County Commissioners Share Redistricting Plans

A new political map reshaping county districts will soon be drawn and representatives of District 4 of the DuPage County Board held a public meeting Monday night to keep constituents informed.

“This is something that will affect everyone,” County Commissioner Debra Olson told the crowd of more than 30 gathered at the DuPage County Historical Museum.

Olson, who sits on the redistricting committee, said the commissioners working on the new political maps are maintaining a fair philosophy by trying to keep as many whole municipalities within the district as possible. Olson was joined by Commissioners J.R. McBride and Gary Eckoff, who also represent District 4. The district includes all of Glen Ellyn and Glendale Heights, most of Wheaton and parts of Lisle, Lombard, Carol Stream and Bloomingdale.

The event was sponsored by the Glen Ellyn and Wheaton chapters of the League of Women Voters.

Currently there are six political districts making up the county board. Every 10 years the political lines must be redrawn to account for population shifts recorded in the U.S. Census. Each of the six districts in the state’s second biggest county must be drawn so that 152,821 people live in each. New Census data shows the largest population growth was around Naperville, which is in County District 5. District 5 will have to lose 12,000 people, which means other county districts will have to absorb those numbers. District 4 will need to pick up 2,384 people, Olson said..

“That’s our main concern to see how we’re going to pick up these [people],” Olson said. “We have to keep the populations between the districts even, which will make shaping of the districts difficult.”

To help guide the drawing of the new map, the county contracted with Schirott, Luetkehans and Garner, an Itasca law firm.

County Commissioner Grant Eckoff of Wheaton, said the county board wants to see minimal change in the new map.

“My sense of the county board is we don’t want to see anyone (of the sitting commissioners) put out of their districts. We don’t want to be accused of those kinds of political games,” Eckoff said.

Olson agreed, but said that will be difficult to achieve because many of the current commissioners live near the borders of their districts, including herself.  

When the county political map was last drawn it was not done with input from the members of the county board, Olson said. This time they intend to make sure the process is as open and transparent as possible, she said.

Olson said the board hopes to have the process completed by the end of May.

While the board is working on its version of the map, County Chairman Dan Cronin also has the ability to draw a map as he sees fit. McBride said he believes Cronin is exercising that option, but does not know what the map will look like. In past media reports Cronin shared a vision of nine county districts with two members from each district, as opposed to the current model of three members from six districts.

Dave Diersen of Wheaton asked if commissioners were seeking to draw lines favorable to the growing number of Hispanics in the community.

“Ten years ago there were several people who spoke strongly about empowering minority groups, particularly the growing Hispanic population. How does that stand this year?,” Diersen asked.

Olson said board members met with a redistricting specialist from Northern Illinois University who said creating majority-minority districts was not necessary in DuPage County. Olson said the professor believed the way the county will draw the districts is not disenfranchising to any voter.

Missy Wilhelm, president of the Wheaton League of Women Voters, said her organization sent a letter to the county redistricting committee members urging the board to consider the federal Voting Rights Act to protect the voting rights of certain racial populations. Wilhelm said the organization also believes the districts should be drawn along existing municipal boundaries.