How many New Years do you celebrate? At NCJW Chicago North Shore, we celebrate THREE! There is secular New Year on January 1, Jewish New Year (this year arriving soon on September 6!), and NCJW New Year (the beginning of our programming year) on July 1. So break out your noisemakers and balloons and celebrate the end of one successful year and the start of a new one.

To "celebrate" the beginning of our new programming season, we are actually taking a bit of a break from programming - using July and August as time to refresh, rejuvinate and plan our next great year. Our scheduled NCJW Spotlight Series will still take place on the 4th Mondays in July and August and we also have a Soup kitchen volunteer opportunity on August 5 (see events below). It you'd like to get involved - planning a program, joining a committee or just giving us some feedback, reach out at info@ncjwcns.org and we will get you involved.

My NCJW new year's resoution is get our new Leona Z Rosenberg Leadership Initiative started. See below for more details and how you can support, nominate or participate! I hope you will also "resolve to get involved" with NCJW during our 2021-2022 programming season! As we return to in-person programming, this is a great time to meet the daring, outspoken, caring and strong people we call NCJW Advocates!

Melissa Prober

Executive Director, NCJW Chicago North Shore

Join NCJW Chicago North Shore Spotlight as we feature Gabriella N. Aboulafia, Program Assistant, Health Care Coverage and Access, The Commonwealth Fund. Registration will open soon. Visit https://ncjwcns.org/events/sp072621 for more information as it becomes available.

Volunteers and Groceries Needed! Help shop, prepare and serve dinner and bag lunches. The evening is part of an ongoing collaboration between NCJW and First United Methodist Church to provide free meals to the area’s homeless and working poor. NCJW members and a limited number of children, ages six & older, may volunteer. Contact Ellen at Ellenyhall@aol.com. 

*** Depending on the status of the pandemic, the format of Soup Kitchen may be altered. Contact Ellen with any questions: Ellenyhall@aol.com. 

COVID-19 has altered so many of our regular volunteer activities. A traditional Soup Kitchen evening would involve 10-15 volunteers cooking and serving a nutritious meal to the homeless and working poor in our community. With special pandemic procedures still in place at Beth Emet, things were a bit different at our Soup Kitchen evening on June 23, but our NCJW Soup Kitchen supporters and volunteers did an amazing job putting together a nutritious packaged meal as well as a sack lunch for soup kitchen guests.

Thank you to outgoing Soup Kitchen Chair Lauren Absler and incoming Chair Ellen Hall for your guidence and organization. Thank you also to our lunch and salad "chef's" Gail Weisberg, Lyssa Miller, Dianne Rucinski, Lisa Kritz and the Cohen Family. And thank you to Ilene Kettering, Ellen Hall, Melissa Prober and Jonah Prober for preping and packing the dinners. Finally, a huge thank you to our Soup Kitchen donors who generous support allowed us to sponsor the Soup Kitchen dinner: Cathy Holleb, Donna Gutman, Helen Paris and Laura Welch

We have an amazing history, but we must look to the future to instill strong leadership skills in every generation of our membership. Thanks to a generous bequest from the Estate of Past President Leona Rosenberg as well as generous donations from our inaugral class of sponsors, NCJW Chicago North Shore is please to launch our new 2-pronged leadership initative.

NCJW LEADS will provide in-depth leadership development and training to existing NCJW leaders. Topics include: courageous conversations, centering other voices, fundraising for the non-fundraiser, setting goals and priorities, and more. The goal is to build confident NCJW leaders ready to take on greater roles and responsibility within our section and within our community.

NCJW LIFTS brings together an annual cohort of 8-10 advocates who seek professional growth, relationship-building opportunities, and a higher level of involvement within the NCJW and the progressive community. Topics include: developing personal leadership skills, telling your story, courageous conversations, centering other voices, setting goals and priorities, and team building. NCJW LIFTS graduates will receive a subsidized registration to NCJW Washington Institute 2022. Applications for NCJW LIFTS will be available on or around August 1 on our website.

Join our inaugural sponsors and support this important initiative to create a legacy of fearless advocates, powerful leaders and vocal participants! To donate, visit https://ncjwcns.org/donate-2 and select Leona Z Rosenberg Leadership Initiative from the dropdown menu.

Through the Community Health Worker Certification and Reimbursement Act, home visiting and doula services will now be available to individuals who qualify for medical assistance. HB158 Signed by the Governor 4/27/21.

Improving Health Care of Pregnant and Postpartum Individuals Act addresses maternal mortality in Illinois. SB967 Sent to the Governor for signature.

The Illinois Keeping Youth Safe and Healthy Act updates Illinois’ sex ed standards to give young people the information and tools they need to support responsible and informed decision-making about their health and well-being. SB818 Sent to the Governor for signature.

While we worked tirelessly with our partners in the Reproductive Health and Access Coalition to Repeal the Parental Notification of Abortion Act, that bill did not progress during this session. We will continue the work.  

The Ensuring Success in School Law guarantees that K-12 students who are survivors of gender-based violence, teen parents, or expectant parents can stay in school, stay safe, and complete their education. HB3223 Passed Both Houses.

Expungement of Felony Prostitution Convictions expunges felony records, removing a barrier for trafficking and sex trade survivors as they exit the sex trade. SB2136 Passed Both Houses.

In the final hours of the session an Election Omnibus Bill was passed. The bill included many of the suggestions from the NCJW-led Promote the Vote Coalition, including: establishing of a permanent vote by mail list, allowing non-partisan groups to register in high schools, making Election Day a state holiday, and establishing county wide voting centers on Election Day. SB825. Signed by the Governor 6/17/21.

