Commissioners

Apriel Campbell, North Lawndale

Apriel Campbell is a first-generation serial entrepreneur, administrator, consultant, advocate, community leader, creative and published artist currently in an inaugural role as the first African American Assistant Director of Civic Engagement at the School of the Art Institute. She is an Alumna of The University of Wisconsin-Madison with a Bachelors degree in Integrative Biology and Communications with a certificate in Gender & Women’s Studies. She is also a member of the national Posse Foundation scholarship alumni network. Additionally, Apriel is the founder of Ivy Care LLC—an essential self-care beauty and wellness brand launched in 2019. This brand embodies and manifests essential self-care as a vehicle for transformative well-being. Apriel is passionate about social justice, social equity, disability empowerment, crime survivor empowerment, and civic engagement. She remains involved in her North Lawndale community through a variety of steering committees and a host of sub-committees.

Graciela Covarrubias, Avondale

Gracie Covarrubias currently works at the De La Salle Institute as the Assistant Director of Admission. Having lived in Chicago for the past 7 years, Gracie has seen first-hand how issues of gentrification, access to education, and a lack of representation have hurt Chicagoans. An active member in her community, Gracie serves on the executive team of the Catholic Charities Junior Board where she strives to connect young adults with opportunities to serve and support the Catholic Charities clients across the city of Chicago.

Gracie earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Organizational Communication and Public Relations and Advertising from DePaul University. She also holds a Master of Arts degree in Communication and Media with a focus on Organizational Communication from DePaul University. A fierce proponent of mission driven work, Gracie has become heavily involved with the university’s Division of Mission and Ministry that seeks to promote DePaul’s Vincentian mission of service and social justice. During her tenure at DePaul she led numerous student service immersion trips and helped develop a Vincentian leadership program for students to engage in intentional dialogue centered on enacting systemic change within their communities. Gracie is currently pursuing a Masters of Public Policy with a focus on educational policy at DePaul University and she hopes to contribute to the movement for equitable educational reform.

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Rory Gilchrist, Lincoln Square

Rory Gilchrist is a community organizer and sustainability professional working at the intersection of planetary health and public heath. Rory’s first job in Chicago was for the Department of Public Health, doing environmental health fieldwork in Far South Side communities. They also have professional experience in consulting for architecture and urban design firms, documenting and developing the relationships between a changing climate, the built environment, and resilient and empowered communities. Currently, they work as a freelance project manager and data scientist. Their community organizing work includes voting rights, public transportation, and immigrant and refugee justice. They currently organize with the campaign to Democratize ComEd for a greener, fairer energy grid. A naturalized US citizen and transplant to Chicagoland, they attended St John’s College in Santa Fe NM for undergraduate and University of Chicago for graduate schools, and currently live in Lincoln Square.

Andrea Hall, Grand Boulevard

Drea Hall currently serves as the Executive Director of the Illinois Justice Commission, where she leads and organizes Illinois Department of Human Services’ portfolio related to juvenile justice and delinquency prevention programs and services. From 2016 to 2019, she was Director of Organizing with the Community Renewal Society (CRS), where she convened faith-based organizations across racial, ethnic, geographic, and socioeconomic lines to drive community change. Prior to her work with CRS, she worked closely with young people and their families as the Senior Family and Community Engagement Manager for Chicago Public Schools, where she managed a team responsible for family engagement across 500 schools. Drea also has served as a Senior Organizer for the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, where she led re-entry and criminal justice reform efforts. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Social Work from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, and a master’s in social work from Washington University in St. Louis.

Chris Kanich, Bridgeport

Chris Kanich is an educator, researcher, and engaged community member from Bridgeport. He grew up in Northwest Indiana and has lived in Chicago for the past nine years. As an associate professor of computer science at UIC, Chris helps students (many of whom are both first-generation Americans and first-generation college students) attain life-changing education and employment in the tech sector. He also conducts research in cybersecurity focused on understanding how technology can be used to both harm and help people. At the onset of the pandemic, Chris co-organized Greater Bridgeport Mutual Aid to directly help those in need in his community. He also serves on the board of directors for Project: VISION, a nonprofit that helps youth in Chinatown, Bridgeport, and the surrounding area achieve their full potential by providing them with tools for educational, personal, and civic development.

