Ward Map Turns Into Jigsaw Puzzle In IIT Student's Hands

By Chuck Sudo in News on Jan 25, 2012 10:40PM

Image Credit: Andrew Bayley

NBC Chicago's Ted McClelland spoke with Andrew Bayley, a masters student at the Illinois Institute of technology who took the new ward map and turned it into the jigsaw it actually is.

Bayley told McClelland the new map "exposes how much the aldermen are worried about self-preservation." While he also said the ward map should better reflect Chicago's 77 community areas, he's also happy City Council's naked gerrymandering now places him in the 1st Ward with Proco "Joe" Moreno instead of Walter Burnett's 27th Ward. Bayley called that "a big improvement." (For anyone wondering why Bayley feels that way, check out Mick Dumke's profile of Burnett in last week's Reader.)

Bayley created the jigsaw puzzle by loading the map into a computer program, which cut it into Balsa birch plywood. He told McClelland he's willing to negotiate with others who want their own copy. Then you can play with the map the same way as City Council.