By Madhu Mayer
A straw poll taken Tuesday by the Joliet City Council gave a hint to how redistricting maps will impact the districts the members serve, ahead of the 2023 election.
Though a final vote on the issue will not be taken until the Tuesday, June 21, meeting, the City Council agreed on choosing a map that basically keeps almost everything status quo. A formal vote will be taken in two weeks, as the map the city council preferred in a straw poll will be posted on the city’s Web site allowing residents to comment.
“This allows everyone to stay in their districts and not dramatically change it,” said City Manager Jim Capparelli in reference to a map the staff drew Tuesday afternoon prior to the meeting.
Due to a shift in population following the 2020 census, the council was presented with several options as part of redistricting. Some districts gained residents while others lost in population. The options determined by a computer model will either keep all the council members in their current districts or assign each district a population of 30,000 residents equally.
Councilwoman Sherri Reardon said she would be remapped out of District 3, which she represents, if the option to assign 30,000 residents per each district is chosen. She commented that the new map the council favors avoid splitting the Twin Oaks East neighborhood she represents into two districts.
Capparelli said remapping would be needed prior to the April 4, 2023, election, where all five council members along with the mayor are up for re-election.
Under federal and state laws, the city is required to periodically reapportion five council districts to maintain roughly equal populations within each district. Redistricting considers the growth in census numbers. Councilwoman Bettye Gavin’s District 4 lost the most population, while Terry Morris, who represents District 5, said the population in his district decreased between 3 and 5 percent. When the redistricting process is complete, each district in Joliet should have roughly the same number of people within its boundaries.
When a district grows by 10 percent, it triggers a remap of the district. Capparelli previously told Reardon her district grew by 16 percent, which would prompt redistricting. The city manager last week said a possible redistricting will impact every Joliet City Council district, except for District 1, represented by Larry Hug. District 1 did not change in population, based on 2020 census figures, according to Capparelli.
