 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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