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Ahmed Khan, West Ridge

Ahmed Khan is a lifelong resident of Chicago’s West Ridge neighborhood. He brings with him more than a decade of professional experience spanning the business, non-profit, higher education, and political sectors. Ahmed earned his MS in Communication from Northwestern University. Currently, he serves as an advisory member with the Illinois Muslim Civic Coalition-Activate and member of the 50th Ward Action Network.

In the political arena, Ahmed has worked in both support and leadership roles ranging from high profile local campaigns, serving as deputy field and communications director during the 2015 Chicago mayoral race, to national campaigns, having served as deputy executive director with the Draft Biden 2016 effort. More recently, Ahmed served as a board member for Our Revolution Illinois and as a steering committee member for Illinois for Bernie.

In addition, Ahmed has experience spearheading communications, event management, development, and community outreach with community-based non-profits such as the Council of Islamic Organizations of Greater Chicago and Indian American Muslim Council. As an expert communicator and effective collaborator, Ahmed has served on numerous civic and non-profit community boards, including as an elected Community Representative on a CPS Local School Council and two-time Chair of the West Rogers Park Community Organization.

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Allen Linton II, Woodlawn

Allen Linton II (he/him/his) is a lifelong Chicago Southsider and proud graduate of Chicago Public Schools. Professionally, he is the Director of Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives at the Associated Colleges of the Midwest. Allen manages the Faculty and Undergraduate Fellows Program for a Diverse Professoriate and leads the ACM’s Antiracism Initiatives to ensure that its campuses equitably support its staff, faculty, and students of color. Allen is a founding member and 2020-21 Curator of the Chicago Global Shapers Hub.  

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Debbie Liu, Near South Side

Debbie Liu works across different communities of the region at the Metropolitan Planning Council. She understands the intersections of good governance and community power as a former organizer and planner for Asian American communities, particularly for the Greater Chinatown area. As a daughter of immigrants, she believes in the importance of thoughtful redistricting and policy-making and the impact it has on communities of color. She holds a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Lyzeth Mondragon, Chicago Lawn

Lyzeth Mondragon is the Community Impact Director at the American Heart Association, where much of her work focuses on health equity, social determinants of health, and the relationship between race and access to health care in Chicago. A proud first-generation daughter of Mexican immigrants, she was born and raised in Chicago Lawn.

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Alyssa Rodriguez, Bridgeport

Alyssa Rodriguez is a community organizer living in Bridgeport. She is passionate about building grassroots power and creating long-term solutions to homelessness. Currently, she is an organizer at the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Anthropology and Critical Race Studies from the University of Chicago.

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Mike Strode, South Deering

Mike Strode is a writer, urban cyclist, facilitator, and solidarity economy organizer with the Kola Nut Collaborative residing in southeast Chicago. The Kola Nut Collaborative is Chicago’s only time-based service and skills exchange (otherwise known as a timebank) providing an open platform for mutual aid, community organizing, and network weaving. He also serves on the boards of Dill Pickle Food Co-op, South Deering Manor Community Association, US Solidarity Economy Network, and Co-op Power.

Sravan Suryadevara, Near South Side

Sravan Suryadevara has been a resident of the South Loop for more than 8 years. He currently works as a Software Applications Developer for FIRST, a global STEM education organization preparing young people for the future. Sravan is also the Lead Mentor for FIRST 5125 Hawks On The Horizon, a robotics team based out of Horizon Science Academy McKinley Park, that empowers students to find and pursue their passions. In addition, he teaches high-school and middle-school engineering, robotics and computer science courses at HSA. For more than a decade, Sravan has held various leadership roles at FIRST Illinois Robotics, and has helped expand access to after-school STEM programs, and managed robotics competitions across Chicago and Illinois. Currently, he serves on the Midwest Regional Planning Committee, the FLL Planning Committee, and the FTC Chicago South League Committee. He also serves as Secretary for the Rotary Club of Chicago Citywide Service helping organize community service activities across the city, as a Volunteer Deputy Registrar registering young people to vote, and as a member of the Citizens Climate Lobby working to address climate change. Recently, with the onset of the pandemic, Sravan's become deeply involved in mutual aid efforts in Chicago serving as a point person for South Loop and downtown to organize and coordinate neighbors to help neighbors in need. 

