The district was established in 1994, when the board transitioned from holding elections in single-member districts, as opposed to the previous arrangement of having two multi-member districts districts: one for ten members from the city of Chicago and another for seven members from suburban Cook County.[1]
Geography
Since its inception, the district has covered parts of the West Side of Chicago and parts of the western suburbs of Cook County.
1994 boundaries
In its initial 1994 iteration, the district encompassed parts of the West Side of Chicago as well as the western suburbs of Cook County.[2]
In regards to townships and equivalent jurisdictions, the district's redistricted boundaries included portions of the city of Chicago, as well as portions of Oak Park and Proviso Townships.[4]
The parts of Chicago which the district encompassed were on the West Side, including the neighborhood of Austin. Other municipalities included Bellwood, Broadview, Maywood, and Oak Park.[5]
In regards to townships and equivalent jurisdictions, it included portions of the city of Chicago and portions of Oak Park and Proviso Townships.[9]
The parts of Chicago encompassed were on the city's West Side.
The district was 28.93 square miles (18,516.79 acres).[10]
2022 redistricting
The district, as redistricted in 2022 following the 2020 United States Census, continues to include portions of the city of Chicago and portions of Oak Park and Proviso Townships.[11][12] Of these three divisions, the largest part of the district is in Oak Park Township.[13] The district contains large segments of Chicago's 27th, 28th, 29th, and 37th wards and small segments of Chicago's 1st, 24th, 32nd, and 36th wards.[12]
The 2022 boundaries include all of the Austin neighborhood of Chicago, the majority of Chicago's West Garfield Park neighborhood, parts of East Garfield Park and Humboldt Park. Small portions of the Northwest Side of Chicago are located in the district. The district also includes the entirety of the suburbs of Bellwood, Forest Park, Maywood, Oak Park, nearly all of the suburb of Broadview, half of the suburb of Westchester, and tiny portions of Hillside and North Riverside.[12]
Politics
All commissioners representing this district, since its inception, have been Democrats.