The Voter
The League of Women Voters of Glen Ellyn
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A Letter from the Co-Presidents
Happy New Year! Wishing you all the best for a promising 2023. We had a wonderful holiday gathering at Sarah’s home sharing good conversation with long-time and new members. Thanks to the Board for providing a delicious spread of food for all to dine on!
A New Member Orientation took place at the beginning of the event. Many thanks to Judy Gervase for leading a great review of what the League is all about with 5 new members. The turnout for our fundraising event at 10,000 Villages resulted in a donation to LWVGE in the amount of almost $600.
On December 7, a Vigil was held in front of the DuPage County Courthouse to bring attention to the Moore v Harper case being heard before the US Supreme Court; a case referred to as the independent legislative theory. Speakers included Sania Irwin, Jackson Paller of Citizen Advocacy Center, Donna Limper of RepresentUs and Jay Young of Common Cause. Connell Tavis also played a trumpet solo of God Bless America and Kaley Mockus sang "This Land is Your Land." Both the Daily Herald and Chicago Tribune gave advance publicity to the event.
An All (DuPage) Leagues meeting was held on January 16 at the Wilder Mansion. All 7 sister Leagues were represented and great learning sessions were held for Voter Services, Programs, Advocacy, Treasurer, Environment, Communications, League Presidents and Vice Presidents,and Membership.
A recount for DuPage County Board District 2 and State Representative District 45 began with a discovery recount on December 20. Thanks to Voter Services Co-Chair, Erica Nelson for observing this process, representing LWVGE. The sampling of ballots will provide information for a possible full recount.
We are thrilled that the Charlotte Swett Walter (CSW) Democracy Challenge program kicked off this month. You can read more below about this exciting program being offered to our two Glen Ellyn High Schools. Thanks go to Social Studies Chairs Rueben Rodriguez, GBS and Kristen Brandt, GBW for working with the CSW committee to tailor the award program for our schools. Thanks to the CSW committee Karin Daly, Judy Kinn and Karen Schulz for joining your Co-presidents with thoughtful planning and execution of this program. Extra kudos goes to Karin for her organizational skills and the beautiful graphics for the posters and flyers.
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Our work continues in 2023!
There is much work to do in the upcoming weeks with Program Planning and this year’s General Election. Our Program Planning is scheduled for February 4 at the Glen Ellyn Library from 9:00am - 12:00pm. All members are welcome to attend as we review our positions and work on the LWV Program and LWVGE events. Please RSVP here https://forms.gle/jQikVdF6VEasniu26 so we can have enough breakfast and chairs set up. We hope to see you there!
Working to Empower Voters,
Sarah Allen and Michelle Thorsell, Co-Presidents
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LWVGE Program and Programs | |
National and Illinois League News | |
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League Advocacy Never Ceases
For all our members, but especially those new to League, it is important to know our history for advocacy is always on-going. Based on study, consensus and Position development, LWVGE, along with the State and National Leagues, make determinations on issues that need our advocacy as well as demand our action. These issues are not "one and done" but rather, require continuous stewardship and advocacy by League over years and even decades.
For example, on Dec 7, 2022, several DuPage area Leagues held a vigil in front of the DuPage County Courthouse to bring attention to the Moore v Harper case being heard before the US Supreme Court that day. (National LWVUS rallied on the Supreme Court steps). The case centers on maintaining oversight by state judiciaries over voting laws and rights in individual states- in this case Georgia. Voter rights is the heart of the LWV’s mission. LWVGE held a similar type Vigil in front of the Glen Ellyn Village Hall Jan 6, 2022 to mark the one year anniversary of the attack on the US Capital. Defending Democracy is also the heart of the LWV’s mission.
More recently, Illinois passed a ban on assault-type weapons. LWVIL advocates restricting access to automatic and semi-automatic assault type weapons by private individuals and a similar position exists at the National LWV level. On January 13, 2023, DuPage County Sheriff Mendrick issued a statement with his position to not enforce the new Illinois law. The League of Women Voters supports the new legislation that caps the sale of high-capacity assault type weapons and ammunition magazines for the well-being of our community and are asking Sheriff Mendrick to respond to the wishes of DuPage County voters by complying with the new Illinois assault weapons and high-capacity magazines law. The seven DuPage sister Leagues are writing a letter to the editor stating the league's position and support for enforcement of Illinois law.
