Midwest population grows, but states still lose U.S. House seats

By Hanna LoPatin

Daily Staff Reporter

Although the Midwest was often cited as important battleground territory during the last presidential election, the loss of nine congressional seats from the Great Lakes states may soon find the region struggling to find its voice in Washington.

After the release of preliminary results of the 2000 Census, Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio are each set to lose one seat in the U.S. House of Representatives and consequently one vote each in the Electoral College. Both New York and Pennsylvania are set to lose two.

"It's a bummer," state Sen. Joanne Emmons (R-Big Rapids) said of Michigan's loss. "It's not just Michigan, it's the whole Midwest - that makes our region less important."

U.S. Rep. Lynn Rivers (D-Ann Arbor), one of Michigan's 16 representatives in Congress, said the large role that the Great Lakes states play in freshwater resources and the economy will ensure their voices will be heard.

"The rest of the country can't afford not to pay attention to the Great Lakes states," said Rivers, whose 13th District could be merged with a neighboring constituency when the state Legislature redraws the boundaries later this year.

Many losses came as a surprise to states, as they estimated their own population growth correctly but failed to anticipate the large population increase that occurred in states like Texas, Arizona, Georgia and Florida - which gained two seats each.

Michigan's 6.9 percent increase in population was expected to be enough to sustain the need for 16 seats. In 1990, Michigan lost two of its 18 congressional seats and Ann Arbor was moved from the 2nd District to the 13th.

Indiana state Rep. Ed Mahern (D-Indianapolis) also reflected surprise at the loss.

"It's disappointing that despite Indiana growing faster than any other state in the Midwest, we still lost a seat," he said.

Not all Great Lakes states are worried about representation in Washington. Illinois boasts an ally in Republican House Speaker Dennis Hastert.

The loss of a seat "will lessen the state's impact in Congress, but that's somewhat made up for by having Dennis Hastert as Speaker of the House," said Steve Brown, press secretary for Illinois state House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago).

"In the near term, we're probably better off than other states," Brown said.

Susan Shafer, spokeswoman for Michigan Gov. John Engler, said the loss is disappointing but Michigan's representation will not suffer drastically.

"Our delegation is going to have to fight, but I think they can do it," she said.

Redestricting will not take place until after the U.S. Census Bureau releases the detailed results in March, but expectations already exist for Michigan's map to find its way to the state Supreme Court.

"I would be surprised if it does not find itself in court," Rivers said.

With the Republicans in control of the state House, Democrats are expecting two Democratically held districts to be combined in the redrawn map.

"I expect Republicans will do what they can to advantage themselves," Rivers said.

Current statutes make it impossible to use outright gerrymandering - redistricting that gives a severe advantage to a specific party - but Rivers said the map will most likely be "tweaked."

Emmons, a member of the Senate Reapportionment Committee, said the standards in place will not allow for any sort of tampering.

"You can't really call it gerrymandering when you're working with rules," she said.