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City of O’Fallon New Ward Map Effective May 1, 2022

NEWS FROM O'FALLON CITY HALL FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Posted on: April 1, 2022 - 10:48am

O’Fallon, Illinois – Due to redistricting, the City of O’Fallon’s new Ward Map will go into effect on May 1, 2022. Redistricting is the once-every-decade process of redrawing wards within the City of O'Fallon to reflect population changes after the completion of the decennial federal Census. According to the new U.S. Census Bureau figures released, O’Fallon’s new population is 32,289, a 14.1% increase.  The new Ward Map can be located at https://ofallon.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?appid=a1ff6018d333443385184324d9e09b7a. 

“O’Fallon’s continued growth has forced the boundary lines for the Wards to be adjusted. I appreciate our staff using the census information to help us during this redistricting,” said Mayor Herb Roach. “Just like all our decisions at the City Council, these new boundaries were drawn using data and common sense, and not politics; just the way that it should be done.”

Some O’Fallon residents may be in a different Ward from where they were before. We encourage everyone to review the map to determine which Ward you are now in. A list of elected officials can be viewed at https://www.ofallon.org/administration/elected-officials.

Voting Cards will be sent by St. Clair County prior to the next local election.

For Ward redistricting, guidance is from the Illinois Constitution regarding State redistricting and best practices regarding redistricting in general.

Primary considerations/requirements from the Illinois Constitution: 

  • Compact: Wards should be closely and neatly bounded; avoid sprawl and 'dangle' areas. 
  • Contiguous: Ward boundaries must be self-contained; no disconnected Ward 'bubbles'.
  • Equal population: We take the total City population from the 2020 Census and divide by the number of wards; allowing a +/-5% variance for population within each new ward boundary. 

Redistricting Best Practice Guidance:

  • Racial Fairness: preserve racial composition of communities in new Ward boundaries. 
  • Avoid Splitting Blocks: 2020 Census Block boundaries are the most granular level of population data released by Census.
  • Follow major roads and understood boundaries. 
  • Preserve existing legislators in Ward. 
  • Preserve existing Ward boundaries as much as practicable. 

The new Ward boundary Map satisfied all the above guidance. No current members of the O'Fallon City Council will move Wards with the new map. There are two major changes in comparison to the previous Ward Map: 

The old Ward Seven became too large due to continued residential growth. This problem would have continued to grow if left to current ward boundaries. Therefore, Ward Seven and Ward One are adjusted to comply with the population requirement and prepare for further growth. 

The southern boundary of Ward One no longer includes the residential area near the O'Fallon Family Sports Park. This residential area now resides in Ward Three.

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For more information, please contact Grant Litteken at 618-624-4500 or email at [email protected].