I was reading Chicagoist thinking about the annual meeting this winter, and I stumbled on a website called Civic Footprint. It’s ties together maps (albeit ugly) with Police Districts, Wards, Community Areas, County Districts, State Representative Districts, State Senate Districts, and Congressional Districts.

I’d really like to see this type of website replicated because it currently only works off a geo-database populated with Chicago area data. The concept of this website (below the fold) is an excellent way to empower people politically. It gives visitors the ability to become aware of their elected officials. Created by the progressive Center for Neighborhood Technology, I was suprised to find out who the sponsor was….

Boeing:

What is the Civic Footprint?

Whether or not you vote or can name your state senator, you have a civic footprint—an imprint of your unique place in the civic world. Knowing your Footprint is a key part of being able to get involved in your community. Yet it’s never been easy to find this information … until now.

The Center for Neighborhood Technology developed the Civic Footprint, a website to help Cook County residents find out who represents them so that they can stand up for the issues that impact their lives. Healthy, sustainable communities are dependent upon active citizens who help make our democratic institutions work. The first step towards this vision is the ability to find out where you stand and who stands for you.

The Civic Footprint makes it easy. It gathers together into one easy-to-use resource many of your personal political geographies and provides you with a snapshot of all of these—your Footprint.

I also like how I am going to Ward #42 :-)