The 2012 elections are now less than 10 months away. These elections are important to watch due to redistricting on the congressional level and, of course, the presidential race.

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In what is sure to be a centerpiece in the Democrats battle to take back the House of Representatives in the upcoming 2012 elections, and even though the state lost one of its Congressional seats due to the latest census, the redistricting map approved by Governor Pat Quinn is poised to provide big gains for Democrats next November. The new map has drawn five of the 11 GOP incumbents into districts with other current members while seriously threatening two additional seats. Included in this process is the creation of two new seats; IL-8 which encompasses the northwest suburbs of Chicago and IL-11 which will include the southwest suburbs of Chicago and both are listed as “Likely Democratic” and “Lean Democratic” respectively by the Cook Report.

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It’s that time again…the time that only comes around once a decade. It’s time for redistricting! Redistricting is the process of drawing electoral district boundaries in response to the results of the decennial census. Changes are made to districts based on population changes. In the majority of states, the state legislature has the responsibility for drawing new districts throughout the state. Usually once the state legislature passes a plan, it must be approved by the governor of the state. By allowing the state legislatures to draw up these plans, many states have districts that reflect favorably on the party in control of the state at that time.

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