* AP…

Altogether, the U.S. population rose to 331,449,281 last year, the Census Bureau said, a 7.4% increase that was the second-slowest ever. Experts say that paltry pace reflects the combination of an aging population, slowing immigration and the scars of the Great Recession, which led many young adults to delay marriage and families.

The new allocation of congressional seats comes in the first release of data from last year’s headcount. The numbers generally chart familiar American migration patterns but also confirm one historic marker: For the first time in 170 years of statehood, California is losing a congressional seat, a result of slowed migration to the nation’s most populous state, which was once a symbol of the country’s expansive frontier.

It all marks the official beginning of once-a-decade redistricting battles. The numbers released Monday, along with more detailed data expected later this year, will be used by state legislatures or independent commissions to redraw political maps to account for shifts in population.

Those shifts have largely been westward. Colorado, Montana and Oregon all added residents and gained seat a seat each. Texas was the biggest winner — the second-most populous state added two congressional seats, while Florida and North Carolina gained one. States losing seats included Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Neighborhood counts mattered. Census said if New York had counted 89 more residents, the state would have kept its seat and Minnesota would have lost one.

Man, can you imagine being the person in charge of making sure New York’s count went well?

Oof.

* On to Illinois…

Rep. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., the most prominent Illinois Republican, said if Democrats carve up his district, he may instead run for senator or governor in 2022. Whether GOP Reps. Rodney Davis and Darin LaHood make statewide bids also may depend on the remap.

Downstate freshman Rep. Mary Miller, R-Ill., is the Republican seen as most at risk in a remap.

Reapportionment is the step that takes place before a remap — that is, drawing new congressional district lines based on the latest census data. Each state gets at least one seat; after that, the remaining 385 seats are distributed according to population, with the aim to have about the same number of people in each district.

No matter the number of seats in the House, this system for distributing them has been in place since the first census in 1790.

* Illinois Policy Institute…

Illinois’ population count was 12,812,508 in 2020, a drop of 18,124 since 2010, according to new data released April 26 by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Last December, the US Census was estimating the state’s population loss at around a quarter-million.

* Tribune…

Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker said Monday he was “concerned” about the decline in congressional representation.

“Over a decade, we’ve lost population, so we’ve got to turn that around,” he said at an unrelated news conference in Aurora, while also noting that Illinois spent more than $30 million in outreach and counting activities for the 2020 census. […]

The state’s high property taxes have been cited as a major reason for people leaving, a group that includes retirees who have moved to other states even though Illinois does not tax retirement income.

Pritzker on Monday offered another reason, saying one of the largest groups moving out of Illinois in the last decade has been college-age students choosing schools in other states because “they couldn’t afford to go to college in Illinois.”

* More Pritzker from NBC 5…

“Unfortunately, this has been happening for more than a decade, we’ve had out-migration from the state. When I took office, this unfortunately had continued,” Pritzker said when asked about the Census data at an unrelated news conference.

“And I looked very closely at the numbers of people, who they are, where they come from, why they’re leaving and what you see when you look at the out-migration is actually the largest portion of the population that was moving out were young people who were choosing to go to college out of state because tey couldn’t afford to go to college in Illinois,” he continued, highlighting things like MAP grants and other initiatives to make college more affordable for Illinois residents.

“We might lose one or two seats but that’s something that unfortunately, before I became governor was really, you know, a bit set in at least clay if not stone, and now we’re working very hard to make sure that we’re going the right direction,” Pritzker added.

* AP…

The decrease will likely spell a loss of federal funding while at the same time strengthening Democrats’ political grip on the state.

“Most people who build a statistical model on how much federal money does a state get will find that more seats means more money,” said Brian Gaines, political scientist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. […]

With Democrats holding 13 of the state’s 18 congressional seats, controlling the governor’s office and dominating the state Legislature, little else should change, Gaines said. The 14th Congressional District, running from the top to the bottom of the Chicago metropolitan area on its far western edge, will likely be redrawn to boost Rep. Lauren Underwood, a Democrat who narrowly won a second term last fall by just over 1 percentage point against Republican state Sen. Jim Oberweis.

* ABC 7…

“The majority party that has sent the population packing and people fleeing the state of Illinois should not be uniquely taking the initiative to select their own voters,” said State Rep. Ryan Spain (R-Peoria).

Democrats are already in the process of redrawing the district map; by state law, they must draw new congressional and legislative districts by June 30.

“They don’t appear to be in any mood to offer the Republicans a gift allowing them to get in on the party,” noted Chris Mooney, professor of political science at UIC.

But Rep. Robin Kelly (D-IL 2nd District), who is also chair of the Illinois Democratic Party, said she’s confident the process will be fair.

“They’ll dictate my seat also, but I expect them to be fair and to do the best job they can do and take into consideration we are losing a seat,” she said.

* I posted some other react yesterday, but here’s US Rep. Rodney Davis…

“It’s unfortunate, yet unsurprising, that Illinois lost population over the past decade. Democrats continue to push corruption, tax hikes, and job-killing policies, which have only made our outmigration problems worse. Governor Pritzker has done nothing to stem the flow of families and has only made it worse by encouraging the tax-and-spend habits of the Democrats in the General Assembly. As state lawmakers determine the course for redistricting, I urge the Democrats to keep their word on supporting independent redistricting, particularly Governor Pritzker, who pledged to veto any partisan-drawn map. The politicians in charge should not be using the census to pick their own voters and protect their own power.”

* Senate Democrats…

The statement below can be attributed to Sen. Omar Aquino, D-Chicago, Chair of the Senate Redistricting Committee, and Sen. Elgie Sims, D-Chicago, Vice Chair of the Senate Redistricting Committee:

“We are reviewing the information released today by the U.S. Census Bureau and remain committed to working with our partners in Washington to ensure Illinois continues to receive the federal resources and support our communities need. While the Census Bureau confirmed full redistricting information may not be released until September, we will not abandon our duty to craft a map by June 30 as required by the Illinois Constitution. As others seek to delay and distract, we are focused on gathering input from communities of interest across Illinois to create a fair map that reflects the diversity of our great state.”