The 4th congressional district of
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
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 ''Act ...
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 th ...
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 ...
at the end of his current term, and not seek re-election in
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the Unit ...
.
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 ''Act ...
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 Eco ...
'' as one of the most strangely drawn and
gerrymandered 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 thousands o ...
,
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
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area. The
Illinois General Assembly 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 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 Da ...
. The northern portion is largely
Puerto Rican, while the southern portion is heavily
Mexican-American. The two sections are only connected by a piece of
Interstate 294 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 most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
and
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
.
History
![IL04_109](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a0/IL04_109.gif)
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,
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 administra ...
,
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 antiquity until the 19th century, from the powdered mineral cinnabar (a form of mercury sulfide, which is toxic) and its corresponding color. It i ...
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, 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,
Austin,
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.
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 esta ...
,
Lyons,
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
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's Southwest Side and central 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
* ...
County, as well as a portion of eastern DuPage.
The 3rd district takes in the Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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neighborhoods of Brighton Park, West Elsdon, and 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 ...
; 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 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 ...
west of S Halsted St.
Outside the Chicago city limits, this district takes in the 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
* ...
County communities of Burbank, Berwyn, 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 esta ...
, 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
See also
* Illinois's congressional districts
*List of United States congressional districts
Congressional districts in the United States are electoral divisions for the purpose of electing members of the United States House of Representatives. The number of voting seats in the House of Representatives is currently set at 435, wit ...
*Gerrymandering
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 ...
*
*
*
*
*
*
References
*
*
Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present
External links
''Washington Post'' page on the 4th District of Illinois
U.S. Census Bureau – 4th District Fact Sheet
*
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04
Congress-04
Constituencies established in 1843
1843 establishments in Illinois