Dec 2, 2021

So...How About That Transparency Promised in Ward Remapping?

Show Notes

We’ve been covering Chicago’s ward remap at City Cast Chicago, but here’s a reminder: The remap process takes place every decade after the census, and it’s meant to reflect changing demographics of the city. Each time, transparency and public input are promised. Then alderpersons gather behind closed doors and negotiate with each other about which boundaries would serve each of them and allow them to be reelected. Dec. 1 — Wednesday — was the deadline for approving a new map. But in the days leading up to it, City Council meetings were canceled, the mayor left town, and the public still hadn’t seen an official map. Without a map approved by at least 41 alderpersons, there’s now a chance voters could have final say on Chicago’s ward boundaries. But politics reporter A.D. Quig explains it’s just a chance and there’s still a lot more negotiating and dealing to come.

Guest: A.D. Quig — Politics reporter, Crain’s Chicago Business

Listen to our past coverage of the census and ward remap:

The push for an Asian American–majority ward

An alternative, independent mapping process

How shifting demographics shift political power

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