Redistricting map submitted by Enrique Perez, described by him as "full of squares and rectangles"
Enrique Perez, the former Aldermanic candidate in 2011 for the 2nd Ward, is crying foul over the process for redistricting all while submitting his own map in a desperate stunt that has no hope of succeeding.
Enrique Perez is part of a growing pattern emerging in the 2012 redistricting battle in Chicago. It’s a pattern that’s been brought to Chicago exclusively by the Welles Park Bulldog. Perez wants to Balkanize his community. Previously, the Welles Park Bulldog was in the field covering town halls where first the Polish community and then the residents of Lincoln Park all demanded that their communities be made whole in one ward. Perez is asking that of the South Loop.
At a previous town hall event in November, Perez, who lives in the South Loop, pleaded to keep the South Loop whole. He says the two competing maps: the one backed by the Hispanic Caucus and the one by the Black Caucus, will break up the South Loop into four or five wards.
“The whole city needs to be redistricted to keep communities in tact,” says Perez.
It’s the process that really stinks says Perez. He says that no final map has yet been shown. He says that a map is supposed to be released early tomorrow morning, with a vote by the committee to follow about an hour later, and a vote by the full council about an hour after that. Dick Mell is in charge of the committee that looks at redistricting and has been in the middle of all negotiations throughout.
Perez says both the Hispanic and Black maps are flawed, saying, “mine looks like squares and rectangles, and theirs looks like spaghetti in a bowl.” He says both maps are terribly gerrymandered and and random.
Perez calls his the One Man One Vote Map. That is a principal in all redistricting in which each individual’s map must be proportionally represented. Perez says the vaiation between wards in his map is no more than twenty seven people.
Both the Hispanic and Black Maps have variations in the thousands. If variations become too large, the map can be ruled unconstitutional.
Perez’ map has no chance of succeeding as no Alderman will sponsor it, though he hopes to have it looked at, debated, and voted on.
Instead, the likely effect, says Perez, is that the only map that will be looked it will be the compromise map that should come out at 8AM. The map needs a simple majority to pass but it also needs at least forty one votes to avoid a binding referendum.
Perez believes a binding referendum, a vote by the people of Chicago on the map, would never pass. Perez says the scuttlebutt on twitter, where he’s been gathering information on the redistricting process, is that the measure has the votes to avoid the referendum.
One Person One Vote Map
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Could you upload a larger image that shows a discernible map rather than a near-thumbnail?