New Legislative Maps Carve Up St. Charles

With the completion of the 2010 Census, one of the tasks that government entities must complete is the redrawing of districts for elected office. For St. Charles, this means changes to boundaries for offices such as:

• Alderman
• County Board
• State Representative
• State Senator
• U.S. Congress

The process to redraw ward boundaries for City aldermen is not expected to commence for several more months, since they do not need to be set until until 30 days before the petition filing deadline for the 2013 municipal election; however, the boundaries for other government offices is already substantially complete.

There has been significant media coverage about the process to redraw maps, but there hasn't been an article that has focused exclusively on what the new maps will mean for residents and businesses in St. Charles.

In Kane County, the County Board has already reviewed and approved a new map for district boundaries. The new boundaries reflect a reduction in the total number of County Board seats (from 26 to 24). There was some interest in reducing the number of County Board seats even further, but that did not happen.

A copy of the approved map for Kane County can be found here. You can also obtain additional information about the process here.

The City of St. Charles is currently split into 3 County Board districts—District 12 represented by John Hoscheit, District 13 represented by Phil Lewis, and District 14 represented by Mark Davoust. Under the new map, the boundaries of the districts will change slightly, but the community will still be represented by the same 3 County Board districts.

At the state level, St. Charles is currently divided into two Senate districts and two House districts, with the Fox River separating them. The portion of the community located east of the Fox River is represented by Senator John Millner (District 28) and Representative Randy Ramey (District 55). The portion west of the river is represented by Senator Chris Lauzen (District 25) and Representative Tim Schmitz (District 49). It is fairly simple to tell residents or businesses who to contact by simply asking where they are located—east or west of the river. Under the new map, it's going to be more complicated.

The new map, approved by the Illinois General Assembly and Governor Quinn, will split St. Charles into 3 House districts—the 49th, 50th, and 65th. You can view the map here. St. Charles will continue to be represented by 2 State Senators—the 25th and 33rd districts.

At the federal level, St. Charles has been part of the 14th Congressional District for many years. The city was represented by former Speaker of the House Dennis J. Hastert. In 2008, Bill Foster was elected to serve the 14th District. Currently, Randy Hultgren serves as the Congressman for St. Charles. Under the new map, also approved by the Illinois General Assembly and currently under review by Governor Quinn (you can view it here), St. Charles will be split into two Congressional districts. Generally, residents who live south of Main Street will remain in the 14th District. Those who live north of Main Street will now be in the 6th District.

While there has been a great deal of debate about the process to create the new maps, with charges of gerrymandering and politics being the primary motivation, most experts seem to agree that the possibility of the maps being overturned by a court challenge is remote.

To recap, St. Charles will consist of:

• 5 Aldermanic wards (same as today)
• 3 County Board districts (same as today)
• 3 State House districts (an increase of 1)
• 2 State Senate districts (same as today)
• 2 Federal House districts (an increase of 1)

There are pros and cons associated with having multiple representatives in the Illinois General Assembly and U.S. Congress. There are also disadvantages. The important thing is that St. Charles residents and businesses identify their legislative districts well in advance of the election and get educated on the candidates before casting their ballot.