West Cook News

HANA Center community organizer Young Woon Han leaves no doubt about where his organization stands on the proposed judicial subcircuit maps.

“We oppose the current map boundaries,” Han said during a Dec. 16 House and Senate Joint    Redistricting Committee hearing focused on the subcircuit maps for Cook County. “The proposed subcircuit maps split important municipal, ethnic and religious communities.”

The Senate and House Redistricting Committees recently released a proposed map of new Cook County judicial subcircuit boundaries with the proposal raising the number of subcircuits from 15 to 20 on the strength of population growth across the Chicagoland area. The change is designed to illustrate shifts in populations that have come since the turn of the century.

Han worries the current plan falls short of meeting the standards needed to reach the mark.

“Judicial subcircuits were established to ensure representation for smaller communities,” he said. “They have helped to diversify the bench. The proposed subcircuit maps split important municipal, ethnic and religious communities. Niles Township is an important and inclusive community. The villages of Skokie, Lincolnwood, Martingrove, Golf, Glenview and Niles work together to support the residents of Niles Township. We share a high school district and we share a unique diversity that is best served by staying in a single subcircuit.”

In pointing out that Asian Americans represent the state’s fastest growing population, Han adds the group is united in its demand that they have a say in what their community comes to stand for and represent.

“While we are made up of dozens of ethnicities and speak many more languages, we are an inclusive community that has fought for representation and voting rights. “The village of Skokie is 30% Asian American. We believe that respecting Asian Americans as a community of interest requires keeping these communities together as a single subcircuit.”