Hank's 'Politically Painless, Geographically Plausible' Map

Here’s the idea:

Old Town/Downtown is one district.

Midtown — 14th to Henderson — is one district.

Highland Park/Winco/Broadway area is kind of its own district.

Henderson Center is its own district, once you throw in south and east and southeast of Henderson Center.

This is a cool working premise not only because those places feel like places, but also for political expediency. The idea is: You can move another sitting councilmember into the First Ward without any hurt feelings, because Councilmember Brady is term-limited out next year anyway.

PLUSES:

1. I feel like Wards 1, 3, 4, 5 are places that have their own sense of place and that are (usually) distinct from their neigbhors.

2. Not too geographically weird-looking. Pretty much passes the eye test.

3. Politically expedient. No councilmember up for reelection in the next four years will have to square off against one of her colleagues on the dais.

DOWNERS:

1. Ward 2 is a little bit of a hotchpotch of places. Ward 5 too, to a lesser extent.

2. Ward 3 is almost purely residential — very little industrial, commercial or retail space, at least until the Great Wabash Renaissance rolls around.

3. Divides the West Side — or what I think of as the West Side, anyway — up among two or three or even four separate wards.