The 4th congressional district of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

includes part of

Cook County Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40% of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. As of 20 ...

, and has been represented by

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Jesús "Chuy" García Jesus ( AD 30 or 33) was a Jewish preacher and religious leader who most Christians believe to be the incarnation of God and Muslims believe was a prophet. Jesus may also refer to: People Religious figures * Elymas Bar-Jesus, a Jew in the ''Ac ...

since January 2019. In November 2017, incumbent

Luis Gutiérrez Luis Vicente Gutiérrez (born December 10, 1953) is an American politician. He served as the U.S. representative for from 1993 to 2019. From 1986 until his election to Congress, he served as a member of the Chicago City Council representing the ...

announced that he would retire from

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

at the end of his current term, and not seek re-election in

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was elected on November 6, 2018. It was featured by ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Econo ...

'' as one of the most strangely drawn and

gerrymandered In representative democracies, gerrymandering (, originally ) is the political manipulation of electoral district boundaries with the intent to create undue advantage for a party, group, or socioeconomic class within the constituency. The m ...

congressional districts in the country, inspired the " Ugly Gerry" gerrymandering

typeface A typeface (or font family) is the design of lettering that can include variations in size, weight (e.g. bold), slope (e.g. italic), width (e.g. condensed), and so on. Each of these variations of the typeface is a font. There are list of type ...

, and has been nicknamed "earmuffs" due to its shape. It was created after federal courts ordered the creation of a majority-Hispanic district in the

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

area. The

Illinois General Assembly The Illinois General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Illinois. It has two chambers, the Illinois House of Representatives and the Illinois Senate. The General Assembly was created by the first state constitution adopted in 181 ...

responded by packing two majority Hispanic parts of Chicago into a single district. This district covers two strips running east–west across the city of Chicago, on the west side continuing into smaller portions of some

suburban A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...

areas in Cook County, surrounding

Illinois's 7th congressional district The 7th congressional district of Illinois covers parts of Cook County, as of the 2011 redistricting that followed the 2010 census. All or parts of Bellwood, Chicago, Forest Park, Oak Park, Maywood, and Westchester are included. Democrat Dan ...

. The northern portion is largely Puerto Rican, while the southern portion is heavily

Mexican-American Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...

. The two sections are only connected by a piece of

Interstate 294 Interstate 294 (I-294) is a tolled auxiliary Interstate Highway in northeastern Illinois. It forms the southern portion of the Tri-State Tollway in Illinois. I-294 runs from South Holland at I-80/ I-94 and Illinois Route 394 (IL 394) to N ...

to the west; the highway is in the district while the surrounding areas are not. It is the smallest congressional district in area outside

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

History

The Illinois 4th congressional district was originally formed in 1842. It included 17 counties, which were

Cook Cook or The Cook may refer to: Food preparation * Cooking, the preparation of food * Cook (domestic worker), a household staff member who prepares food * Cook (professional), an individual who prepares food for consumption in the food industry * ...

Lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

, McHenry, Boone, De Kalb, Kane, Du Page,

Will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

, Kendall, Grundy, La Salle,

Bureau Bureau ( ) may refer to: Agencies and organizations *Government agency *Public administration * News bureau, an office for gathering or distributing news, generally for a given geographical location * Bureau (European Parliament), the administrat ...

Livingston Livingston may refer to: Businesses * Livingston Energy Flight, an Italian airline (2003–2010) * Livingston Compagnia Aerea, an Italian airline (2011–2014), also known as Livingston Airline * Livingston International, a North American custom ...

Iroquois The Iroquois ( or ), officially the Haudenosaunee ( meaning "people of the longhouse"), are an Iroquoian-speaking confederacy of First Nations peoples in northeast North America/ Turtle Island. They were known during the colonial years to ...

McLean MacLean, also spelt Maclean and McLean, is a Goidelic languages, Gaelic surname Mac Gille Eathain, or, Mac Giolla Eóin in Irish language, Irish Gaelic), Eóin being a Gaelic form of Johannes (John (given name), John). The clan surname is an A ...

Vermilion Vermilion (sometimes vermillion) is a color, color family, and pigment most often made, since ancient history, antiquity until the 19th century, from the powdered mineral cinnabar (a form of mercury sulfide, which is toxic) and its correspondi ...

and

Champaign Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in Illinois outside the Chicago metropo ...

Counties. Beyond this

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

and Kankakee Counties were part of Vermillion and Iroquois Counties respectively at this point and thus in the district's boundaries. In the redistricting following the 1990 United States Census, Chicago Mayor

Richard M. Daley Richard Michael Daley (born April 24, 1942) is an American politician who served as the 54th mayor of Chicago, Illinois, from 1989 to 2011. Daley was elected mayor in 1989 and was reelected five times until declining to run for a seventh term ...

and Governor

Jim Edgar James Edgar (born July 22, 1946) is an American politician who was the 38th governor of Illinois from 1991 to 1999. Previously he served as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives from 1976 to 1979 and as Illinois Secretary of State ...

both wanted a Latino district, as Latinos were the fastest growing demographic group in the state at the time. In June 1991, Congressman

Dennis Hastert John Dennis Hastert (; born January 2, 1942) is an American former politician and convicted felon who represented from 1987 to 2007 and served as the 51st speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to 2007. The longest-se ...

