(WAND) - Illinois is expected to lose at least one U.S. congressional district following the 2020 census. The 15th district will likely be eliminated.
The total number of U.S. representatives is fixed at 435, and after each decennial census, congressional district lines are redrawn, with some states gaining reps and some states losing them. That isn't good new for Illinois, with U.S. Census Bureau data projecting the Prairie State to have had the country's largest population decline over the past decade.
"They have reported that Illinois is one of the states, one of several states, that may lose one or more seats in Congress," Decatur City Manager Scot Wrighton told WAND.
Recent population decline in Illinois' 15th Congressional District, which includes Danville, Charleston, and Mattoon, means it may be eliminated after the 2020 Census.
"If that happens, that's extremely unfortunate, because it means that Illinois residents have less voice in Washington," Wrighton said.
Redistricting is not expected to occur until after the 2020 election, so if the 15th district is eliminated, it would still have a U.S. rep from 2020 to 2022.
Illinois leaders like Wrighton are urging residents to participate in the 2020 census, to diminish the expected losses, not only in representation, but in funding, the state will receive in the coming years.
"That would also be a loss for Illinois residents," Wrighton said. "It means that they would have to come up with their own resources to plug those gaps in order to provide the same level of services. So, again, it is doubly important that everybody make sure that they're counted."
