The Peoria Public Schools' voting districts are the closest to “prime” they have been in 30 years.
At Monday night’s District 150 board of education meeting, attorney Phillip Lenzini presented the proposed district reapportionment boundaries according to the 2020 U.S. Census. The board is required to revisit the districts every 10 years in accordance with a ruling from a 1987 voting rights lawsuit.
In the latest proposal, the population of eligible voters in each district deviates less than 1% from the average number of total eligible voters across District 150. Each district’s number of representatives is based on the total number of eligible voters in each district.
“The proposed reapportionment boundaries ... are the very best that we’ve come up with in the 34 years this court order has been in place,” said Lenzini.
Based on the court order, District One receives one board member, and Districts Two and Three both receive three. District One covers the southernmost region of the city, District Two covers much of central Peoria, and District Three covers central and northern Peoria.
According to Lenzini, petitions for open seats on the board of education can begin circulating next month.