Tuesday, December 21, 2010
 
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U.S. census could be unkind to Illinois

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[December 21, 2010]  SPRINGFIELD -- Despite having one of its own in the White House, Illinois will likely lose some clout in Washington, D.C., in the near future.

Illinois will be down a congressional seat during the 2012 election if estimates regarding the 2010 census are correct.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Census Bureau will announce the official number of people in the country and in each state. How many U.S. House of Representative seats each state gets for the next decade will be determined by those figures.

Every state is entitled to at least one seat, leaving 385 spots that are divided between the states according to population.

"It looks like from preliminary estimates that we are going to lose a congressional seat. ... This doesn't mean that Illinois lost population; it just means that we didn't gain population as quickly as other states have," said Ron Michaelson, former executive director of the Illinois State Board of Elections.

Midwestern states Illinois, Iowa, Ohio and Missouri, which have seen slower population growth, will likely lose at least one seat each, according to a report by Election Data Services Inc. States in the Sunbelt, like Arizona and Nevada, have seen bigger boosts in population and look to gain a seat each.

Illinois suffered a similar fate after the 2000 census, losing a seat to bring the total of congressional representatives to its current number of 19.

In addition to having one less member in Congress, Illinois' influence in presidential elections could diminish. The number of votes a state gets in the Electoral College is determined by the number of congressional delegates it has. One less representative means one less vote.

Where the new congressional districts will fall, and which representative's seat will be eliminated, is up to the Illinois General Assembly and governor's office, which are both controlled by Democrats.

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Tuesday's data represent the first official population numbers from the 2010 census, according to Shelly Lowe, spokeswoman for the Census Bureau. She warned not to expect too much detail Tuesday. That comes later.

Throughout the upcoming year, more detailed numbers and demographic data will be put out by the Census Bureau, such as racial makeup of states. Also, alongside the raw data will be some analysis of what the numbers mean.

"We'll be looking at different kinds (of demographic) breakdowns like urban versus rural," she said.

[Illinois Statehouse News; By ANDREW THOMASON]

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