Sravan received his B.S in Computer Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Deborah Williams, Austin

Deborah Williams is a lifelong Austin Resident, she is a product of the Chicago Public School System. She graduated from Prosser Vocational High School and then earned a degree in Accounting from Northeastern Illinois University. After graduating, she began her career in nonprofit financial management through positions as staff accountant at local organizations including Bethel New Life and Centers for New Horizons. Deborah developed a passion for nonprofit development and in December 2015, she earned a Master’s degree in Grant Writing, Management, and Evaluations from Concordia University. Deborah now has over two decades of grassroots fundraising and youth development experience. 

As a devout Christian, Deborah lends her talents to local churches to help develop community based programming. She is also the founder and CEO of DW Provision Consulting & Tax Services where she assists nonprofit organizations with their 990s and other government reporting requirements. Deborah serves on the board of several well-known nonprofits such as Austin Coming Together, Project Exploration, and The Leader’s Network.  She is the west side Oratory Coach for PUSH Excel Oratorical Program. Deborah is a long time member of the Chicago Westside NAACP where she served as Youth Council for several years and is a former Vice President.  Deborah now serves as the Chair of the Civic Engagement Taskforce for the Austin Quality of Life Plan. In 2018, she received the 1st inaugural “Mildred Wiley Community Fire Award”. This award was created to commemorate the dedication and passion of the late Mildred Wiley, a long-term employee of Bethel New Life and life-long Austin Resident. 

Deborah is currently employed by Habilitative Systems, Inc. as the Community Outreach & Engagement Supervisor.

Alternates

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Thomas Dowling, Lake View

Tom is currently the co-founder and CEO of TaxProper, a start-up that manages property tax liability for more than $3 billion worth of real estate. TaxProper has raised more than $2 million in venture capital and is backed by leading firms such as YCombinator, Khosla Ventures, Global Founders Capital, and Clocktower Ventures.

Tom is also an active advisor to state and municipal elected officials in Illinois on municipal finance issues and early-stage technology. He was appointed by Governor JB Pritzker to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, the fourth largest state tuition aid program in the country responsible for distributing more than $450 million to low income students. He is the the co-founder and Co-Chair of P33’s ‘33 Council. He previously served on Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s transition team where he advised the Mayor on municipal finance, gaming, and state pension policy. 

Tom received a Masters in Comparative Social Policy from the University of Oxford, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar. He is also a Truman Scholar, Lincoln Academy Laureate (the State of Illinois highest honour), and a Fulbright participant. He graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Illinois, where he studied political science and history.

Heather McCowen, Loop

Heather McCowen, Ph.D. is the Director of Programs at the ChiArts Foundation, the support organization for The Chicago HS for the Arts (ChiArts). Prior to her position at the foundation, she was the founding college counselor for ChiArts HS and created their college counseling program. ChiArts HS serves students from all 50 wards of the city of Chicago. Her work currently involves all programs at the foundation, assisting the high school with connecting with colleges and helping alumni find meaningful paid work. Dr. McCowen is a proud member of the Northshore Concert Band, and a previous member of several different orchestras in various parts of the country. She is also an alumna of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. Dr. McCowen currently lives in the South Loop neighborhood with her husband and son, and enjoys sewing a handmade wardrobe, coaching her son's ice hockey team and playing ice hockey with her women's hockey team. Education: Univ. of North Texas - PhD, Southern Methodist Univ. - MMusic, Northwestern Univ. - BMusic.

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Jonathan VanderBrug, Irving Park

Jonathan VanderBrug is a resident of Mayfair and has led advocacy initiatives in Chicago for more than 20 years. He currently serves as Deputy Director-Civic Engagement for Arts Alliance Illinois, a nonprofit advocating for arts, culture, and arts education in Chicago and statewide.

Jonathan’s career in civic engagement has spanned a wide range of integrated issues and given him the opportunity to engage and learn from diverse communities across Chicago. Through a partnership between the Field Museum and local grassroots organizations, he worked as an environmental justice organizer on Chicago’s South Side. As the Health Care Justice Director for the Illinois Campaign for Better Health Care, he led citywide Chicago advocacy campaigns for health care reform.

Prior to moving to Chicago in 2000, Jonathan served as Executive Director, St. Louis Lead Poisoning Prevention Coalition; Policy Advisor, specializing in tax policy, Michigan House of Representatives; and Founding Executive Director, Urban Produce (UP), an urban gardening and jobs training organization. All of Jonathan’s work has carried the spirit of the civil rights efforts of his parents, who fought for school desegregation as residents of North Lawndale in the 1960’s.

