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In This Issue










April 2019
President's Letter
Came the Spring with all its splendor,
All its birds and all its blossoms,
All its flowers and leaves and grasses.
 
--H.W. Longfellow, The Song of Hiawatha

Greetings Leaguers,

First a "Brava" to Peggy Kell for organizing and moderating all of the candidate forums in Oak Park, River Forest and Forest Park. What an amazing lady! Thank you to all of the League members who assisted Peggy in these forums. Heard lots of positive comments and thank yous from the candidates and those in attendance.

Are you curious about how Forest Park was able to get the Video Gambling referendum on the ballot and passed? At our Second Tuesday on April 9, Kris McCoy and LWV OPRF Board Member, Michelle Fitz-Henry, will share how a small, energetic, and very local advocacy group was able to mobilize Forest Park voters and repeal video gambling despite well organized, well financed opposition. 

Lobby Day in Springfield is Wednesday, April 10. Schedule a meet-up with our representatives. A list of bills for lobbying include legislation on the graduated income tax constitutional amendment, environment, immigration, healthcare, criminal justice, civic education and gun policy. Please contact me if you are interested in attending and for more information. A lunch will be provided for $10.00. (RSVP needed.) It is an amazing experience. Whether you are experienced or a novice, a visit to Springfield is fun and educational. 

Our Environment team will be at the Public Works "Earth Fest" on Saturday, April 27 from 10:00-2:00. They will have a table with information about plastics in Lake Michigan and what we can do now to work toward changing over to recyclable and compostable materials. They are about to launch a "Plastics Free Summer " initiative in partnership with the Shedd Aquarium.  Plan on being on board.

On Sunday, April 28, Forest Park will be celebrating May Day. Our League is one of the sponsors and will have an information table at the Mohr Community Center from 1:00-5:00pm.  We need volunteers at the table. Please contact me to help at the table.

Please watch for information regarding Mothers and Others for Peace at the Oak Park Main Library throughout the month of May thanks to Mary Rose Lampke.

Please add our Tuesday, May 28 Annual Meeting to your calendar. More information coming.

The LWV IL Convention is scheduled for June 8 and 9 with workshops on June 7 in Champaign, Illinois. We need 5 delegates. Please consider being a delegate.

I hope to see many of you at these gatherings.

Now that you are an informed voter, Election Day is Tuesday, April 2. VOTE!

Marge Massarello
Second Tuesday
On Tuesday, April 9, Kris McCoy and Michelle Fitz-Henry will present their strategies on  how a small, energetic, and very local advocacy group was able to mobilize Forest Park voters and repeal video gambling. Join the conversation at the Nineteenth Century Club, 178 Forest Ave., Oak Park, from 9:30-11:00am. Check out the flyer for more information.
Drinks & Dialogue 
The final Drinks & Dialogue meeting of the year will be on Thursday, April 18. We will review this year's programs and brainstorm ideas for next year. What did you think of the venue? Was parking an issue? Were the topics, well, on topic? Join us at Shanahan's, 7353 Madison, Forest Park, from 6:30-7:45pm. 
Candidate Forum Recap
Election Day is tomorrow, April 2. Our League did a wonderful job of hosting six candidate forums in Oak Park, River Forest, and Forest Park to educate our members and our communities on the candidates. All but one of the forums was videotaped and posted on our website. The last one on Tuesday, March 26, was for the Oak Park Trustee race and over 90 people attended. Thanks go to Ann Bolan, Sheila Elliot, Jessica Freiburg, Tara Joyce, Beverly Graham, Mary Cay Murray, and Marge Massarello for helping make this final forum a success. In total, 25 members helped at these forums. Kudos!
Election Day Opportunity
Do you want to do one more thing on election day?? Oak Park and River Forest have been chosen to pilot use of the new voting machines in Cook County. Could you help the Voter Service Committee get a little feedback on the election judges' opinion of the new equipment? You would only need to ask them three questions when they are not busy. All the precincts in River Forest are covered(great job with signing up!). We have a few more precincts in Oak Park that could use someone to just stop in and ask the questions. Use this link to see what precincts are open and what the three questions are. Just put your name in the open slot. Afterward you can enter the feedback into the spreadsheet or just send it to Peggy Kell via email.  We will be sharing this feedback with the Cook County Clerk.
Advocacy at Work
The Advocacy Committee continues to visit with our local Legislators. They are asking questions of these representatives on criminal justice, educational funding, the environment, and fiscal policy. On March 9, they visited with Representative Ford. You can read the recap of this meeting here. On March 16, they visited with Representative Lilly. You can read the recap of that meeting here. Thanks to Jane Hastings, Diane Moses, Fran Sampson, Carolyn Skipper, Marilyn Thomas, Beverly Graham, and Sandra Sokol for their work in advocating with these legislators.
More Volunteer Opportunities
Volunteers are needed for the following events. Work a table sharing information about our League. Please contact Marge Massarello with your availability.

Sunday, April 28 - Forest Park May Day - Mohr Community Center - 1:00-5:00pm

Sunday, June 2 - Scoville Park - Day in Our Village - 11:00am-5:00pm
Spring Cleaning
There will be a Household Hazardous Waste collection on Saturday, April 13, from 8:00am-3:00pm in the north parking lot of the Brookfield Zoo. As you Spring clean, you can take the items listed on the flyer over to this drop off point to safely dispose of them. Please share the flyer with everyone you know! There will also be a Prescription Take Back Day on Saturday, 
April 27, from 10:00am-2:00pm, at the Oak Park Township, 105 S. Oak Park Ave., Oak Park. Read the flyer for more information.


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