The League of Women Voters Lake Michigan Region is an interleague organization of approximately 56 local leagues from four member states in the Lake Michigan watershed joined in the common cause of protecting this valuable fresh water resource. You can view this year's April Climate Change Forum Panel discussion recording here. Tom Skilling was the featured speaker. Also, Save-the -Date for the League of Women Voters Lake Michigan Region Annual Meeting October 21-23, 2022, to be held in Sheboygan, WI.

Are you interested in being more involved in LWV Lake Michigan Region? LWV OPRF is seeking a voting delegate for the 2022 Annual Meeting and to serve as a member of the Nominating Committee (four Zoom meetings per year). Call Sarah Shirk, LWV-LMR Vice President, at (708)707-1681 for more information.

There are still three more opportunities to learn more about the Cook County Forest Preserves and the upcoming Forest Preserve Referendum that will be on the November 8 ballot. There is a re-scheduled guided wildflower walk at the Little Red Schoolhouse Nature Center, 9800 Willow Springs Rd., Willow Springs, on Monday, August 15, from 10:00-11:00am. On Tuesday, September 3, from 10:00am-Noon, there will be a guided walk at Sand Ridge Nature Center, 15891 Paxton Ave., South Holland, and on Thursday, September 8, from 10:00am-Noon, there will be a guided walk at Crabtree Nature Center, 3 Stover Road, Barrington Hills. Walks are limited to 20 people each. To register, send an email to info@cookcounty.org. Include your name, phone number, and Local League name.

The Collaboration for Early Childhood is gearing up for the start of the new school year. In their August newsletter you can read about vaccines for children under 5, the mental health crisis lifeline, free preschool programs, parenting workshops, and a diaper drive. Go here to find out more.

Not since the New Deal has the United States Supreme Court been under as much scrutiny as in the past several years, in part because of the passionate views of Americans on both sides of the abortion debate. Bipartisan concern with suggestions of “court packing,” strategically-timed retirements, the hostility of the confirmation process, and the potential intimidation of Supreme Court justices has led observers on both sides of the political aisle to suggest that, instead of lifetime appointments, Supreme Court justices be appointed to staggered, fixed length terms. Yet the devil is in the details, and sometimes the devil we know may be preferable to the devil we don’t.

Reform for Illinois had a virtual debate with Constitutional Law Experts Erwin Chemerinsky and Jon Shu on whether the Supreme Court should have term limits. To watch the July 26 discussion, go here. To read more about the participants, go here.

Our League's Environmental Committee members reached out to the community every Saturday at the Oak Park Farmer's Market during the month of “Plastic-free July.” They spoke to many people about the elimination of plastics, collected signatures on a petition for the Village to legislate an ordinance for restaurants to replace plastic containers and utensils with compostable ones, and encouraged the use of wax paper and paper towels in place of plastic wraps and bags. They also asked people to vote “Yes”on the Cook County Forest Preserve Referendum that will be on the ballot at the November 8 election. Beverly Graham and Marsha Borders are pictured.

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