New Census numbers could give Hispanics more political might in ‘burbs

Mapmakers looking to redraw Illinois’ political boundaries this year could take into account the increased population of Hispanics in the suburbs, possibly giving them a little more political sway in the collar counties.

Under law, politicians drawing new districts for state and federal lawmakers are supposed to create districts in a way that particular minority groups are able to elect someone who they think will represent their interests.

The most recent census results leave little doubt Illinois will have more Hispanic districts soon.

“We will be demanding it,” said Virginia Martinez, legislative staff attorney for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

The suburbs might be home to some of those Hispanic districts.

Census data shows that in dozens of suburbs, Hispanic growth far outpaced total population growth from 2000 to 2010.

In Carpentersville, for example, the village’s total population grew by 23 percent, or 7,100 people in the past decade. And 6,400 of those new residents are Hispanic.

Dozens of communities from Antioch to Wheaton saw similar surges. Still, with the exception of Aurora, Elgin, Carpentersville, West Chicago and Waukegan, many communities are still predominately white.

So, Martinez says, it’s unlikely there’s a high enough concentration of Hispanics in the West and Northwest suburbs to support a congressional district. But she said a state legislative seat is possible in the Aurora area.

“It does look like there should be one in the further suburbs,” she said.

In Aurora, census data shows an addition of nearly 35,000 Hispanics over the past decade, an increase of 75.7 percent. The group now makes up more than 40 percent of the city’s totally population.

Illinois mapmakers change political boundaries every 10 years to reflect new census results. A new map likely be a contentious exercise because it can help control a party’s fate for the next 10 years.

Democrats have first crack at drawing the map because they control all levels of government. And the more Hispanic residents in Illinois and the suburbs could work to their advantage. For the time being, Hispanic voters trend Democratic.

Some GOP leaders, including former Gov. Jim Edgar, have stressed that the rising Hispanic numbers could be trouble for Republicans, especially if the party doesn’t work to represent their interests.

Months ago, the Illinois Republican Party named Gabriela Wyatt, an Aurora resident and native of Mexico, as its co-chair.

University of Illinois Springfield political scientist Kent Redfield said a lot can change in 10 years, before the next time boundaries are redrawn. By then, he said, the Hispanics might swing to the GOP.

Democrats drawing the map, though, might try to predict where new Hispanic growth will be in the suburbs and draw boundaries to their advantage. A district might not have many Hispanics now, for example. But if Democrats predict growth in a particular area, they might try to capitalize.

“There would certainly be that thought in mind,” Redfield says.