Illinois's 4th Congressional District
A dated list of changes to how Americans vote: district maps, polling places and drop boxes, voting laws and rules, and courts and election officials. Each entry says who did what and when, shows what became of it, and links to the page it rests on. Attempts that failed are listed as failed. Entries that rest on a news report name the outlet.
This is the district view: events tagged to this congressional district, then events that apply across Illinois, then national events. An event is tagged to a district only when its source names that congressional district. See all of Illinois.
In Illinois's 4th Congressional District
No events have been tagged to Illinois's 4th Congressional District yet. District events are added over time. The state and national events below also apply here.
Across Illinois
1992
-
Illinois Supreme Court approves the Commission's "Jourdan III-A" legislative map
On January 14, 1992, after the Commission held expedited hearings on remand and adopted a new plan, the Illinois Supreme Court wrote in People ex rel. Burris v. Ryan: "we hold that the Jourdan III-A map is valid," and ordered the State Board of Elections to establish district boundaries in accordance with it. The court found the Commission's map met the four requirements it had applied, including compactness. Three justices dissented in separate opinions, and Chief Justice Miller and Justice Heiple concurred, Miller writing that he would uphold the plan because it satisfied all applicable requirements.
Source last checked Oct 21, 2026
1991
-
Illinois Supreme Court sends the 1991 legislative redistricting plan back to the Commission
In People ex rel. Burris v. Ryan, 147 Ill. 2d 270, the Illinois Supreme Court wrote on December 13, 1991 that, after the Governor vetoed the General Assembly's House Bill 1354, the Legislative Redistricting Commission deadlocked, the Secretary of State drew Albert Jourdan's name as the ninth member on September 5, 1991, and the Commission filed a statewide plan on October 4, 1991. The court wrote "Accordingly, we must remand the matter to the Commission for further proceedings," gave the parties leave to file modified plans, and said that if no plan were approved by January 6, 1992 the only alternative would be an at-large election for the Senate and House. Chief Justice Miller, joined by Justice Moran, dissented, writing that he would have considered the merits of the Commission's plan without delay.
Source last checked Oct 21, 2026
-
Federal court enjoins Illinois' existing congressional map and orders the Hastert plaintiffs' plan into effect
The Seventh Circuit's later opinion records that the Illinois Republican congressional delegation filed suit on June 27, 1991, over the existing congressional districts after the 1990 census, and that on November 6, 1991 the three-judge district court enjoined the Board of Elections from using the existing plan and ordered the plan proposed by the Hastert plaintiffs into effect (Hastert v. State Board of Elections, 777 F. Supp. 634). The Seventh Circuit noted that the Nieves plaintiffs' map created Illinois' first Hispanic majority congressional district.
Source last checked Oct 20, 2026
Nationwide
1993
-
Supreme Court decides Shaw v. Reno
On June 28, 1993, the U.S. Supreme Court held that voters stated a claim under the Equal Protection Clause by alleging that a reapportionment plan was "so irrational on its face that it can be understood only as an effort to segregate voters into separate districts on the basis of race," without sufficient justification.
Source last checked Oct 23, 2026
-
National Voter Registration Act of 1993 becomes law
Public Law 103-31, the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, is dated May 20, 1993. The law states its purpose as "to establish procedures that will increase the number of eligible citizens who register to vote in elections for Federal office."
Source last checked Oct 20, 2026
How this timeline is built
Every entry rests on at least one source that was opened and read, and that source states the date and the fact. Courts, legislatures, election offices, the Justice Department, the Census Bureau, the Federal Register and Congress.gov come first. A news report is used only when no official page states the fact, and it is labeled with the outlet's name. Encyclopedias are not used as sources. History starts in 1965 with the Voting Rights Act. County names come from the Census Bureau's 2024 Gazetteer. Congressional district numbers are those in use for the 2026 election; an event is tagged to a district only when its source names that congressional district.
When a later event changes an earlier one, such as a law later struck down, both entries are listed and point to each other. This page does not predict outcomes or say which party a change helps. U.S. House maps for 2026 · Back to the 2026 voting center.