The Chicago Gerryaldermander

[RBH]

Let me preface this with some maps of how things are now

#1: the Chicago Racial Map-


#2: Current wards by race (White is Red, Black is Blue, Hispanic is Green)-


White majority/plurality districts vary from 33% (49th) to 85% (43rd).
Black majority districts vary from 60% (2nd) to 98% (17th)
Hispanic majority/plurality districts vary from 54% (1st) to 91% (22nd)

There are 20 Black Majority wards currently, 19 White majority/plurality Wards, and 11 Hispanic Majority Wards

So in the spirit of fun, and a challenge, I decided to maximize the number of minority-majority districts and minimize the number of white-majority districts.

The following 50 ward map has 19 African-American majority wards, 11 Hispanic majority wards, 8 White majority wards, and amongst the other 12 wards, 7 are Hispanic plurality, 3 are white plurality, 2 are black plurality.

Also, in the spirit of fun, numbering convention is tossed out the window, and dozens of careers are coldly ended.

Let's start with the Southside!



Ward 1 (blue) is 67% Black, 29% Hispanic
Ward 2 (green) is 56% Black, 32% Hispanic
Ward 3 (purple) is 70% Black, 16% Hispanic

Now you know the game being played, as the majority-Hispanic 10th is dismembered between three African-American majority districts (as you can see later, maximizing that total as the Hispanic-majority number goes up isn't all that awful)

Ward 4 (red) is 97% Black
Ward 5 (yellow) is 81% Black, 16% White
Ward 6 (teal) is 98% Black
Ward 7 (gray) is 63% Black, 34% White

The 7th is the second heartless destruction of a current district (the 19th Ward), as the heavily white Southwest Corner is now in a majority-African American District.

Ward 8 (blueish, north of the 7th) is 75% Black, 19% White
Ward 9 (skyblue) is 86% Black
Ward 10 (hot pink) is 55% Black, 22% White, 22% Hispanic
Ward 11 (light green) is 79% Black, 10% White
Ward 12 (periwinkle?) is 78% Black, 14% White
Ward 13 (tan) is 55% Black, 35% Hispanic
Ward 14 (gold) is 75% Black, 16% White

Moving up the city



Ward 15 (Orange) is 50% Hispanic, 22% White, 18% Black, 10% Asian
Ward 16 (Greenish) is 62% Hispanic, 27% Black
Ward 17 (Blueish, north of Ward 15) is 40% Hispanic, 28% Asian, 17% White, 15% Black

Depending on turnout, there's a shot that such a ward could elect an Asian Alderman

Ward 18 (Yellow) is 58% Hispanic, 25% White, 14% Black
Ward 19 (limegreen) is 93% Hispanic
Ward 20 (pink) is 61% Hispanic, 20% Black, 16% White
Ward 21 (Maroonish) is 39% Black, 31% Hispanic, 28% White
Ward 22 (Brown) is 54% Hispanic, 32% White, 12% Black
Ward 23 (skyblueish) is 65% Hispanic, 27% White

The last 3 districts are the dismemberment of the Majority White district by Midway.

Ward 24 (Purpleish) is 51% Black, 35% White
Ward 25 (Pinkish, south of Ward 24) is 75% Black
Ward 26 (grayish) is 51% Black, 34% White
Ward 27 (Greenish) is 62% Black, 35% Hispanic
Ward 28 (lavender?) is 59% Hispanic, 34% Black

Moving up the city, to our first White Majority district



Ward 29 (Grayish?, north of Ward 30) is 76% White, 15% Hispanic
Ward 30 (rosey, north of Ward 32) is 63% White, 26% Hispanic
Ward 31 (yellowish, west of Wards 29/30) is 62% Hispanic, 27% White
Ward 32 (Orangeish, north of Ward 26) is 42% Hispanic, 34% Black, 22% White
Ward 33 (blue, lakeside): is 83% White
Ward 34 (green) is 56% Hispanic, 33% White

Those 6 were redone after I first completed the first version of map, and noticed that the 29-34 wards had a lot of low 50s for the White percentage.

Ward 35 (purple, lakeside) is 72% White, 14% Hispanic
Ward 36 (Orange) is 66% Hispanic, 19% White, 12% Black
Ward 37 (Skyblue) is 36% Black, 32% Hispanic, 28% White
Ward 38 (Greenish, on the city limits line) is 67% Black, 21% White, and 10% Hispanic
Ward 39 (Peach) is 65% Hispanic, 29% White

Ward 40 (Burnt brown) is 55% White, 37% Hispanic
Ward 41 (Gray, O'Hare) is 83% White (not everything changes here)
Ward 42 (Green) is 48% Hispanic and 46% White
Ward 43 (Pink, NW Side) is 79% White, 13% Hispanic
Ward 44 (Purple) is 62% White, 21% Asian, 12% Hispanic
Ward 45 (Skyblue) is 38% Hispanic, 30% White, 26% Asian
Ward 46 (Pinkish) is 50% Hispanic, 33% White, 12% Asian
Ward 47 (Light Pinkish) is 44% White, 22% Hispanic, 18% Black, 13% Asian
Ward 48 (Orangey) is 36% White, 27% Hispanic, 25% Asian
Ward 49 (Brownish) is 47% White, 22% Black, 14% Asian, 14% Hispanic
Ward 50 (Blueish) is 37% Hispanic, 28% Black, 25% White

So, when it comes to the Hispanic plurality districts, if you subscribe to the idea that a Hispanic candidate won't win a Hispanic plurality district (due to the whole VAP matter), then their plurality districts go 4 White, 2 African-American, and 1 Asian.

But it's always fun to get a coldblooded map from a world which will not exist with the current powerbrokers in Chicago. And in the scheme of things, as the percentage of whites gets lower in Chicago... they'll probably get unofficial VRA majority-minority districts in parts of the city that I just carved up (for example, there's not a single white-majority district on this map south of Chicago Avenue). Not to mention the reality that slaughtering the 11th, 13th, 19th, and 23rd means that the people living there would probably just move.

So that was an interesting test of creativity, and i'm sure there's more that can be done to make the map closer to the "White Man's Burden" alternate universe districts. And I can provide the street map with the overlays sometime later on request for certain areas.