Mapping madness. Writing in Illinois Issues (May), Ryan Reeves notes that because of the way redistricting lines have been drawn, the tiny town of Illiopolis (population less than 1,000) will be able to command the attention of 3 of the state’s 19 congressional representatives. It “will be represented by the 17th District, a seat currently held by Democrat Lane Evans, from the northwestern Illinois town of Rock Island; the 18th, currently represented by Republican Ray LaHood of Peoria in west central Illinois; and the 19th, currently represented by Democrat David Phelps of Eldorado in southern Illinois.” The cartographic lunacy is illustrated on-line at www.illinoisatlas.com, courtesy of Northern Illinois University’s Center for Governmental Studies.
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The other Lake County. According to Catherine Walden, writing in Indiana Preservationist (March/April), “Lake County, which includes the urban areas of Gary, Merrillville, Hammond, East Chicago, and Crown Point, boasts one of Indiana’s densest collections of historic architecture”–nearly 9,000 significant sites and structures, according to a 1996 survey.
Fine art downstate. The huge populations of ducks, geese, and other waterfowl in the Illinois River valley early in the 20th century helped inspire some of the world’s finest decoy carvers and birdcall makers, write Stephen Havera and Michelle Horath in the “Illinois Natural History Survey Reports” (Spring). “The 100-mile stretch of the Illinois River between Beardstown and LaSalle probably had more call makers than any other place in the United States. The art of carving and painting lifelike wooden hunting decoys reached its height of perfection in Illinois, particularly in the Illinois Valley, between 1870 and 1940.”
