2020 Census Redistricting Committee

You can watch the live-stream here. It sounds like we’re waiting for participants to log on. https://www.cookcountyil.gov/service/watch-live-board-proceedings

The meeting is called to order now by Chair Deborah Sims. We have quorum; the secretary now reads the guidelines for public participation. Commenters will have 3 min to make their remarks. https://t.co/SgienpuXvs

The first registered public speaker is Daisy Soto from the Cicero Area Project & Cicero Citizenship Project. She thanks her commissioner, Frank Aguilar, for always being supportive and engaged. “Mr. Aguilar is the community....he has always been there for us.”

The next speaker is @VillageLyons Mayor Christopher Getty. He says the village has benefited for the past decade from having one sole commissioner (Frank Aguilar) representing the entire community.

The next speaker, whose name and organization I could not hear, is executive director of an organization that provides support for west suburban residents. She says people benefit from having a commissioner whose door is open to their concerns. She praises Commissioner Aguilar.

The next speaker is Ray Hanania, public relations director for Cicero Township. He also praises Commissioner Aguilar and expresses that it’s important to keep the town in one County district, with one commissioner–someone familiar with their community and its dynamics.

He says Cicero has a large Hispanic population and a large population of undocumented people. He says they feel safe in Cicero. It would do a “disservice” to the town of Cicero and dilute the Latinx voice if it were split up into two districts.

The next registered speaker is Melrose Park Mayor Ron Serpico, but he’s not on. The next speaker is from The Binational Institute; he’s also not on.

That concludes the list of registered speakers. Commissioner Sims now introduces the team who will be working on redistricting. There are four new interns.

The interns–Darryl Dukes, Phoebe Lind, Pauline Hong, and Evan (last name not caught)–introduce themselves. They are all studying GIS or urban policy/planning.

Other members of the team introduce themselves, but with their names not always visible on the screen, it’s hard to catch names. Peter Creticos is the lead staffer; he says this is his fourth “tour” on the County Board maps

Commissioner Sims outlines the goals of redistricting, the importance of understanding the governing laws and data, and hearing public input. The redistricting office will open June 14 and is located in Room 442 in the County Building at 118 N Clark in Chicago.

“We had hoped to open earlier but the computer equipment was delayed.” There’s also a website, http://www.cookcountyil.gov/service/cook-county-2020-census-redistricting.

“We will soon enable the link so that people may draw their own maps,” Sims says.

You must make an appointment in advance for the redistricting office, due to COVID precautions

Commissioner Sims requests an amendment to set September 16 as the final deadline for action, to allow more time for public input.

Commissioner Sylvestrie moves for this change. It carries unanimously.

Peter Creticos clarifies that the voicemail is still being set up for the phone line, the website link may also not be set up yet either. He also says appointments may need to be made 7 days in advance, too

Commissioner Sylvestri clarifies that “we do not draw the map for the Cook County Board of Review”–that’s done by the state legislature.

Commissioners and staff are talking about timing regarding the data, whether there could be any holdups related to court decisions, etc.

“This is the first time in my career that we’re using data other than official census data,” Creticos says

He emphasizes the importance of hearing public feedback. Says “we’re using the framework as a device to do that.” Once we get the final data, they’ll have to examine that

Chair Sims seems confused about what’s left on the agenda and keeps asking for clarification from the secretary and others.

Before adjournment, the previous meeting minutes are approved.

The meeting adjourns at 10:51am. Thanks for following along with @CHIdocumenters!