Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Speaking of that December 1st deadline...

Regarding the ward remaps WBEZ reminds us that the City Council is still working on a new map:
The chair of the city council's Black Caucus, Howard Brookins, said Tuesday that aldermen are "still meeting and negotiating...and trying to come up with a compromise that does not involve having the citizens having to vote on it."

A referendum would happen if ten or more aldermen propose a competing map.

By statute, the deadline to pass a map is December first - this Thursday - but Brookins notes there's a debate about how hard that deadline is.

A lawyer for the council's Hispanic Caucus who's involved in the negotiations, Amy Kurson, said it's her understanding that Rules Committte Chair Dick Mell will introduce a map by the deadline. It could still be "tweaked" in committee before the full council votes on it.

Before her clients decide whether they can support it, "we really do have to see the map" Kurson said. "The Latino Caucus has been very clear about their expectations."

Those expectations include 14 wards with Hispanic super-majorities, an increase from the ten agreed to a decade ago. Caucus leaders said such a change is needed to reflect Latino population growth over the last decade. But the drawing of those wards will have a ripple effect.
There is a website that is supposed to provide more information about the remap @ http://chicagoredistricting.com/ however that website is essentially worthless as there isn't a lot of information on any other proposals to be considered by Ald. Mell's rules committee. I still would like to see the Latino caucus' ward map proposal.

As a matter of fact I sent an e-mail to the Chicago Redistricting site and got this response:
The site is in the process of being updated. We will be posting proposed maps once we receive them.
I hope that before the city council votes on a ward map that Chicago residents will be able to view all proposed maps. BTW, I need not be the only one who sends an e-mail to the Chicago Redistricting website.

Also again here's information for the Rules Committee Chairman Ald. Richard Mell and Black Caucus Chairman Ald. Howard Brookins. Of course you can also follow-up with Ald. Sawyer as he does certainly have a vested interest in what the 6th ward will look like. Please be encouraged to get into touch with all those figures and get all the information you can!

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