The 4th District just got a bit smaller – by a few blocks. It had to by law.
The City Council on Tuesday night unanimously approved a redistricting plan that includes a minor reshaping of the city’s four aldermanic districts to reflect population changes with the 2010 Census.
This process must happen every 10 years to ensure that each aldermanic district includes approximately the same amount of people – plus or minus 2 percent of the average.
In this case, the 4th District was a bit too large, so it “lost” a few blocks to other districts. Essentially, the district now ends at Milwaukee Avenue to the south, with residents on Madison and Michigan Avenues previously served by the 4th District now moving into the 3rd District. Other wards saw minor changes in the Third District as well.
We didn’t see much change this time around because of the city’s relatively static population, and because the county and state didn’t make any changes to the definition of its South Milwaukee districts.
The changes that did occur actually clean up the aldermanic map, making it look more like four square quadrants than the jagged-line map of old. This is a good thing, as it reduces some of the complexity of districts (and the wards that make up them) and gives people a better idea of who represents them on the City Council.
See what I mean here.
The changes take effect immediately. Those affected will get a postcard informing them of the changes before the spring election.
If you have any questions on this process, please do not hesitate to contact me. And, of course, please post your comments below.
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