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Back in the Saddle for 2013 – Gearing up to go State-wide

May 7, 2013 by Leave a Comment

After taking some much needed vacation time following the April 9th election, I’m back to work here on PrecinctMaps.com. The next election isn’t till March 2014, so I’ve got some time on my hands.

Roughly a week ago I carefully combed through the website to fix all the broken links. A lot changed since I launched this website in 2011… the redistricting activity brought many new precinct maps from various election authorities. With that basic maintenance out of the way, the next objective is content expansion. More specifically, I’ve been preparing to take this website state-wide.

2006 Algonquin Township Precinct Map

Algonquin Township was recently scanned and posted online.


Getting precinct maps online covering all Illinois’s 102 counties is a daunting task. To speed up the process of state-wide map coverage, I will temporarily focus on maps with basic precinct boundaries. Maps with election statistics will be put aside temporarily till the basic maps are done state-wide. McHenry County maps recently posted are a good example of this minimalistic approach.

If I can get a good map from a local election authority, I’ll link or post that online here. Paper maps will be scanned. Where no precinct maps currently exist, I’ll do the research to draw them in GIS myself.

Filed Under: Website News

Updates & New Cook County Township layout

April 29, 2012 by 2 Comments

Ok, I’ve finally got all the new precinct boundaries for Cook County loaded into my GIS system(there are 4,042 individual precincts in Cook County in case you were curious). I would like to thank the City of Chicago for making GIS boundaries of their new wards and precincts publically available.

Based on experience from my first run of maps posted last year, I’ll be simplifying my standard township layout somewhat. For free print maps, I’m now going to stick with the 24″ x 36″ size. Skipping the wall maps size will allow me to work faster. Next, I’ve gotten much better at producing color line maps without the aerial photos, so these will come standard now. These are helpful because they clearly show municipal boundaries. Maps with election data will only be on the aerial maps for townships now… that just works better in terms of visual design. Also, new precinct boundaries means that the only data I have to work with that currently matches is the recent March 20th primary. With this is mind, I’ll do some nifty maps show primary turnout statistics.

Barrington Township PrecinctMaps.com Line Map

Barrington Township Color Line Map

You can see the first example of the new layout on the page for Barrington Township.
Lastly, once I get Cook county updated, Dupage will be next…

Cheers!

Filed Under: Election Analysis, Website News

PrecinctMaps.com is Updating…

April 11, 2012 by Leave a Comment


Cook and DuPage County Maps are old now… :(

About to start making updates. yeah

Filed Under: Website News

Website Winding Down as Primary Campaigns Gear Up…

October 22, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Despite new precinct boundaries passing through various county board chambers around Illinois and redistricting… unfortunately new content isn’t going up for a while here at PrecinctMaps.com.

I’m bogged down with campaign work and don’t see that changing much between now and the end of March 2012. I’ll leave this website up as a general resource, but although there’s much to be done here at PrecinctMaps.com, updates will be infrequent for a while.

If you’re interested in ordering a district map, please be patient. I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.

Dupage Township Maps Online No Longer Current
Lastly, I should note Dupage County recently changed their precinct boundaries. Although changes were subtle from some inital township checks, alterations were comprehensive. This makes township maps online here at precinctmaps.com no longer current.

Filed Under: Website News

Will County Consolidating Precincts

August 17, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Suntimes reports on big precinct consolidation in Will County:

Will Co. clerk: Cutting precincts could save $200,000 per election

By Jon Seidel

JOLIET — A plan to consolidate Will County election precincts could save taxpayers as much as $200,000 per election, County Clerk Nancy Schultz Voots said.

It also could mean some Will County voters would be sent to new polling places when they cast their primary ballots in March. The county would shed 143 precincts, under the plan.

“The whole purpose of this is to save money, and also to be more efficient,” Voots said.

The clerk and her staff began working on the consolidation plan in June, when the county board voted on new political districts.

Under Voots’ proposal, Will County would have 302 precincts, each with 1,200 to 1,300 registered voters. Today the county has 445 precincts, she said, with varying numbers of registered voters. In one Plainfield precinct, Voots said, just 11 people showed up to vote in a recent election.

Voots said her plan will save the county money on voting booths, election judges and staff preparation. She said she’s trying to encourage voters to turn out on Election Day, but she doesn’t expect her plan to cause long lines. . . (read full)

Filed Under: Redistricting Tagged With: , , , , ,

League of Women Voters Piles on with Redistricting Lawsuit

August 16, 2011 by Leave a Comment

-fresh from the Illinois Issues blog:

Legislative maps face another legal challenge

By Jamey Dunn

Illinois’ new Congressional and state legislative district maps face yet another lawsuit.

