Redistricting is one of our top stories of 2021, because it will affect how people are represented in government for ten years. Gov. Pritzker signed into law a Congressional district map that will split LaSalle County among two districts.
The state legislative map splits the county among five House districts and three Senate districts. It may not be a done deal, as the Chicago Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights is taking the state to court over E. St. Louis area Black votes being split. An earlier version didn’t concern Ottawa Democrat Lance Yednock, who’s getting a table leg shaped swath that reaches to DeKalb.
Republicans, including Tom Demmer of Dixon, decried the map as done by a small number of Democrats who guaranteed themselves easy wins.
At the local level, some LaSalle County Board members have changed their minds about a map the board approved last month, but not enough to order another redraw. She didn’t get enough support to stop the new map when it came up for a vote in November, but Ottawa Republican Arratta Znaniecki voted against it. She’ll be in the same district as fellow board member Elmer Walter.
By December’s meeting, a few more members were interested in a different map. Sheridan Republican Charles Borchsenius wanted one that doesn’t cause any incumbents to lose seats just because the boundaries changed.
Some districts will have no incumbents.