Cousins v. City Council of Chicago

A “gerrymander” has been defined as “an unfair arrangement of electoral districts designed by the dominant party to give it an advantage over its rival in future elections.”1 It is a means by which the “ins” seek to maximize their advantage over the “outs.” As long as legislative bodies are permitted to define the districts from which their membership will be elected, the purpose of the gerrymander will, to some extent, influence the line-drawing process. Inevitably we must tolerate some manifestation of that purpose or else commit the responsibility for districting to a nonlegislative body.

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