 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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