People, Power & Political Redistricting: A new Chicago effort to make redistricting maps work for the people

As part of our partnership with The Chicago Community Trust, we're sharing new voices on issues of importance to Chicago and the Midwest through the New America Chicago blog. Alex Ivory from the Chicago Community Trust recently wrote about an effort in Chicago to create a new people's map that rewrites the rules on political redistricting.

Political district maps are often mysterious and mind-bogglingly contorted. But how maps are drawn says a lot about who is in power or soon will be. This year, the City of Chicago is again considering a new map and Change Illinois is working to make these maps more logical and fair.

Redistricting, which takes place every 10 years in Chicago, is a critical component of our electoral system and an essential process for fair political representation that’s reflective of the community. When our districts reflect our communities, our political power matches our people power.

Depending on how district lines are redrawn, communities may risk having their voting power stymied, leading to inequitable policies and outcomes. Furthermore, when ward maps are drawn without transparency law, it leads to mistrust of systems among the constituents that the politicians are meant to represent. The People's Map is a new effort meant to improve that power dynamic.

Read the full article from the Trust’s Alex Ivory here.