redistricting bootcamp-revised 4-24-11

8/7/2019 Redistricting Bootcamp-Revised 4-24-11

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REDISTRICTING BOOTCAMP:

UNDERSTANDING THE RULESOF ENGAGEMENT

Presented April 21,2011 Revised April 24, 2011


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What We Will Cover

Lay of the Land

The Issues

How You Can Get Involved


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Acknowlegments

We would like to thank State Representative Arthur

Turner, Jr., State Representative La Shawn Ford and

Commissioner Robert Steele for lending their

support to this non-partisan event.

We thank Toni Pitchford and Nikol Miller of the US

Census Bureau for their technical assistance.

We also thank the Tutor Mentor Connection for

allowing us to use their maps.


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Partners

Lawndale Alliance

Illinois Campaign for Accountable Redistricting (ICAR)

Independent Voters of Illinois-Independent Precinct

Organization (IVI-IPO)

Open Door Foundation

Empowered Citizens of North Lawndale (ECONL)

The United Congress of Community and ReligiousOrganization

North Lawndale Community News


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Planning Committee

Richard Barnett

Melva Brownlee

Michael Evers

Millie Goldsmith Bruce Jackson

Mickey Johnson

Jimmy Lee Lard Valerie F. Leonard

Isaac Lewis

Fred Mitchell

Gene Moreno

Josina Morita

Aviva Patt Sondra Spellman

Dwayne Truss

Jeffery Turner Jocelyn Woodards


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Lay of the Land

The state of Illinois has changed a lot since the lastCensus in 2000.

Our population only grew 3%, and we will lose aCongressional seat.

The City of Chicago lost over 200,000, 180,000 ofwhich are African American

The greatest gains in the City and State populationhave come from the Latino and Asian American

communities There is a belief in some quarters that the African

American population has been under-counted.


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Lay of the Land

Every West Side State legislative district has lost populationexcept one, and we want to protect the Voting Rights Act.

The Asian American community is advocating for creation ofa new district that will keep their community together and

influence the outcome of elections and better provide socialservices

Depending on which group you talk to the Latino communityhas advanced proposals for the creation of 6-8 newlegislative districts based on the outcome of the 2010

Census The City will be going through a remap of its wards. There

is pressure to reduce the number of African Americanmajority wards, and increase the number of Latino majoritywards


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Lay of the Land

Chicago has 4 Congressional districts that are

protected by the Voting Rights Act of 1965

One district is Latino

Three districts are African American

There is pressure to merge 2 of the African Americandistricts and expand the number of Latino districts to 2


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What Are the Issues?


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Treatment of Prisoners in Census

Under current law, incarcerated persons are not counted in theCensus numbers of the community from which they originate, but inthe populations of the towns in which they are incarcerated.

As a result, the Census numbers in Chicago for African Americans aresignificantly undercounted, while the numbers in some Downstate

communities are inflated. Representatives from the districts in which the prisoners are

incarcerated have a history of voting against legislation that willenhance education, job training and rehabilitation of prisoners. In effect, prisoners have no representation.

There is a question as to whether or not this violates the one man, onevote principle upheld by the Supreme Court in 1964.


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Treatment of Prisoners in Census

On the other hand, legislators from the prisoners originatingcommunities (like North Lawndale and East and West Garfield Park)tend to be the ones advocating for improved education andrehabilitation services for prisoners who are not counted in theirdistricts population.

Downstate towns receive entitlement funds for CommunityDevelopment Block Grants and Social Service Block Grants thatbenefit their communities, but not the prisoners.

When the prisoners return home, their originating communities arethe ones who must help them transition by providing housing, jobtraining and other social services.

Unfortunately, the originating communities dont get their full shareof funding because the prisoners were counted in the Downstatetowns Census statistics.


