technical assistance.

 We also thank the Tutor Mentor Connection for

allowing us to use their maps.
Partners
 Lawndale Alliance
 Illinois Campaign for Accountable Redistricting (ICAR)
 Independent Voters of Illinois-Independent Precinct
Organization (IVI-IPO)
 Open Door Foundation
 Empowered Citizens of North Lawndale (ECONL)
 The United Congress of Community and Religious
Organization
 North Lawndale Community News
Planning Committee
 Richard Barnett  Fred Mitchell
 Melva Brownlee  Gene Moreno
 Michael Evers  Josina Morita
 Millie Goldsmith  Aviva Patt
 Bruce Jackson  Sondra Spellman
 Mickey Johnson  Dwayne Truss
 Jimmy Lee Lard  Jeffery Turner
 Valerie F. Leonard  Jocelyn Woodards
 Isaac Lewis
Lay of the Land
 The state of Illinois has changed a lot since the last
Census in 2000.
 Our population only grew 3%, and we will lose a
Congressional seat.
 The City of Chicago lost over 200,000, 180,000 of
which are African American
 The greatest gains in the City and State population
have come from the Latino and Asian American
communities
 There is a belief in some quarters that the African
American population has been under-counted.
Lay of the Land
 Every West Side State legislative district has lost population
except one, and we want to protect the Voting Rights Act.
 The Asian American community is advocating for creation of
a new district that will keep their community together and
influence the outcome of elections and better provide social
services
 Depending on which group you talk to the Latino community
has advanced proposals for the creation of 6-8 new
legislative districts based on the outcome of the 2010
Census
 The City will be going through a remap of its wards. There
is pressure to reduce the number of African American
majority wards, and increase the number of Latino majority
wards
Lay of the Land
 Chicago has 4 Congressional districts that are
protected by the Voting Rights Act of 1965
 One district is Latino
 Three districts are African American

 There is pressure to merge 2 of the African American

districts and expand the number of Latino districts to 2
What Are the Issues?
Desire to Keep North Lawndale Intact

 North Lawndale is a community of interest, and we

would like to keep it together
 Currently, the entire North Lawndale Community, as
defined by Chicago Community Area 29, is located in
the 9th Legislative District and the 7th Congressional
District.
 Keeping the community intact ensures that the political
and social service needs needs of our community are
addressed by a single legislator.
Treatment of Prisoners in Census
 Under current law, incarcerated persons are not counted in the
Census numbers of the community from which they originate, but in
the populations of the towns in which they are incarcerated.
 As a result, the Census numbers in Chicago for African Americans are
significantly undercounted, while the numbers in some Downstate
communities are inflated.
 Representatives from the districts in which the prisoners are
incarcerated have a history of voting against legislation that will
enhance education, job training and rehabilitation of prisoners.
 In effect, prisoners have no representation.
 There is a question as to whether or not this violates the “one man, one
vote” principle upheld by the Supreme Court in 1964.
Treatment of Prisoners in Census
 On the other hand, legislators from the prisoners’ originating
communities (like North Lawndale and East and West Garfield Park)
tend to be the ones advocating for improved education and
rehabilitation services for prisoners who are not counted in their
districts’ population.
 Downstate towns receive entitlement funds for Community
Development Block Grants and Social Service Block Grants that
benefit their communities, but not the prisoners.
 When the prisoners return home, their originating communities are
the ones who must help them transition by providing housing, job
training and other social services.
 Unfortunately, the originating communities don’t get their full share
of funding because the prisoners were counted in the Downstate
town’s Census statistics.
 Chicago Communities With the Highest
Number of Returning Prisoners
Community Area Number of Rate Per CDBG Some Land in
Returning 1,000 Funding 24th Ward/
Prisoners Residents 2000-2011 9th District
Austin 1,681 14.3 $2,852,657 Yes

Humboldt Park 699 10.6 $1,186,203 No

North Lawndale 656 15.7 $1,113,232 Yes
West Englewood 521 11.5 $ 884,137 No

Englewood 429 10.7 $ 728,013 No

East Garfield Park 412 19.7 $ 699,164 Yes
Three of the 6 communities with the highest number of returning prisoners are in the 24 th Ward as of
2003(1). Hypothetically speaking, if each of the prisoners who returned in 2003 were in prison at the time
the Census was taken, these zip codes would have missed over $7.4 million (for CDBG funding alone) and
would have been undercounted by 4,398 people. The West Side zip codes would have missed out on $5.8
million in CDBG funding and would have been undercounted by 3,448. Actual numbers are much higher, as
the number of people released is significantly lower than the number of people remaining.