Jonathan holds a Master of Nonprofit Administration degree from North Park University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Calvin University. He is married with two children, who attend their neighborhood CPS school.

Commission Charter

This is the charter for the Chicago Advisory Redistricting Commission (the “Commission”), which shall govern the organization, purpose, and proceedings of the Commission.

1. PURPOSE

In proposing new ward boundaries for the City of Chicago, the Commission shall (1) collect and consider public input to inform its deliberations, (2) draw boundaries according to the redistricting criteria proposed in this charter, and (3) act with integrity, fairness, and efficiency.

2. COMPOSITION

The Commission shall comprise thirteen commissioners, who shall be independent community members selected from each of the following seven regions of Chicago: the North Side, Northwest Side, Central, West Side, Southwest Side, South Side, and Far South Side.

The Commission should include independent thinkers reflecting the city's geographic, racial, age, economic and ethnic diversity.

3. QUALIFICATIONS 

(a) Qualifications. To be eligible to serve as a commissioner, a person must have continuously resided in the City of Chicago for the last five years.

(b) Disqualifications. Anyone with overtly partisan and political interests and connections cannot serve, including any of the following: 

  • Candidate for or elected to any federal, state, or local office, except for the Local School Councils administered by Chicago Public Schools;

  • Elected or appointed member of a political party;

  • Officer, employee, or paid consultant of a political party, political action committee, campaign committee of a candidate for federal or state office, or current officeholder;

  • Employee of the City of Chicago;

  • Registered lobbyist; or

  • Immediate family member to a person who meets one of the above disqualifications.

4. SELECTION

(a) Independent Selection Committee. The process for selecting commissioners shall be undertaken by an independent selection committee (the “Selection Committee”). CHANGE Illinois sought and received recommendations for respected, independent Chicagoans to serve on the Selection Committee. The Selection Committee shall strive for a commission that is as geographically, racially, ethnically, and economically diverse as Chicago.

(b) Application. Applications for people interested in serving as commissioners shall be made available for a period of at least one month before they are due. The application shall be prepared in such a form as to give people an opportunity to demonstrate the following traits: civic-minded, compromise-oriented, impartial, and respectful of the City’s diversity.

(c) Approaches to Selection. From among the applications received, the Selection Committee shall select a total of thirteen commissioners from the seven regions identified in Section 2 of this charter.

The Selection Committee shall review all applications to identify applicants who are civic-minded, compromise-oriented, impartial, and respectful of the City’s diversity. The Selection Committee shall identify and interview semi-finalists.

In making final selections, the Selection Committee shall give due consideration to maintaining racial, ethnic, and gender diversity and to ensuring that the Commission reflects the demographic and geographic diversity of the City.

5. REMOVAL

(a) Basis for removal. If a commissioner substantially neglects the commissioner’s duties, commits gross misconduct in the performance of those duties, fails to attend at least 75% of hearings and other meetings of the Commission or committees of which the commissioner is a member, is otherwise unable to discharge those duties, or becomes disqualified as described in Section 3(b) of this charter, the Commission may act to remove that commissioner in a public meeting after notifying the commissioner at least 48 hours before the meeting.

(b) Replacements. If there is a vacancy in the Commission for any reason, including because of a commissioner’s resignation or removal, the independent selection committee has chosen four alternates from different regions. One of those alternates will be seated, preferably one closest to the region where the vacancy occurred. Should all alternates be seated, the independent selection committee will review finalists and create a new pool of alternates.

6. GOVERNANCE AND OPERATIONS

(a) Commission Finances. CHANGE Illinois shall, and has, approved funding for reasonable, limited expenses to carry out this charter, including, but not limited to, hiring staff, conducting public outreach, and other administrative and programmatic costs.

Each commissioner shall be compensated $5,000 at the completion of service if the commissioner has adequately satisfied the duties of being a commissioner, including attending at least 75% of hearings, as determined by CHANGE Illinois. Commissioners are expected to be active participants on at least one committee and to attend all hearings. 

CHANGE Illinois has contracted for a website, technical staff, mapping expertise, legal counsel, and administrative staff. Additional needs will be considered, within a limited budget, as necessary.

The duty of any person employed or retained by CHANGE Illinois on behalf of the Commission is to act in the utmost public interest of the people of Chicago and not any party, individual, or special interest.

