In the last article, McHenry County Blog showed the three maps developed by Dr. Michael Fortner.

Now, let’s focus on where the action is, the Southeaster part of McHenry County.

That’s where the bulk of the residents live, of course.

Map A. This map puts splits Crystal Lake even more than it is now. Currently the dividing line is Crystal Lake Avenue, the Algonquin-Nunda Township border. District 2 is in Algonquin Township, District 3 in Nunda Township. The small Dorr Township part (one precinct) on the northwest side of the area ends up in the Woodstock-Lake in the Hills-dominated District 5. Also split is Cary. While all in District 1 now, it would be split into a redrawn District 1 running all the way to Route 47 in Huntley on the East, which being combined with the Algonquin Township parts of Crystal Lake and Lake in the Hills with one precinct along the Fox River in Algonquin continuing to be linked to Crystal Lake.

District 1 has probably had the least commonality among constituents, except for, perhaps, the Woodstock-Western Lake in the Hills District 5, contains Fox River Grove, Cary and Algonquin. Fox River Grove and Cary fit together because most of their kids attend Cary-Grove High School. Because Algonquin children attend District 300 schools, about the only thing that Southern part of McHenry County has in common with the Cary-Grove area is the Fox River. I can’t remember when the Fox River was on the County Board’s agenda.

Map A promises to further expand the dissimilarity of District 1’s parts. Not only will Cary-Grove and Algonquin continue to be merged, but now a third school district, Huntley School District 158 will be added to the mix.

It would be foolish not to look for partisan implications in this most political of all decisions.

Democrat Paula Yensen is from the Grafton Township part of Lake in the Hills.  Her District 5 includes Dorr Township to the north.  Map A strips her district of that part of Grafton Township south of Algonquin Road.

Map B splits Grafton Township farther north of Algonquin Road, while Map C splits it East-West.

So, in any of the versions proposed by the Republican-dominated Legislative Committee, Yensen will find she has to cultivate many new constituents to get re-elected.  She’d probably just consider it a new opportunity to recruit more Democratic Party activists.

Map B cuts the Cary-Grove part of District 1 out, merging Algonquin with southwestern Lake in the Hills and eastern Huntley. District 5 sees Lake in the Hills disappear from its constituency, expanding much father east into the Crystal Lake area on the south and into southern McHenry on the north.

In Map C District 1 stretches from western Lake in the Hills through Algonquin and Barrington Hills to the south side of Cary and Fox River Grove. Democrat Paula Yensen lives in the little tip to the far northwest of proposed district.