Some advocacy is immediate with a quick response. Other times, it is longstanding with slow progress like the issue of increased Affordable Housing in Glen Ellyn. The glacial pace for change can be challenging, and the list of issues is long! League is forever advocating for voter education and access, for informed and active citizen participation in government, for influencing public policy through education and advocacy, protecting the environment, fair education, DEI...and many more. It can feel overwhelming at times to work alone, but it can feel energizing to work with other members on an issue that interests YOU. That is why we want to encourage you to GET INVOLVED... find your League niche. Your ADVOCACY interest. Please email either of us to set a time to discuss where your special skills and talents can best be shared or contact anyone on the Board listed in your membership book. Your energy, enthusiasm and new ideas are needed!
email Sarah: lwvgecopresident1@gmail.com
email Michelle: president@lwvge.org
Submitted by Sarah Allen and Michelle Thorsell, Co-Presidents
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2022 General Election Recap
Election turnout in the area was a little shy of the turnout for the previous mid-terms in 2018.
DuPage County turnout was 56% of registered voters (343,734 ballots cast by 616,281 registered voters). This compares to 58% turnout for the 2018 mid-terms when 369,940 ballots were cast. About 21% of 2022 general election ballots were cast by mail, 25% were cast during early voting and, the balance, 54%, were cast on election day.
Locally, Illinois House District 42 (representing most of Glen Ellyn, Lombard and, Lisle) saw 60% turnout. This compares to 62% turnout for the old IL 48 in 2018 (Illinois districts were re-numbered after the 2020 census).
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2023 General Election
The 2023 Consolidated General Election is set for April 4, 2023. Board member elections will be held for Glen Ellyn School District 41, Community Consolidated School District 89, Glenbard Township High School District 87, Village of Glen Ellyn Trustees, Village of Glen Ellyn Library Trustees, and Glen Ellyn Park District Board Commissioners.
LWVGE is planning to hold candidate forums for these offices on Saturday, March 4, 2023 at Hadley Jr. HS. We will need many volunteers to help run this important event! Please email voterservices.lwvge@gmail.com if you want to volunteer.
Turnout for these Consolidated elections are typically abysmal compared to mid-terms and presidential elections! The 2021 Village of Glen Ellyn turnout was about 25% while county-wide turnout was about 17%. Any suggestions to improve on this paltry level of participation would be welcome.
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Voter Outreach
A small team of League volunteers visited WDSRA’s Rec and Roll program at Ackerman Sports Center on December 8, 2022. Rec and Roll is a social and recreational day program for adults with intellectual disabilities aged 22 to 55. We talked about voting and ran a mock election. The mock election results concluded that pizza was the preferred lunch entrée, while chocolate narrowly edged out vanilla in a run-off as the preferred ice cream flavor. We’re planning to return in February at lunch time to make good on our election promises.
Submitted by Dave Evans, Voter Services Co-Chair
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GE League's Strong Affordable Housing Advocacy Continues! | |
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Members of our League, joined with DuPage United (a coalition of local churches), to show our strong support for a proposal from non-profit developer "Full Circle Communities". They would build affordable, accessible and supportive housing on the Village's Roosevelt and Taft properties. We joined with at least 100 others in favor, resulting in an overflow crowd at the Village's January 9th Board Meeting.
Julie Evans, a GE resident since 1994, as well as a League member, was chosen spokesperson for DuPage United, its Allies and for residents with developments and intellectual disabilities. She spoke of the urgency of making a decision based on a funding deadline and urged the Trustees "to work together to create a living community that is welcoming, offering safe, attractive and an affordable environment for all residents." Hear her powerful statement in full by viewing this link from meeting (beginning at the 33:00 minute mark)
This is only the latest in League's ongoing efforts to educate Glen Ellyn on our position regarding the need for "deliberate planning that can result in housing that appeals to and is affordable for people with a wide range of incomes and lifestyles, promoting a vibrant, welcoming community".
Our Village owns this property, and therefore has the ability to choose a proposal that can serve those residents most in need. This is not the case with for-profit developers who continue to build developments based on profit that provide only luxury rentals.
Our League has been successful in its advocacy to include 2 affordable housing units in the Glenwood Station Development on the former McChesney and Miller property. We know, however, that the need is so much greater especially for residents on fixed incomes, local workers in the retail and service sectors as well as for young families and for recent graduates returning home to join the workforce. That's why new affordable projects like the one proposed are so very important!!