The League of Women Voters of Illinois sued to have both maps tossed out, claiming they violate the First Amendment rights of voters by trying to control their political voices. “By considering the partisan composition of the districts and the political competitiveness of election campaigns in such districts, the General Assembly is unlawfully attempting to control or influence the kinds of views, opinions and speech that residents placed in those districts are likely to express or hear and receive,” the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit says that trying to make districts politically competitive — something that would require voting history and information on party affiliations — is a valid goal. But it says that Democratic mapmakers were more concerned with maximizing political benefits than ensuring that races would be competitive. “ By use of methods to control or influence the kind of views that residents are likely to hear and receive, without safeguards ensuring such action is narrowly tailored to serve legitimate state interests, there is a significant risk that the General Assembly and Congressional delegation will become less accountable and responsive to changes in public opinion and less under popular control,” the complaint said.

“The problem is the usual gerrymandering. It doesn’t matter who is in office. They just do it,” said Jan Dorner, president of the League of Women Voters of Illinois. “It isn’t specifically about these maps. … our hope is to change it from now on.” … (read full)

Filed Under: Redistricting Tagged With: , , , , ,

State Week in Review discusses Redistricting Lawsuit

July 25, 2011 by Leave a Comment

My favorite Illinois public affairs podcast, State Week in Review, dedicated last weeks program to redistricting. They specifically discussed the recent lawsuit filed by the Illinois Republican Party in federal court. Have a listen:

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Several people have asked me if I expect this legal action to be successful. I don’t. UNO supports the current map. MALDEF seems to have taken a pass on the suit. . . and I don’t see arguments for protecting Republicans a political minority going anywhere.

Campaigns for 2012 should be planned with the boundaries as they are currently drawn.

Filed Under: Audio, Redistricting Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Chicago Remap Coming in August

July 6, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Chicago Tribune gives some early coverage to the city remap process:

City population loss, race issue make council remap tricky
By John Byrne and Hal Dardick Clout Street

4:32 p.m. CDT, July 6, 2011

Veteran Ald. Richard Mell laid out the basics of redrawing the lines of Chicago’s 50 wards on Wednesday, saying this go-around will be the most challenging in recent memory.

Two of the biggest challenges involve race: The city’s African-American population dropped by more than 181,000, while the city’s Latino population grew by about 25,000 according to last year’s federal census.

Black aldermen would prefer not to lose City Council seats while Latino aldermen are looking to pick up a few seats as the new ward boundaries are drawn.

“I ask you to keep an open mind if you possibly can, to understand that even though your ward may be statistically almost right, the ward next to you could be statistically way off, which will affect everybody. So nobody’s ward is going to remain exactly the same,” Mell, 33rd, told colleagues.

Mell expects the process – in which ward boundaries are redrawn to reflect population changes so that each ward has roughly the same population – to begin in earnest around Aug. 1…(read full)

Filed Under: Election Commissions, Redistricting Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

City of Aurora Reconsidering Election Commission

July 4, 2011 by 1 Comment

From the Daily Herald:

Is election commission worth it to Aurora?
By Marie Wilson

Decades ago, the Aurora Election Commission was established by a vote of the residents.

Now, at least one Aurora alderman is calling for another citywide vote — this time on disbanding the commission that handles elections for Aurora residents living in Kane, Kendall and Will counties but not DuPage County.

Alderman Lynda Elmore said inequalities between whose tax dollars support the commission and who receives its services are part of why she wants to discontinue it.

The commission is funded by Kane County and the city of Aurora. All Aurora residents contribute through taxes they pay the city, even DuPage County residents who do not receive the commission’s services. And Kane County Aurora residents pay twice — once through the taxes they pay the city and again through their county taxes.

“It’s a combination for me of the cost of maintaining it and the fact that it is double taxing at least a third of our population, which is an unfair situation,” said Elmore, whose ward is mostly in DuPage County…(read full)

Filed Under: Election Commissions Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Quinn Signs Congressional Map Legislation Today

June 24, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Greg Hinz with Crain’s reports on his blog:

Quinn signs congressional remap
Posted by Greg H. at 6/24/2011 11:48 AM CDT

Gov. Pat Quinn Friday signed the congressional remap passed by legislative Democrats — a significant but expected action.

In a statement, the governor said the map, which has been bitterly attacked by Republicans, “is fair, maintains competitiveness within congressional districts, and protects the voting rights of minority communities.”… (read full)

Filed Under: Redistricting Tagged With: , , , , ,
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