DuPage County Board members dispute 'Fitzpatrick Finger' map is political

Some are calling it “The Fitzpatrick Finger.”

It refers to the portion of Lombard assigned to a new DuPage County Board district on a proposed boundary map, leaving a possible candidate forced to compete in a new district.

Now there's all sorts of finger-pointing on exactly who's responsible for the map that would reapportion the chunk of Lombard out of District 2 and prevent village Trustee Laura Fitzpatrick from seeking a county board seat in that district next year.

County board member Brien Sheahan on Wednesday accused fellow District 2 representative Pat O'Shea of drawing the boundary line that gerrymanders Fitzpatrick and thousands of her neighbors into District 4, which encompasses predominately Glen Ellyn, Glendale Heights and Wheaton.

“He was responsible for putting in the first notch,” Sheahan said. “And now he says this is a huge injustice. It's a lie.”

O'Shea said he saw “many” suggested maps in the months since DuPage started the once-a-decade process to remap boundaries for the county board's six districts. But he said he never agreed to any of the maps, especially the ones that included “The Fitzpatrick Finger.”

“Brien Sheahan wanted it in the map,” O'Shea said. “I never agreed to it. I told them, ‘Don't take any of Lombard.'”

According to O'Shea, Sheahan this week got preliminary approval for a map that includes the controversial boundary line because he wants Fitzpatrick out of District 2. Sheahan defeated

Fitzpatrick by 186 votes during the 2008 Republican primary.

Sheahan insists his proposed map has nothing to do with Fitzpatrick, who says she won't run again if she‘s mapped out of District 2.

“I don't even know where she lives,” he said. “If you said, ‘Take me to her house,' I couldn't even take you.”

Sheahan says the lines needed to be changed to prevent District 4 from having to expand south into Lisle Township. District 4 board member Deb Olson said that's why she supports Sheahan's map.

“We already have a presence in Lombard, so it was preferable to just maintain that presence,” Olson said.

Nevertheless, it could be up to Jeff Redick — the other District 2 representative — to decide if Fitzpatrick stays in the district.

O'Shea on Wednesday received preliminary approval for a new map that removes the controversial boundary line. The full county board is expected to consider both O'Shea's and Sheahan's map proposals before a July 1 deadline. DuPage is divided into six districts, with three board members per district.

Several board members said they would vote for the map that Redick supports. Redick said he's going to take time to review both maps before making his decision.

“I'm going to take in everything and let the process bear itself out,” he said.

Meanwhile, the county is hosting a redistricting public hearing at 6 p.m. Monday in the county board room on the third floor of the Jack T. Knuepfer Administrative Building, 421 N. County Farm Road in Wheaton. The hearing will give residents the chance to view and give input on the proposed county maps.