A vibrant community "makes room" in its housing supply for these varied and important populations. We indeed "Need The People Who Need Affordable Housing"!!
Submitted by Joyce Hothan, Director, League Issues
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We came, we saw, we counted!
Continuing the participation of past years, the LWVGE again tabulated the ballots from the election for Village Trustees and Library Board trustees held at the Civic Betterment Party’s Town meeting on December 3rd. This election was to choose the slate of candidates that would appear on the ballot in the consolidated election on April 4, 2023.
The CBP called to order the Town Meeting at 10:00am. There were 82 people present. Part of the agenda allowed each of the candidates to present themselves as well as open nominations from the floor. Then the meeting was suspended until the vote counting was completed.
While voting was open from 9:00am-2:00pm, we began tabulating at 1:00 pm so that we could finish quickly. After the voting closed at 2:00pm, the remaining and Drive Thru ballots were delivered to us. The tabulating was completed, without a recount, at 3:00pm. Both the CBP and the candidates were thankful for our quick and efficient work so that they could announce the results and adjourn the meeting.
A total of 575 ballots, or affidavits, were counted, with nearly 49% of the votes cast at the meeting itself, 18% from Early Voting and 33% from the Drive-Thru voting at the Library.
The Village Trustees that advanced to appear on the April 4, 2023 ballot include: Donna Jean Simon (324); Kelli Christiansen (283) and Steve Thompson (268). The Library Trustees that advanced to appear on the April 4, 2023 ballot include: Mary Sue Brown (367); Karen Volk (363); Kathy Slovick (325) and Richard Jones (257). Four of the seven candidates are LWVGE members (names in bold)!
We were gratified that many of the recommendations documented in the League’s CBP study and presented to the Civic Betterment Party were already implemented, including Early Voting, Drive Thru Voting and improvements to the CBP website. We were told additional recommendations will be adopted in the future.
Josh Cattero, CBP President, on behalf of the CBP committee, thanked the League of Women Voters for their help and hard work today and input through this cycle.
I want to extend thanks to the volunteers that tabulated accurately, diligently and with good cheer: Jacquelyn Casazza, Cindy Curry, Patti Denny, Rita Doyle, Sonja Faulkner, Jen Greenwalt, Judy Kinn, Sandy Loudenslagel, Kristin Malone, Sonja Melton, Lisa Mojica, Michelle Peterson. And a special thanks to Carrie Burrows for educating me on the process, having my back, and her enthusiasm in training the tabulators.
VOTE ON APRIL 4, 2023
Submitted Barbara Kwiatkowsky, Director of Local Government
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Charlotte Swett Water Democracy Challenge | |
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Charlotte Swett Walter Glenbard Democracy Challenge Kicks Off
LWVGE will be making an impact at Glen Ellyn schools this semester with the Charlotte Swett Walter (CSW) Glenbard Democracy Challenge. A creative competition, the challenge asks students to portray the theme “In defense of Democracy” through music, dance, creative writing, art, video, etc. A $500 cash prize will be awarded to a student at both GBW and GBS and the winners will present their entry at our Annual Meeting. The challenge is named for long-time League member Charlotte Swett Walter whose estate bequeathed funds for use in our educational endeavors. If you would like to learn more about this challenge and the life and contributions of Charlotte, visit our dedicated web page: lwvge.org/democracychallenge.
Submitted by Karin Daly, VP Communications
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Membership Report
with an Annual Meeting teaser...
We are happy to report that the LWVGE membership stands at 212! We are grateful to all our members, including our 28 new members who have joined us over the course of this “membership year”. These numbers are due in large part to the recruitment practices of current members - which means you are out there showing and talking about all we are doing to support democracy! Thank you for that! I will report this exceptional number on January 31 to the LWVUS for their portion of our dues. Our work and treasure supports Glen Ellyn, the state of Illinois and the US League - always remember how much your membership in LWV means to our nation.
The Annual Meeting/Membership Committees have begun planning the April Annual Meeting/Dinner and Membership Renewal Drive. The Annual Meeting is scheduled for April 27 at Reserve 22, so mark your calendars! Let’s fill all those seats! You will receive your invitation along with the request for dues renewal - please remember to respond to both, even if you are not able to attend the meeting or are not intending to renew - it really helps us to know all of that, and saves time with follow-ups. And of course, the Member Interest form!!! Please return that, too, even if you’re a supporter in spirit! There is a box to check for that. Timely response is very much appreciated and necessary for the day the restaurant needs our final numbers!! Watch for details that should arrive in the mail in March. It should come in a colored envelope so that you can’t miss it!
