The Lake County Board approved a new map that details the boundaries of 19 County Board districts at its meeting yesterday. The approved map can be viewed online and will go into effect in December 2022.
Under state law, every 10 years all Illinois counties are required to use Census data to go through a redistricting process--known as reapportionment--to ensure that each district includes a substantially equal number of residents. Reapportionment consists of redrawing district boundary lines based on the decennial census.
"This new map represents a 100 percent increase in majority-minority districts, a reduction in municipal splits, and two fewer Lake County Board member districts," said Lake County Board Chair Sandy Hart. "Transparency and resident engagement is important to the Lake County Board, and I'm pleased that we were able to offer four listening sessions and a public comment period, two things that had never been done before in Lake County. The approved map is a direct result of their input."
Lake County's reapportionment process included virtual public listening sessions, a public comment period after a proposed map was published that resulted in more than 700 comments, and input from interested groups.
The approved map has four majority-minority districts, with three located in the Waukegan area and one in the Round Lake area.
The Board also approved an ordinance yesterday establishing compensation for County Board Members. The 2023 salary for County Board Members will remain the same as the 2022 salary.
The approval of the map means Lake County's reapportionment process has concluded. Learn more about reapportionment at lakecountyil.gov/reapportionment