Additional hearings are scheduled for Maywood on Thursday, Apr. 26 and in downtown Chicago on a date to be determined in early May.

The new legislative districts would be drawn based on the 2014 election to reflect new population tracks discovered in the 2010 U.S. Census.

Cook County commissioners Peter Silvestri (R-9th), who serves as vice chairman of the redistricting committee, and Larry Suffredin (D-13th), who both represent parts of the Journal & Topics Newspapers area, said populations have shifted with more people living in the North, Northwest and Southwest suburbs and fewer living in the South and West suburbs and South and North sides of Chicago.

The population shift would likely mean geographically smaller and more densely populated districts in the North and Northwest suburbs. Suffredin said his district has a population of about 311,000 people and the goal is for districts to only have 305,000 each.

Silvestri said primary considerations are keeping geographic communities and ethnic “communities of interest” together in compact districts.

After initial public hearings are concluded, Silvestri said maps would be drawn up and presented to the public after which another round of public meetings held to hear feedback on the proposed maps.

One district Silvestri said is likely to be redrawn significantly is Commissioner Liz Gorman’s 17th Dist. that stretches into eight townships long from Wheeling and Northfield townships on the north to Orland Township on the south. A large part of Des Plaines lies in the 17th.

Suffredin said one of his chief concerns is that the North and Northwest suburbs maintain representation on RTA, Metra and Pace boards.

Suffredin said he does not expect his northeast corner district to move much.

“You’re not going to move Lake Michigan or Lake Cook Road,” Suffredin said.