Early Voting has started! Online voter registration is closed, but a citizen can still register to vote before they cast their ballot. Here is a list of Early Voting Sites. Hear from the candidates by watching the WTTW Video Voter Guide. The Guide includes videos of and other information about the candidates for U.S. Senate and House districts in the viewing area, statewide candidates for Illinois government, and all offices for Cook County and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District. Find information on judges running for office here.

You will be given two ballot cards this election. Ballot Card A: Constitutional Amendment; Federal, State, County, and Judicial Offices; and at the end of Card A, the Forest Preserve Referendum Question. Ballot Card B: Judicial Retention and local referenda questions (if applicable). Finally, access the IllinoisVoterGuide.org to check your registration, see what's on your ballot, and watch candidate forums. Everything you need to make informed decisions!

Longtime member Barbara Ballinger has moved to the British Home, 8700 W. 31st, Brookfield. She is in rehabilitation but welcomes your visits and phone calls. You can sign up for a visit here. She is somewhat forgetful, but she is pleased to have visitors and welcomes phone calls. 

There will not be a Second Tuesday in November nor per usual in December, but it will resume in 2023 with new chairwomen Monie Burns and Joanne Susmilch. Welcome to your new roles, ladies!

Several members of our Environmental Committee attended the Village Board Meeting on October 17 to respond to the last item on the agenda. That item pertained to the elimination of placing plastic utensils in carryout bags by restaurant employees unless specifically requested by the customer. The Board agreed to approve an ordinance modeled on the Chicago and River Forest Ordinances with the addition of a total ban on styrofoam. The ordinance will be brought before the Board for a final vote at their next meeting in November.  

Our thanks to Beverly Graham, Marsha Borders, Michelle Fitz-Henry, Wendy Greenhouse, Leslie Roberts, Fran Sampson, Susan Stall, and Jessica Voogd for attending and providing community support.

LWVUS is partnering with The News Literacy Project (NLP) to present a series of webinars addressing election misinformation. On  November 1 at 5:00pm ET, you can watch "How to debunk misinformation and engage in productive conversations without confrontation." Learn how to verify reliable information that you can share with family and friends while avoiding heated arguments. Register here.

If you missed our presentation on "How to Get on the Ballot and Stay on the Ballot" last Wednesday, you can watch the evening's video here.  Jonathan Priest from Klein, Thorpe, & Jenkins, Ltd, shared detailed information on the steps to follow to run for local office. You can access the slides used for the PowerPoint presentation here. And if anyone you know is thinking of running for office in the upcoming municipal elections in 2023, the Candidate's Guide can be accessed here. It is a step-by-step guide for prospective candidates. These documents will also be posted on our website.

On October 26, Leagues from 50 states and DC stood together to file an amicus brief in a Supreme Court case that could define our democracy for years to come. The case, Moore v. Harper, concerns the so-called “independent state legislature theory” (ISLT), which, if adopted, would have far-reaching implications for the future of American democracy. The League is represented by Fair Elections Center and O’Melveny & Myers LLP. LWV has serious concerns about this case because a ruling adopting ISLT would give state legislatures nearly unrestricted authority to set the rules for federal elections, prioritizing the ambitions of politicians over the American voter. Furthermore, if the Supreme Court condones this theory, it will undermine the role of state courts to protect voters when politicians create unconstitutional barriers to voting, draw unlawful voting maps, and invalidate direct democracy efforts like ballot initiatives. 

This Wednesday, November 2, at 7:00pm, hear from a panel of Chicago-area organizations participating in the Unvarnished Project—including Oak Park River Forest Museum Executive Director Frank Lipo, Associate Professor of U.S. & Public History at North Park University Dr. Sarah Doherty, Naper Settlement Vice President and Unvarnished Grant Director Donna Sack, and Curator of Research Dr. Andrea Field. Supported through an Institute of Museum and Library Services Museum Leadership Grant and the Healing Illinois Grant Program, a consortium of six history museums and cultural organizations from across the country collaborated from 2017 to 2022 to research and present their community’s history of exclusion. The project was developed and directed by Naper Settlement, an outdoor history museum in the Chicago metropolitan area administered by the Naperville Heritage Society. This program will be held virtually at the Oak Park Library. Register here for this free event.

LWV IL  October Update

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