(b) Transparency. The Commission shall comply with the Illinois Freedom of Information Act and Illinois Open Meetings Act as if it were a public body. 

Commissioners, staff, and consultants shall not communicate with any outside persons attempting to influence the map-drawing process, including the office of the Mayor of Chicago, outside of public meetings and public comment periods.

(c) Commission Action and Quorum. Seven commissioners shall constitute a quorum. No action may be taken by the Commission outside of a meeting that is publicly noticed and held in compliance with the Illinois Open Meetings Act.

Any action by the Commission shall require the affirmative vote of nine commissioners. The final ward map to be adopted by the Commission and recommended to the City Council shall require the affirmative vote of nine commissioners, including at least one affirmative vote from commissioners selected from each of the North, West, and South Sides. For this purpose, the North Side includes the North Side and Northwest Side; the South Side includes the Central region, South Side, and Far South Side; and the West Side includes the West Side and Southwest Side.

The Commission will elect a commissioner to serve as initial chair. The Commission may, in its discretion,  either designate a chair to preside at all meetings or establish a rotation of commissioners to serve as chair by meeting. The chair of a meeting shall call the meeting to order and preside over the meeting according to commonly accepted rules of procedure.

(d) Public Input. To identify communities of interest and obtain other information relevant to the drawing of wards, the Commission shall seek public input. Before any maps are drawn, the Commission shall hold public hearings across the City to solicit testimony from residents.

(e) Adopting maps. Before the Commission takes action to adopt and recommend to the City Council a final ward map, the Commission must satisfy the following requirements:

  • The Commission shall release the proposed map for public comment. The first public comment period shall be at least fourteen calendar days.

  • At the conclusion of the first public comment period, the Commission may, at its discretion, make changes to the proposed map in response to public comments.

  • The Commission shall release the proposed map, as revised in response to public comments, for additional public comments. The second public comment period shall be at least five calendar days.

  • At the conclusion of the second public comment period, the Commission may, at its discretion, make changes to the proposed map in response to public comments. The Commission may immediately vote to adopt the map as further revised and recommend that it be submitted to the City Council without an additional public comment period so long as the changes made after the second public comment period are minor. For this purpose, changes are considered minor if the changes do not materially alter the proposed map boundaries when taken as a whole.

  • When releasing any proposed map, the Commission shall also release data used to create or evaluate the map as well as a brief report outlining how the map was drawn and complies with adopted criteria.

7. CRITERIA FOR REDISTRICTING

The commission shall adopt and publicly release the redistricting criteria it intends to follow when drawing new ward boundaries.

This charter was unanimously approved by the commission on July 19, 2021.

Chicago Advisory Redistricting Commission Adopted Criteria

The Commission shall propose a ward map for the Chicago City Council using the following criteria:

1. The ward map shall comply with the United States Constitution, Illinois Constitution, federal law, including the Voting Rights Act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 1971 et seq.), and Illinois law. Without limiting the foregoing, the Commission shall endeavor to draw a map providing racial, ethnic, and language minority communities with an equal opportunity to participate in the political process and shall not dilute or diminish their ability to elect candidates of choice.

2. Equal Population: The ward map shall consist of 50 single-member wards. Wards shall be drawn on the basis of total population. The total population of each ward shall be of substantially equal population, for which purpose the total population of each ward shall not deviate by more than + / - 5% from the ideal ward population, as measured using Public Law (PL) 94-171 redistricting data from the 2020 Census.

3. Geography and Contiguity: The boundaries of each ward shall follow 2020 Census block geography. Each ward shall be geographically contiguous.

4. Communities of Interest: Wards shall respect the integrity of communities of interest to the extent practicable. A community of interest is defined as an area with shared interests, including but not limited to racial, ethnic, economic, social, cultural, geographic, or historic identities. Communities of interest do not include relationships with political parties, incumbents, or political candidates. To gather information regarding communities of interest, the Commission shall hold public meetings to hear testimony from Chicago residents. The Commission may also consider other established geographic boundaries, including, but not limited to, police districts, primary school districts, and community areas. Even in unpopulated areas, the Commission shall use the same process for considering communities of interest.

5. Compactness: To the extent practicable, and within the limits of the aforementioned criteria, the Commission shall favor geographic compactness when drawing wards. The Commission shall measure the geographic compactness of wards using their Polsby-Popper and Reock scores.