Orland Moved from 13th Congressional District to 3rd Under New Map

Orland Park and Orland Hills are part of a different congressional district now that Gov. Pat Quinn has gotten his way.

Quinn signed into law Friday morning a redrawn map of state Congressional district boundaries that is believed to favor Democratic congressmen. Under the new boundaries, parts of Orland Park and Orland Hills will be in the 3^rd Illinois U.S. Congressional District, under Democrat Rep. Dan Lipinski. Previously, Orland was part of the 13^th Congressional District under Republican Rep. Judy Biggert.

The other half of Orland Park will be in Democrat Bobby Rush's 1st District.

In a joint statement, Republican U.S. legislators from Illinois districts pledged to challenge the new map in court, and lambasted Quinn for signing a “flawed map” into law.

“Governor Quinn said that a fair redistricting process required hearings. Yet the map was unveiled on a Friday and passed the following Monday, with no hearings,” republican legislators said in the statement. “Governor Quinn said that the way in which district lines are drawn contributes to the success of our democracy. Yet the map he approved seeks to reverse the results of a democratic election. Governor Quinn advocated for a fair and open process. Instead, he has guaranteed an unfair and closed one.”

Quinn did not hold a public press conference regarding the bill signing.

“I have carefully reviewed the congressional redistricting map. This map is fair, maintains competitiveness within congressional districts, and protects the voting rights of minority communities," Quinn said, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Under the new map, the 3^rd district covers substantially more communities moving west, including Palos Hills, Palos Heights, Homer Glen, Lemont, Romeoville, Lockport and Crest Hill.

The 13^th District moves to an entirely different part of the state to include Champaign and Bloomington, and then stretches southwest to St. Louis.

The new district boundaries still split Orland Park between two congressmen, which Orland Park Mayor Dan McLaughlin said was less preferable than being in one.

“Orland Park would mean more to one person and get more attention than split up under a few people,” McLaughlin said. “Bobby Rush has the right intentions, but I think a district going from the South Side of Chicago out to roughly Crete is absolutely ridiculous.”

McLaughlin, who's a Democrat, said Lipinski’s familiarity with the area will aid in his choices, but also praised the working interactions he had with Biggert.

“I had a good relationship with Judy Biggert, so I do have mixed emotions about this,” McLaughlin said. “She helped us in many ways.”