Madison County Board Chairman Kurt Prenzler presented the proposed redistricting map of Madison County at a special board meeting Tuesday.
The map reduces the number of county board districts from 29 to 25.
“We are one of four counties in Illinois with 29 county board members,” Prenzler previously stated in a press release. “Other counties larger than us have fewer county board members.”
Prenzler said the map was redrawn without gerrymandering.
“My goal … is to have as little bias involved, and that includes my own,” Prenzler said at the meeting.
In an effort to create a fair map, Prenzler also instructed that the map could not break up minority neighborhoods.
The agreement states, “The map shall not be politically biased in any way; however, bias may be used to ensure that minority representation is not diluted disproportionately.”
The map was redrawn by the University of Illinois Geographic Information Systems Lab at Springfield (UIS) through a $4,500 contract.
Prenzler said the contract instructed UIS to recognize townships, precincts and municipalities as much as possible.
Prenzler explained in a press release that the county board district lines are adjusted every 10 years to reflect population changes and to ensure equal representation of residents.
The contract was redrawn using geographic information systems data and population-related data from American Community Survey because the 2020 census is not yet available. Prenzler explained that the census data has traditionally been available by February of the following year. However, the federal government will not provide census data until September.
Prenzler said state law requires the county allow six days for the public to view the map. It can currently be found on the county’s website. There will also be a public hearing on May 18 at 5 p.m. to allow the public an opportunity to see the proposed map in person.
According to a press release, the final plan must be adopted by July 1.
Tuesday’s meeting was the first in-person board meeting since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Board members at the meeting also approved the appointments of Dave Tanzyus as Madison County Administrator and Chris Bethel as IT Director.