Ilinois' 4th district was featured by The Economist as one of the most strangely drawn and gerrymandered congressional districts in the country and has been nicknamed "earmuffs" due to its shape. It was created after federal courts ordered the creation of a majority-Hispanic district in the Chicago area. The Illinois General Assembly responded by packing two majority Hispanic parts of Chicago into a single district.

This district covers two strips running east–west across the city of Chicago, on the west side continuing into smaller portions of some suburban areas in Cook County, surrounding Illinois's 7th congressional district. The northern portion is largely Puerto Rican, while the southern portion is heavily Mexican-American. The two sections are only connected by a piece of Interstate 294 to the west; the highway is in the district while the surrounding areas are not. It is the smallest congressional district in area outside New York City and California.

In this piece the district boundaries are barely discernible - a metaphor for the hidden machinations of government, when lawmakers draw districts for their own political gain behind closed doors. Lordy thought it was particularly revealing that lawmakers would lump together two distinct Hispanic populations as though they had the same lifestyle, values and culture.