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Chicago Communities With the Highest

Number of Returning PrisonersCommunity Area Number of

ReturningPrisoners

Rate Per

1,000Residents

CDBG

Funding2000-2011

Some Land in

24th Ward/9th District

Austin 1,681 14.3 $2,852,657 Yes

Humboldt Park 699 10.6 $1,186,203 No

North Lawndale 656 15.7 $1,113,232 YesWest Englewood 521 11.5 $ 884,137 No

Englewood 429 10.7 $ 728,013 No

East Garfield Park 412 19.7 $ 699,164 Yes

Three of the 6 communities with the highest number of returning prisoners are in the 24th

Ward as of2003(1). Hypothetically speaking, if each of the prisoners who returned in 2003 were in prison at the time

the Census was taken, these zip codes would have missed over $7.4 million (for CDBG funding alone) and

would have been undercounted by 4,398 people. The West Side zip codes would have missed out on $5.8

million in CDBG funding and would have been undercounted by 3,448. Actual numbers are much higher, as

the number of people released is significantly lower than the number of people remaining.

(1)A Portrait of Prisoner Reentry in Illinois, Nancy G. La Vigne, Cynthia A. Mamalian with Jeremy Travis and ChristyVisher. Urban Institute Justice Policy Center Research Report, April 2003


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The Costs of Not Including Prisoners in

the Census of Their Originating Towns

In 2000 there were 44,819 adult prisoners and 2,071 youth detainees in theIllinois Department of Corrections institutions.

26,973 adults were from Cook County

845 juveniles were from Cook County (2)

An estimated $ 79,572,330 (3) in CDBG funds alone will have gone to the towns

in which prisoners were incarcerated between 2002 and 2012. (This doesnt includeother entitlement funds generated by the 2000 Census)

Cook County will have missed out on an estimated $47,207,146 on CDBG fundingalone because prisoners are counted in the Census of the prison town.

The average length of stay in institutions was 1.4 years for adults and 9.2 months

for juveniles. Downstate towns are getting 10 year allocations for 1 year residents.

Even in cases where prisoners returned 3 times within a 10 year period, theDownstate towns are getting, on average, 10 years of funding for 4.2 years stay.

(2) Illinois Department of Corrections Department Data, 2000

(3) Based on an allocation of $1,697 per person between 2002 and 2012 resulting from the 2000 Census, as outlined in Should

the US Census Count Illegal Immigrants? Matters of Money and Representation By Robert Longley, About.com Guidehttp://usgovinfo.about.com/od/censusandstatistics/a/censusandaliens.htm
http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/censusandstatistics/a/censusandaliens.htmhttp://usgovinfo.about.com/od/censusandstatistics/a/censusandaliens.htm


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Potential Reduction in Percentage of African

Americans Represented in 5th Senate District

Some elected officials have hinted that the 5th

Senate District boundaries would be redrawn in amanner that would make it more diverse.

Higher percentage of Latino and white voters Lower percentage of African American voters.

The total population for Senate District 5 decreasedonly 1%.

This should not require changing the boundaries to thepoint of reducing the percentage of African Americanvoters below the reported 55%.


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Change in 5th Senate District 2000-2010

2000 2010

Change from

2000-2010

% Change

from

2000-2010

Target District

Population

Overage/

Shortage

Representative District 9 105,248 112,861 7,613 7.2% 108,734 4,127

Representative District10 105,249 95,447 (9,802) -9.3% 108,734 (13,287)

Senate District 5 (Total) 210,497 208,308 (2,189) -1.04% 217,468 (9,160)


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Loss of a Congressional Seat

Because the State of Illinois population grew at a slower rate thanmost states in the country, we will be losing a Congressional seat.Chicagos three Congressional Districts headed by African Americanshave each lost population and must expand boundaries. There havealso been proposals to eliminate one of the districts.

These districts are protected by the Voting Rights Act of 1965 It should be noted that African Americans, as a percentage of

Chicagos population was reduced by less than 1 percent. We makeup over a third of the Citys population and over 14% of the Statespopulation

It should also be reiterated that our numbers are significantlyundercounted due to the numbers of African Americans incarceratedin Downstate prisons.


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Whats at stake?

Political power

The ability to choose elected officials of our choice

Public funding for schools, infrastructure and social

services For example, the City got over $1,600 in CDBG

funding for every person included in the Census

between 2000 and 2010.


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How can you get involved?

Testify at the public hearing of the Senate

Redistricting Committee

Saturday, April 30, 2011, at a time and location TBD.


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Further Information

Questions regarding this presentation and ways you

may get involved may be addressed to

Valerie F. LeonardCo-Founder

Lawndale Alliance

773-521-3137

[email protected]
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]

redistricting bootcamp-revised 4-24-11

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