Gerrymandering - creating the maps of politics

With the 2010 Census behind us, political districts of all levels across the United States are being redrawn.  Gerrymandering - the process of creating political districts to give extra power or take away power from a certain group of people, usually on the basis of race or class - has been going on in the United States since our earliest history.  The Economist recently published a nice overview article of the history and challenges of drawing fair political maps.  We've also looked before at the Illinois Fair Map Amendment and its impact on political districting here in Illinois.