Chair Of Redistricting Task Force Resigns To Run For Seat

SKOKIE, IL — Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Commissioner Josina Morita Wednesday resigned from Cook County Commissioner Larry Suffredin's 13th District Redistricting Task Force.

Then, Thursday morning, Morita launched her campaign to run for the redistricted seat once Suffredin vacates it next year.

Suffredin, who announced his retirement plans last week, has said will not endorse a successor. His redistricting task force, he said, aims to gather feedback from across the district — which currently includes two Chicago wards and three suburban townships — about what to include in the new district.

"Now that Census Data is available and the Cook County Board has created a new Committee of the Whole to deal with the redistricting issue, it is time to get input," Suffredin said in a statement.

Redistricting is this year taking place on the county, state and federal level to incorporate 2020 Census data into legislative maps.

Morita told Patch she was honored to have been asked to chair Suffredin's task force but determined it was the right time to step down.

"I was chosen for my background in voting rights and redistricting. The task force’s role is to the listen to community input to ensure a representative district that respects communities of interest," Morita said via email. "As the task force moves from listening to developing testimony and recommendations to the Cook County Board, it is appropriate for me to step down from the task force to ensure there would be no perceived conflict of interest."

Morita's campaign immediately rolled out endorsements from 9th District U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle.

"I am thrilled to support Josina for Cook County Board. She is an organizer who will build bridges and fight for real change," Schakowsky said in her endorsement. "She represents the very best of what the next generation of women leaders have to offer."

Morita became the first Asian American elected countywide Cook County in 2016 and would be the first Asian American woman to serve as a Cook County commissioner.

"The Cook County Board should reflect the people it serves," said Preckwinkle, the 74-year-old chair of the Cook County Democratic Party, who reversed her decision not to run for another term as board president after only earning 26 percent of the vote in the in a blowout loss to Lori Lightfoot in the 2019 Chicago mayoral election runoff.

"We have a historic opportunity to elect the first Asian American woman to the Board and the kind of expertise, steadfast values, and unwavering work ethic Josina brings would be invaluable assets," Preckwinkle.

RELATED: Larry Suffredin Will Not Seek Sixth Term On Cook County Board

According to Suffredin's office, the current members of his 13th District redistricting task force include:

• Marilyn Pagán-Banks, who represents the 49th Ward of Chicago, is the executive director of A Just Harvest, pastor at San Lucas UCC and adjunct professor at McCormick Theological Seminary. Suffredin announced she will chair the task force.
• Kevin Brown, who represents Evanston Township, is the director of policy, advocacy and legislative affairs at the Safer Foundation, and the former manager of the youth and young adult division manager in Evanston's department of parks, recreation and community services.
• Ann Kalayil, who was appointed to replace Morita as the representative of Niles Township, is the associate vice president of facilities and construction at Columbia College Chicago and the former Cook County bureau chief of asset management.
• Judy Mandel, representing New Trier Township, is the four-term president of New Trier Democrats and a Wilmette native.
• Rabbi Shlomo Soroka, who represents Chicago's 50th Ward on the task force, is the director of governmental affairs for Agudath Israel of Illinois, a grassroots umbrella organization that represents the interests of the Orthodox Jewish community.