The CHANGE Illinois Action Fund is a 501(c)(4) nonpartisan, nonprofit educating and advocating for ethical, efficient government and elections. Chicagoans need their leadership if we are going to break the cycle of communities being sacrificed for political gains. In the wake of this secret backroom map deal, alders that previously stood up publicly for an independent commission must start work today to make it a reality. Many of the council members who voted for the map previously spoke of the broken system of the past, but when the opportunity arose for them to stop that system and chart a better path, they sided with a process focused on power and self preservation. They completely disregarded any attempt at keeping communities whole and to provide communities their voting rights. These council members completely disregarded what the people wanted. Incumbents reduced people and communities to numbers, trading them back and forth between ward boundaries for the purpose of preserving their re-election chances. Instead, their ward drawing was built to protect enough incumbents to rob voters of the ability to choose their own futures. The commission is made up of 13 people who were tasked with producing a map that reduces the splintering of neighborhoods as much as possible, engaged historically marginalized communities and upheld accepted independent mapping principles, including maximizing opportunities for communities of color to elect aldermen of their choosing.Ĭhicago Project members map another decade of broken government and politicsĬHICAGO, IL – City Council members turned their backs on the people of Chicago in more backroom, closed-door secret meetings to guarantee the re-election of 41 members through a broken ward remap process that was designed from the start to deny residents’ input. We supported the creation of a resident commission, gave it independent redistricting principles to follow and best practices’ training, hired a mapper/demographer, and supported a hearing process that was done openly and centered on Chicagoans. We aim to build a people-powered ward map for Chicago, by Chicagoans. Through this process, Chicago’s Advisory Redistricting Commission has been a model upholding racial equity and engagement, as well as best practices for independent redistricting nationwide. Our goal was to create and support a community-led-and-driven ward remap process that will strive to keep neighborhoods whole as much as possible. We believe the residents of Chicago should shape their own wards to improve representation and delivery of city services. Community organizations and good government advocates in the city created the Chicago Advisory Redistricting Commission.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |