Redistricting discussion delayed in Lombard

Lombard trustees voted Thursday night to take their time considering two maps prepared for the village’s mandatory redistricting after the 2010 census.

Village attorney Tom Bayer said trustees have until early October to approve a new map dividing the Lilac Village’s population into six districts that are as equal in population as possible.

Since redistricting happens only once every decade, trustee Zachary Wilson said he wants to take his time reviewing proposed maps to make sure the districts are drawn fairly. His motion to postpone discussion of two maps designed by village staff until an unspecified later meeting was supported by trustees Peter Breen, Laura Fitzpatrick and Bill Ware.

Trustees Keith Giagnorio and Greg Gron voted against postponing the discussion. Village President Bill Mueller said he thought the redistricting decision should be made “as quickly as possible” so residents considering a run for one of three village board seats up for election in spring 2013 will know in advance which district they live in.

Thursday night’s discussion was never intended to progress to a vote, Village Manager David Hulseberg said.

“Staff is only asking for feedback if there is a consensus,” or if further changes to the proposed maps are needed, Hulseberg said.

Trustees were shown a few earlier versions of maps dividing the village’s 43,321 residents into six equal districts but asked for changes.

The two currently proposed maps have boundaries that differ mainly around the intersection of Main and Madison streets.

In the first version, District 6, represented by Ware, remains entirely on the east side of Main Street and extends north to Willow Street; but in the second map, it extends west of Main but remains mostly south of Madison.

An area south of the Union Pacific Railroad tracks between Main, Grace and Ash streets also switches districts between maps. In the first option, the area is in District 5, represented by Fitzpatrick, but in the second version, it switches to District 4, represented by Breen.