Wisconsin has new congressional boundaries based on the 2000 census data, and it didn't take a three judge federal panel to decide them.
Due to its slow population growth compared to other states, Wisconsin lost one seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Under the new boundaries, the Milwaukee area, which had two congressional seats, will now only have one, a move that troubled a number of black legislators who argued that it would lead to poor minority representation.
When Gov. Scott McCallum signed Assembly Bill 711 early last week, he prevented the matter from going before the panel April 2.
U.S. District Court Judge C.N. Clevert announced on March 28 that he would dismiss the lawsuit asking the panel to draw the new congressional district on April 10, one day after the law is scheduled to go into effect.
The panel is still scheduled to hear a case concerning the future of Wisconsin's state Senate and Assembly districts on April 11-12, if the state Legislature cannot reach a compromise on the two competing bills yet to be ratified by both houses.
