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In This Issue










September 2018
President's Letter
Greetings Leaguers,

Labor Day Weekend is upon us. How could this happen? Too soon!
 
We had our first Board meeting this past week. Our Committee Chairs are scheduling meetings and planning events for the coming year. Make sure to check the calendar for these upcoming dates. Consider getting involved by joining a committee (or 2!) and attending a planning meeting.

I hope to see you at our Fall Kickoff scheduled for Monday, September 17, 7:00-8:30 in the Veteran's Room at the Oak Park Library.  An outstanding panel will present "Threats to Voter Rights: What's at Stake?" followed by a question and answer session. We  will have refreshments!

On Saturday, September 29, The League of Women Voters of Illinois will host its annual fundraiser "State of the State"  (SOS) at the Arlington International Race Track. Panelists will discuss the issues of women in politics. The key note speaker will be former Illinois Lieutenant Governor Sheila Simon. You may buy tickets ($150.00)  on the LWVIL website.

The LWV Illinois Voter Guide will be available October 1. With this guide you can view bios, positions, and endorsements of each candidate on your ballot, make informed choices and VOTE.

On Wednesday October 2, from 6:00-8:00 in the Cindy Pritzker Auditorium in the Herald Washington Library there will be a showing of the Anita Hill film, "Speak Truth to Power."  Dr. Sharon Alter, LWVIL will give us her observations of the film.  

Put on your marching shoes, dust off those signs, LWVIL is a participating organization for "Women's March to the Polls" on Saturday, October 13 in Chicago. We will be marching for voter engagement and voter turnout. The March details will be forthcoming.

Our biennial State of the Villages fund raising event is scheduled for Saturday, March 2, 2019 at Concordia University. We need many volunteers to make this a success. Please contact our Vice Presidents, Kathy Balk, Mary Haley or Joan Petertil for more information and to volunteer. We are looking for a theme for the event. Any Ideas?

Please continue to write those letters to William Gicker to support the Women Suffrage stamp. Ask your Representative to sponsor HR 5308, Women Suffage coins, and HR 19 Women's History Museum. Please contact your Representative to encourage a resolution sponsorship of HJRes 53 to remove the the ratification deadline of the ERA. Because these are national bills please contact your friends and relatives from other states to get support from their representatives. You can use this letter as an example. You do not have to be a League member to request the stamp.

Our mission is to educate and advocate, so let's get out there and do it together!  If you have any questions, concerns, great ideas, please contact me. If I cannot help you I will put you in contact with someone who can help you.

Marge Massarello
Membership Renewal
We still have about 50 members who have not renewed their membership for the 2018-19 League year. The Board is making reminder calls and emails to these members. Don't let your membership lapse. Renew online or print out the renewal form and mail it in with a check. We need your membership, we need your participation. Resolve to get this done today! 
Voter's Rights, Voter's Responsibilities 
The upcoming November election is an important one. In the next few weeks, we will be registering and educating citizens on how to be informed voters. On Monday, September 17, our Fall Kick-off will do this with a panel discussion with Ami Ghandi, Chicago Lawyer's Committee for Civil Rights; Andy Kang, Asian Americans Advancing Justice; Edwin Yohnka, ACLU Illinois; and Jan Dorner, LWV IL.  Read their bios here. Voter registration will be available from 6:30-7:30pm also. This evening at the Oak Park Library is jointly sponsored by the Second Tuesday and Drinks & Dialogue committees. 
And starting October 1, LWV IL is unveiling their 2018 Election Voter's Guide. It will have bios and positions from all candidates on the November 6 ballot. Develop a sample ballot so you know who you are going to vote for in the booth. Sign up now to receive an email once it goes live.
Cook County Elections
In addition to the statewide candidates on the ballot this fall, there are county candidates that deserve your attention. Would you like to meet some of these candidates in person? LWV Cook County is once again sponsoring a Video Voter's Guide in partnership with WTTW. From 12:30-5:00pm on September 14, 17, 18, 20, 24, 25, and 26, the League needs members to greet and walk candidates from the lobby to the taping room at WTTW Studios, 5400 St. Louis Ave., Chicago. If you can volunteer for a few hours, please contact Peggy Kell.
New Members
Please welcome new members, Roberta Jannsen and Catherine Roland. Thanks for joining us!

Photographer to take some pictures at the Fall Kick-off. Contact Peggy Kell.


League of Women Voters of Oak Park & River Forest | | (708) 342-0803
  lwvoprf1924@gmail.com | http://lwvoprf.org
P.O. Box 3301
Oak Park, IL 60303-3301