So, Chicago’s new ward map finally official, and just as everyone feared, it’s a horribly contorted, gerrymandered atrocity.

Not even the full city council saw this map until an hour before they had to vote on it. It was all done wholly in the proverbial smoke-filled room — minus all the smoke, we presume. Not that we’d have any idea — we weren’t invited in.

So, now we have this map. It’s royally screwed the main alderman we cover, Bob Fioretti. Whatever you think of the man — love him, hate him, or somewhere in between — he was reelected by a majority of the 2nd Ward last year.

While in theory, aldermen serve their areas through the next election cycle in 2015, obviously, things will start to shift over earlier. Current aldermen will want to ingratiate themselves to their constituents-to-be.

For the South Loop, this will be a good thing. The neighborhood is highly desired by politicians because of its economic potential and politically engaged population. This will probably translate to more services, rather than less.

To that point, new aldermen Will Burns and Pat Dowell are among some of the best in the council. They’re thoughtful, considerate, and logical. They also both have independent streaks, and we have confidence they’ll serve their constituents well whenever they take over officially.

People saying in anguish that they’re disappointed and upset that they now live “in Bronzeville” based on the fact that their neighborhood simply is in the same ward are simply being ignorant. No alderman worth his salt is going to treat Printers Row the same as Bronzeville — that doesn’t serve either neighborhood’s goals.

Race has also been a distressing undertone to this race. Yes, the ward maps were drawn up based on race. It’s the way federal law shakes out. No, this will not have an affect on your services. To assail your new alderman simply based on their race is idiotic or worse.

As for the West Loop and the Near West Side: Yes, some boundaries have shifted, but for the most part, the faces will be the same. Ald. Walter Burnett is familiar with your situation. He’s repped the general area for a long time. He know what it takes. Ald. Jason Ervin worries us a bit more — he’s got a long way to come from the West Side to check out the area, and his pre-aldermanic record in Maywood was spotty at best. But time will tell.

The new map will take some getting used to, and we’re not happy Fioretti’s getting sent up north. But we’ll make it through this, and soon enough, things will be back to normal.

Unless the map gets thrown out in court. Then all bets are off.