Wednesday, June 17, 2009

gerrymandering of political districts. Letter in SunTimes



In today's SunTimes there was a letter signed by Christine Radogno and Tom Cross, Republican Leaders of the Illinois Senate and House. The argument was that political districts should not be constructed to meet special interest needs, or keep politicians in office.

Here's an map of the 1st Aldermanic Ward in Chicago. Does this look like it's been designed for a special purpose?



This is the 34th Legislative District.

If you'd like to see the shapes of all of the Illinois Senate and House districts covering the Chicago area, look at the maps on our new Program Locator.

These maps go beyond showing the boundaries of the district. They show the levels of poverty and poorly performing schools. They also show any volunteer-based tutoring and/or mentoring programs that we have on our database. Furthermore, they show businesses, faith groups, hospitals and universities who might be mobilized by the elected leader to help kids in the district stay safe in non-school hours, stay in school through high school graduation, and be starting jobs and careers by their mid 20s.

If your elected representative is helping such programs grow in your district, make sure you vote for him again, regardless of the shape of the boundaries.

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