(1)“A Portrait of Prisoner Reentry in Illinois”, Nancy G. La Vigne, Cynthia A. Mamalian with Jeremy Travis and Christy
Visher. Urban Institute Justice Policy Center Research Report, April 2003
 The Costs of Not Including Prisoners in
the Census of Their Originating Towns
 In 2000 there were 44,819 adult prisoners and 2,071 youth detainees in the
Illinois Department of Corrections institutions.
 26,973 adults were from Cook County
 845 juveniles were from Cook County (2)

 An estimated $ 79,572,330 (3) in CDBG funds alone will have gone to the towns
in which prisoners were incarcerated between 2002 and 2012. (This doesn’t include
other entitlement funds generated by the 2000 Census)

 Cook County will have missed out on an estimated $47,207,146 on CDBG funding
alone because prisoners are counted in the Census of the prison town.

 The average length of stay in institutions was 1.4 years for adults and 9.2 months
for juveniles. Downstate towns are getting 10 year allocations for 1 year residents.

 Even in cases where prisoners returned 3 times within a 10 year period, the
Downstate towns are getting, on average, 10 years of funding for 4.2 years stay.

(2) Illinois Department of Corrections Department Data, 2000

(3) Based on an allocation of $1,697 per person between 2002 and 2012 resulting from the 2000 Census, as outlined in “ Should
the US Census Count Illegal Immigrants? Matters of Money and Representation By Robert Longley, About.com Guide
http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/censusandstatistics/a/censusandaliens.htm
Potential Reduction in Percentage of African
Americans Represented in 5th Senate District

 Some elected officials have hinted that the 5th

Senate District boundaries would be redrawn in a
manner that would make it more diverse.
 Higher percentage of Latino and white voters
 Lower percentage of African American voters.

 The total population for Senate District 5 decreased

only 1%.
 Thisshould not require changing the boundaries to the
point of reducing the percentage of African American
voters below the reported 55%.
Change in 5th Senate District 2000-2010

% Change
Change from from Target District Overage/
2000 2010 2000-2010 2000-2010 Population Shortage
Representative District 9 105,248 112,861 7,613 7.2% 108,734 4,127
Representative District10 105,249 95,447 (9,802) -9.3% 108,734 (13,287)
Senate District 5 (Total) 210,497 208,308 (2,189) -1.04% 217,468 (9,160)
Loss of a Congressional Seat
 Because the State of Illinois’ population grew at a slower rate than
most states in the country, we will be losing a Congressional seat.
Chicago’s three Congressional Districts headed by African Americans
have each lost population and must expand boundaries. There have
also been proposals to eliminate one of the districts.
 These districts are protected by the Voting Rights Act of 1965
 It should be noted that African Americans, as a percentage of
Chicago’s population was reduced by less than 1 percent. We make
up over a third of the City’s population and over 14% of the State’s
population
 It should also be reiterated that our numbers are significantly
undercounted due to the numbers of African Americans incarcerated
in Downstate prisons.
What’s at stake?

 Political power
 The ability to choose elected officials of our choice
 Public funding for schools, infrastructure and social
services
 For example, the City got over $1,600 in CDBG
funding for every person included in the Census
between 2000 and 2010.
How can you get involved?
 Testify at the public hearing of the Senate
Redistricting Committee
 Saturday, April 30, 2011, at a time and location TBD.
Further Information
 Questions regarding this presentation and ways you
may get involved may be addressed to

Valerie F. Leonard
Co-Founder
Lawndale Alliance
773-521-3137
valeriefleonard@msn.com