People Ex Rel. Burris v. Ryan

In People ex rel. Burris v. Ryan (1991), 147 Ill. 2d 270 (Ryan I), this court began its discussion of the constitutional requirements of a redistricting map with the observation that such a plan “must not accomplish political gerrymandering and must keep communities of interest.” (Ryan I, 147 Ill. 2d at 280.) The term “community of interest” has been used by several courts over the years to define a politically neutral criterion which can be used in redistricting. This idea of a community of interest makes an assumption — that the people of a voting district share the same values, ethnicity…