Expand concern for fair districts
I’ve read your editorials lately on “fixing” Illinois political mapping. Unfortunately, you refer only to the boundaries for the House and Senate legislative districts in Illinois. I believe that at our Lake County level, we have the same issues.
Your editorial said that the Illinois corrupt remapping process — a process that effectively gives those in power the ability to draw maps in a way that will sustain them in power — is a “not-so-silent killer of democracy in Illinois.” I believe that the same corrupt remapping process applies to Lake County.
I wonder why the Daily Herald does not analyze our Lake County with the same “eyes” and bring up these or other issues at our county level.
At the county level, the county board diluted Hispanics of Mundelein and Round Lake into six county board districts and in the Waukegan area, they put them together into just two districts. This is incredibly unfair to Hispanic voters, who do not have the impact across Lake County that our numbers would imply we should.
I agree with your editorials that we have to create districts that “do not diminish the ability of minorities to elect candidates of their choice” and “do not intentionally favor or disregard any political party or group.” I believe that we can achieve this important goal with nonpartisan redistricting after the next census.
This should be a mandate at the national level so that it will have to be used by the red states and red counties too, not just the blue states like Illinois.
Del Parra
Libertyville