Lake County Approves New District Map

A new Lake County Board District map was approved by a 16-7 vote at the June 14 meeting. The new map will decrease the number of districts from 23 to 21 and likely decrease the number of Democrats on the County Board.

“My guess is that there will be seven Democrats left on the board,” said Melinda Bush, representative for Grayslake District 6. Bush charged that the County Board’s Republican majority drew the map with the intention of decreasing representation by Democrats. There are 10 Democrats on the County Board.

The new map puts Waukegan Democrats Angelo Kyle and Audrey Nixon in the new 14th District in 2012 and Grayslake Democrats Pat Carey and Melinda Bush will both be in the new 6th District.

The new map also splits up the Deerfield area, a move which opponents say will make it difficult for Democrat Michelle Feldman to win re-election.

Republican County Board members did not defend the map at the County Board meeting. County Board Chairman by most County Board members, including some Democrats.

Anne Flanigan Bassi, who represents District 23 in Highland Park, said that while she realizes redistricting is a political process, she felt that the interests of the communities were not best represented.

“It’s the peoples’ districts; I think that got lost in the conversation,” Bassi said.

Stolman said, previously, the goals of remapping were to divide the county into 21 districts of equal population size, to avoid fractured districts by keeping municipalities and townships in one district and to comply with the Voting Rights Act, which requires the creation of districts that create opportunities for minority candidates to be elected.

County boards are required to redraw district lines so that each direct has equal population, according to federal and state laws. The latest shows that Lake County’s population grew by 9.2 percent, with the most growth occurring in the northern and western district.

The new map will take effect in December 2012.

County board members voting against the redistricting were Pat Carey, Michelle Feldman, Terry Wilke, Melinda Bush, Audrey Nixon, Angelo Kyle and Anne Flanigan Bassi.

For a video from the board meeting, click here.