Black Caucus chairman predicts City Council agreement on remap

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Updated: February 13, 2012 9:17AM

After months of acrimony that nearly came to blows, warring City Council factions neared agreement Wednesday on a new Chicago ward map that could avoid a repeat of the referendum that cost taxpayers $20 million in 1990 and could top $30 million this time around.

Ald. Howard Brookins (21st), chairman of the Black Caucus, said a last-minute increase in the boundaries and Hispanic population of the Southwest Side’s 23rd Ward could seal the deal, ending a bitter feud that threatened to divide the City Council along racial lines in a way not seen since Council Wars.

By inheriting Hispanic precincts from the adjacent 14th Ward, the 23rd Ward’s Latino population would rise from 54 percent under a prior draft to 61 percent, sources said.

“There will be a tentative agreement. We will be able to avoid a referendum,” Brookins said, hours before Lincoln Park residents aired their concerns about being splintered into five different wards during the first of two public hearings on the issue.

Ald. Danny Solis (25th), chairman of the Hispanic Caucus, agreed that the two sides were closing in on a compromise.

“If they get to 61 percent for the 23rd Ward and a couple of other things, we’ll be very close,” Solis said.

But, he warned, “We have to make sure taxpayers are protected and whatever map we come up with will be defensible. We need an expert on redistricting to look at the map and say, `This can withstand legal scrutiny.’”

Incumbent Ald. Mike Zalewski (23rd) could be a roadblock. He hasn’t signed on to the proposed boundary changes in the ward that now includes Midway Airport.

“I understand everyone has to give a little. But, every time we get close to an agreement, I get a different [Hispanic percentage] and a different set of boundaries. It’s totally splintering the fabric of the 23rd Ward. I can’t let that happen,” Zalewski said.

“My ward is now in the mid-40’s [Hispanic]. I’ve agreed to go to the mid-50’s. Let’s say I agree to 61 percent. Will they come back and say 65 percent?”

Ald. Pat O’Connor (40th), Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s City Council floor leader, said he’s optimistic the changes to the 23rd Ward will be enough to secure an agreement — with or without Zalewski.

“We’re working hard toward that, and we’re close,” he said.

Pressed on whether he has the 41 votes needed to avoid a referendum, O’Connor said, “If the agreement is reached, we would be close or right there. Depending on whose count you use, [Zalewski] could be 42.”

O’Connor said he’s hoping for a final vote on a consensus map at Wednesday’s Council meeting. But, he said, “We want to make sure it’s right. We could always call a special meeting” after attorneys review the final boundaries.

The Hispanic Caucus has insisted on at least 13 Hispanic wards and three Hispanic “influence” wards to reward Latinos for their 25,218-person population gain in the 2010 U.S. Census.

Despite a 181,453-person drop in Chicago’s black population, the Black Caucus is trying preserve at least 18 of the city’s 19 African-American wards.