, a suburban Republican, filed a federal lawsuit claiming that the existing congressional map was unconstitutional; the present congressional district boundaries emerged as a result of that lawsuit. A three-judge panel of the federal district court adopted the map proposed by Hastert and other Republican members of the Illinois Congressional delegation. Subsequent lawsuits challenging the redistricting as racially biased did not succeed in redrawing the district boundaries. The district, as it was in 2009, was in some places less than 50 metres wide and parts covered no more than one city block.

Geographic boundaries

2011 redistricting

The 4th district includes the Chicago community of Brighton Park, in addition to almost all of Hermosa, Lower West Side and Gage Park; parts of Albany Park, Irving Park, Avondale,

Logan Square Logan Square may refer to: * Logan Square, Chicago, a neighborhood on the north side of the city * Logan Circle (Philadelphia) or Logan Square, a park in Philadelphia **Logan Square, Philadelphia Logan Square is a neighborhood in Philadelphia. Bou ...

, West Town, Humboldt Park,

Belmont Cragin Belmont Cragin is one of 77 officially designated Chicago community areas located on the Northwest Side of the City of Chicago, Illinois. It is designated Community Area 19, and is located NW of the Loop. History Beginnings The first busines ...

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, McKinley Park,

South Lawndale South Lawndale is a community area on the West Side of Chicago, Illinois. Over 80% of the residents are of Mexican descent and the community is home to the largest foreign-born Mexican population in Chicago. Neighborhoods Little Village ...

, New City, West Elsdon and

Archer Heights Archer Heights is a community area in Chicago, Illinois, one of the 77 official community areas of Chicago. Archer Avenue runs from south of Chicago's downtown area, through the southwest side of Chicago and beyond into the southwest suburb ...

; portions of riverfront

Bridgeport Bridgeport is the most populous city and a major port in the U.S. state of Connecticut. With a population of 148,654 in 2020, it is also the fifth-most populous in New England. Located in eastern Fairfield County at the mouth of the Pequonnoc ...

; the portion of North Center southwest of Clybourn Avenue; and the northwestern tip of

Lincoln Park Lincoln Park is a park along Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Named after US President Abraham Lincoln, it is the city's largest public park and stretches for seven miles (11 km) from Grand Avenue (500 N), on the south, ...

. Since the 2011 redistricting, the district also includes portions of Berwyn, Brookfield,

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...

Lyons Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of th ...

, Melrose Park,

Riverside Riverside may refer to: Places Australia * Riverside, Tasmania, a suburb of Launceston, Tasmania Canada * Riverside (electoral district), in the Yukon * Riverside, Calgary, a neighbourhood in Alberta * Riverside, Manitoba, a former rural m ...

, River Forest, and Elmwood Park.Illinois Congressional District 4
Illinois Board of Elections

2021 redistricting

Due to the 2020 redistricting, this district will be primarily based around

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

's Southwest Side and central

County, as well as a portion of eastern DuPage. The 3rd district takes in the

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

neighborhoods of Brighton Park, West Elsdon, and

; most of New City, Pilsen, and

Chicago Lawn Chicago Lawn is one of the 77 community areas of Chicago, Illinois. It is located on the southwest side of the city. Its community neighbors include Gage Park, West Englewood, Ashburn, and West Lawn. It is bounded by Bell Avenue on the east ...

; the part of Clearing east of S Austin Ave and W Austin Ave; eastern Garfield Ridge; and half of

west of S Halsted St. Outside the Chicago city limits, this district takes in the

County communities of

Burbank Burbank may refer to: Places Australia * Burbank, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane United States * Burbank, California, a city in Los Angeles County * Burbank, Santa Clara County, California, a census-designated place * Burbank, Illinois, ...

, Berwyn,

, Brookfield, LaGrange Park, Northlake, and Melrose Park; most of

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...

; and the portion of Franklin Park south of Franklin Ave. DuPage County is split between this district and the 6th district. They are partitioned by Illinois Highway 64, York St, Euclid Ave, Illinois Highway 38, Illinois Highway 83, West 22nd St, Kingston Dr, Regent Drive, 31st St, Kingey Highway, East Ogden Ave, Naperville Rd, Middaugh Rd, West Chicago Ave, North Prospect Ave, Walker Ave, 55th St, and 59th St.The 4th district takes in the municipalities of Hinsdale; part of Elmhurst; and part of Oak Brook.

Voting

Prominent representatives

List of members representing the district

Election results

2012

2014

2016

2018

2020

References

* *
Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present

External links

''Washington Post'' page on the 4th District of IllinoisU.S. Census Bureau – 4th District Fact Sheet
* {{coord, 41, 49, 55, N, 87, 42, 36, W, region:US_type:city_source:kolossus-eswiki, display=title 04 Congress-04 Constituencies established in 1843 1843 establishments in Illinois

History

Geographic boundaries

2011 redistricting

2021 redistricting

Voting

Prominent representatives

List of members representing the district

Election results

2012

2014

2016

2018

2020

See also

References

External links