A Chicago ward remap story

Wards 40, 48, 49, and 50 converged at the corner of Clark St. and Elmdale Ave., in Edgewater, in 1981, and the Aldermen of the four wards met behind the scenes to work out a deal. Former Alderman Thomas Keane, whom Mayor Jane Byrne had designated to head the remap process, had given them most of a map, but he let them finalize a few details so each would meet legal requirements for equal population. 

Some negotiation was off limits, though. 49th Ward Alderman David Orr was given several lakefront high-rises that he wanted to trade with 48th Ward Alderman Marion Volini for a couple of blocks on Kenmore and Winthrop Avenues, where he expected greater electoral success. But the swap was not allowed. As Independents, they were both forced to accept some territory they’d rather not have.

40th Ward Democratic Committeeman John Geocaris joined Alderman Ivan Rittenberg at the meeting. They wanted a small, triangular section of the 48th ward to be moved into the 40th. It included a nursing home, whose owners were expected to make a deal with the Machine to deliver the residents’ votes.

State Senator Howard Carroll, the 50th Ward Democratic Committeeman, accompanied Alderman Bernard Stone and suggested that one precinct in Edgewater Glen be transferred from the 49th to the 48th ward. It had voted against Orr, but its residents were similar to those on Volini’s home turf and were likely to vote for her.

It wasn’t clear how he had knowledge of that area since it was neither in his ward nor his legislative district. Volini accepted both of those changes, anyway.

Then Carroll suggested what he really wanted. He proposed shifting two Rogers Park precincts that Stone was likely to lose in his next election from the 50th ward to the 49th. They were both conservative with an electorate that included many homeowners. Independents usually did well there.

Orr was hesitant. In the 50th, homeowners often voted for Independent candidates. They didn’t need city favors and they couldn’t be fooled or intimidated by precinct captains. And conservatives voted against Machine-backed candidates, too.

It was the opposite in the 49th. Homeowners often sought to protect the community from Independent liberals whom they felt were ruining their neighborhood. Conservatives shared that concern.

While Orr wasn’t enthusiastic about taking those precincts, he knew he was likely to fare better there than in Edgewater Glen. He accepted them and the deal was consummated.

Get more remap stories in “Chicago Political Stories” at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/994143