Springfield Ward Maps

Springfield residents vote for one of ten city council members who represent them on the Springfield City Council. Residents vote at Sangamon County precinct locations for a range of public offices from Capital Township to the President of the U.S., depending on the election cycle.

The ward map designates the boundaries of each of the ten city wards. The ward map is required to be updated to reflect the actual population, based on the U.S. Census, which is held every ten years. The currently proposed ward maps are based on the results of the 2020 U.S. census.

Once approved by the City Council, the new ward map will take effect after the next City election which will be held on April 4, 2023.

Process

The Springfield City Council hired the SSCRPC (Springfield-Sangamon County Regional Planning Commission) to create draft maps. The SSCRPC used census data and other information with the ESRI GIS system to generate two draft maps, and presented them, along with a review of the process, to the City Council on May 10, 2022.

The City Council will deliberate on the maps, possibly proposing amendments. All amendments must adhere to legal requirements. Similar to other agenda items that come before the Council, the members must vote to adopt the new, possibly amended, map.  The deadline for passage of the new map is August 23, 2022, 90 days before the petition-filing deadline for municipal elections.

ICON’s previous work with Ward Maps is here:

Requirements and Considerations

  • 1987 Consent Decree https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/658/1015/2361593/
    • The 1987 consent decree resulted from a federal Voting Rights Act lawsuit that charged that electing commissioners at large violated the Voting Rights Act because it so diluted the minority vote that African-American voters had no effective say in who ran the city.
    • One ward (Ward 2) must have a majority of minority residents.
  • Equal number of residents per ward (about 11,439 each). City population has shifted west, therefore, wards have also shifted west and south.
  • Current alderperson residence must be in resulting ward, even if on the boundary.
  • County voting precincts should not be split, if possible, to reduce the overhead at election time to accurately and efficiently hand out and gather ballots. NOTE: County Clerks can redraw precinct maps annually but those changes must be approved by the County Board. Therefore, precincts may change – and could potentially change every year for the next 10 years.
  • Maps should be as compact and contiguous as possible.

Maps: Current and Proposed/Draft

Current Springfield Ward Map

https://www.springfield.il.us/Citizens/WardMap.pdf

ALSO: https://springfieldicon.org/interactive-city-map/

Notes

  • You can zoom in on the maps to view street names.
  • Current map has 4 split precincts.

Proposed Springfield Ward Map 1 DRAFT

https://www.springfield.il.us/Docs/SpiWardsDraft1.pdf

Notes

  • You can zoom in on the maps to view street names.
  • Splits 6 precincts, but only 4 with people in them.
  • SSCRPC indicated Map 1 is their preferred recommended map.

Proposed Springfield Ward Map 2 DRAFT

https://www.springfield.il.us/Docs/SpiWardsDraft2.pdf

Notes

  • You can zoom in on the maps to view street names.
  • Uses physical boundaries: railroads, major streets and does NOT take precincts into account.
  • Splits 54 precincts.

Considerations for Citizens

  • Can you zoom in and find where you live?
  • Can you find your neighborhood association boundaries?
    • If so, would your association be split, possibly giving you more city council members to help represent your area?
  • What are the possible implications for you, for your neighborhood, for the city?
  • Can you find the residence address of your city council member?

 

Read about Springfield Ward Map redraw in 2014, based on the 2010 census…