Submitted by Judy Gervase, Membership, and Angela Smith, Annual Meeting/Dinner
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It was a busy Holiday season for LWVGE members! | |
League Members Sub as Santa for Chamber Letters Program
League volunteers wrote nearly 500 letters to local children in the annual Glen Ellyn Chamber of Commerce Letters to Santa Program. One child asked for gift cards as a parent was recently laid off, others thought to ask about Santa and Mrs. Claus, perhaps hoping flattery would lead to better gifts. Mostly children got down to business, listing precisely what they wanted, even to the point of sending in pages from a catalog with items circled. League members enjoyed reading the letters – many festooned with drawings or stickers – as well as writing the children a personal note. The Letters to Santa program was initiated during the pandemic as a way to help persuade people to come downtown and shop and go to restaurants. It was so popular the Chamber decided to continue to offer children the chance to hear directly from the big guy himself, or at least through his League spokes-elves. Thank you to all of our volunteers!
Submitted by Head Elf Karin Daly
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Holiday Party!
Thank you to Karen Schultz, Media Relations, for capturing these photos from our Holiday Fundraiser and Party on December 8. Members enjoyed shopping, delicious food, conversation, and most of all, being together in person!
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Amy Hohulin and Jayne Boeckelman shopping at Ten Thousand Villages | |
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Rita Doyle shopping for holiday goodies
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Judy Gervase, Bernie Laszewski, Gail Bernstein enjoying holiday treats | |
The Evans family - Julie, Miles, and Dave (and the beginnings of Dave's new mustache!) | |
Jacquelyn Casazza and Karin Daly are dreaming of a GREEN Christmas | |
Sonja Faulkner, Sarah Allen and Karen Schulz around the tree. I had the opportunity to hear Sarah and Karen share the story of how they met - coaching Kindergarten soccer! Their friendship and service in our Glen Ellyn community spans 30 years! Stories like these are so wonderful to share during the holidays | |
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Laura Lee and Rita Doyle have been reviewing the LWVGE Bylaws per the required biennial
review. We presented our proposed amendments to the board on January 12 for their
consideration and final review at the February 16 board meeting. Members will receive the
proposed amendments in March and vote on the changes at the Annual Meeting, April 27.
Submitted by Rita Doyle, Legislative Issues
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Our next book club selection is "The Woman They Could Not Silence: The Shocking Story Of A Woman Who Dared To Fight Back" by Kate Moore, the author of Radium Girls. This book has been recommended to us a few times. Our meeting is January 21, 2023, at 9:00am at the home of Shawn Fasules, 755 Chidester.
Please join us for coffee, or tea and scones and a lively discussion.
If you have questions, comments, reach out to Shawn Fasules or Michelle Peterson
Submitted by Shawn Fasules, Book Club
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CALENDAR
Cantigny Awareness Series (CAS) noted in red
LWVGE Community Meetings noted in blue
Candidate Forums are highlighted
January 26, 2023 - Annual State of the Village with Village President Mark Senak and Village Manager Mark Franz
February 4, 2023 - Program Planning - Annual review of LWVIL positions
February 9, 2023 - Civic Awareness Series, "The Need for Election Reform" with Jim Slusher, on Zoom
February 16, 2023 - LWVGE Board Meeting
February 23, 2023 - Community Meeting, Privacy and Reproductive Rights in a Post Roe Area
March 4, 2023 - Candidate Forum for April 2023 Election: Glen Ellyn School District 41, Community Consolidated School District 89, Glenbard Township High School District 87, Village of Glen Ellyn Trustees, Village of Glen Ellyn Library Trustees, and Glen Ellyn Park District Board Commissioners
March 9, 2023 - Civic Awareness Series, "The Freedom to Read and Book Censorship" at Cantigny Park
Plans for events are subject to change. To avoid disappointment, please check the LWVGE website for final details.
Questions about League events? Get details here:
www.lwvge.org
| Please visit our website for the most current information |
PO Box 2391, Glen Ellyn, IL 60138
(630) 790-2237
(630) 347-0922
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