Although we have been advocating for the BIO (Block Illegal Ownership) Bill for many years, it did not pass as the BIO Bill. However, the Senate did pass a bipartisan bill that includes most of the measures in the BIO Bill including, expanding background checks to all gun sales in Illinois, investing $9 million for mental health programs in the communities most impacted by gun violence and allowing Illinois State Police to remove guns from people with revoked Firearm Owners Identification (FOID) cards who have not surrendered their weapon. The bill received House concurrence on June 16. HB562 Passed Both Houses.

Legislation that widens the definition of “family members” to include ex-spouses and co-parents who can petition for a Firearm Restraining Order and expands the items to be seized, to include ammunition as well as firearm parts, also received a concurrence vote in the House on June 16. HB1092 Passed Both Houses.

Illinois will become the first state to require Asian American history be taught in public schools. The Teaching Equitable Asian American Community History Act (TEAACH) mandates a unit about the Asian American experience, including the community's history in Illinois and the Midwest, starting in the 2022-23 school year. HB376 Sent to the Governor for signature.

Legislation passed that repeals the state’s law that criminalizes people living with HIV. HB 1063 Sent to the Governor for signature.

Illinois Way Forward prohibits local police from collaborating with ICE on civil immigration enforcement and closes the three remaining ICE detention centers in Illinois, thus protecting immigrants from facing deportation should they interact with local law enforcement. Illinois is the third state in the country to win such strong protections for our communities. SB667 Passed Both Houses.

Healthy Illinois For All will increase healthcare access by expanding Medicaid eligibility for all low-income adults age 55+ regardless of immigration status. Included in the upcoming budget.

While we did not engage in this directly, we are pleased to see (and to observe) that Juneteenth National Freedom Day shall be observed on June 19 of each year as a holiday throughout the State of Illinois. HB3922 Signed by the Governor 6/16/21

For more information on any of these issues and to become more involved in our advocacy work, please contact Jill Lexier, State Policy Advocacy Co-Chair, Illinois at jill@ncjwcns.org.

This afternoon, NCJW released a statement denouncing the Supreme Court’s decision in Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee

Read our full statement online here. 

We also published via Facebook, and Twitter.

Additionally, National Council of Jewish Women hosted a US Supreme Court Wrap Up on June 30, sponsored by The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. It covered Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee, and California v. Texas. If you missed it, you can register to view the recording here.

Annual Member? Most NCJW annual memberships expired on June 30? We will be sending out membership renewal notices by the end of the week so check your inbox tomorrow or email us at info@ncjwcns.org to find out your membership status and renew today!

Life Member? You're not just a life member because you made that life member donation back in the day - you are a life member because you are the heart and soul of our section! Is there someone in your life that you think would enjoy being a part of our group of motivated, fun, and thoughtful women? A collective of folks connecting with each other and learning together as a community of progressive change-makers. If you do, why not gift them a membership!

Click here to join, renew or gift a membership online. If you prefer to mail a check, please send your membership donation to the NCJW Chicago North Shore (NCJWCNS) to: NCJW Chicago North Shore, 5 Revere Drive, Suite 200, Northbrook, IL 60062. Your annual membership donation is only $50 but it helps us make such a difference! And for those 36 and under, we offer a special double chai membership rate of just $36!

National Council of Jewish Women [NCJW] South Cook Section is pleased to offer “Honey for the Holidays” to the Chicago North Shore Section!

After taking a hiatus for one year and offering Jewish New Year’s Cards, the Section is now offering a choice. A beautiful New Year’s card and/or our delicious Honey! The cards cost $3.50 including first class mailing in U.S. and honey cost varies from $9.75 to $10.25 depending on quantity and includes mailing in U.S. Out of country mailing is available at additional cost.

The honey is a 6 oz. bottle of honey, wrapped with a personalized card. You can see the New Year’s card and obtain order forms for honey and/or the card by going to ncjwsouthcook.org. If we had a method for reviews, you would see that those who have ordered the honey/cards and those who received them are very satisfied customers. All orders are due by July 15th!

Thank you for your support!

National Council of Jewish Women works all day, every day, to advance policies and efforts that directly affect the most vulnerable populations in the United States. Below, find three actions you can take immediately to make a difference. Want to go further? Visit ncjw.org/act to see all the actions you can take today to better the lives of women, children, and families.

The issue: Every year, there is a major barrier to abortion care in bills that fund the government. This barrier is known as the Hyde Amendment and it denies abortion coverage to anyone enrolled in federal health programs such as Medicaid, Medicare, and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

The good news: The Equal Access to Abortion Coverage in Health Insurance (EACH) Act would end these dangerous and discriminatory coverage bans.

Our task: Urge your lawmakers to support the EACH Act.

The issue: The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a deadly toll worldwide and has disproportionately affected women.

The good news: Life-saving vaccines are now available to the majority of Americans. In Jewish tradition, the commandment of Pikuach nefesh — the saving of life — is the most important and supersedes all other laws. We each have the opportunity to save not only our own lives but the lives of others by getting vaccinated and helping others to do so as well.

Our task: Join NCJW’s #GetOuttheVax Campaign.

The issue: Despite recent legal victories that protect against employment discrimination, there are many gaps in our nation’s nondiscrimination laws, particularly for LGBTQ people. 

The good news: The Equality Act (HR 5) would add explicit protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity to our civil rights laws. The bill would also add and expand legal protections for women.

Our task: Tell the Senate to pass the Equality Act

*For DC residents, we continue working towards full voting representation in the US Congress. Click here to tell the Senate to make DC a state!

Chicago North Shore has several new ways to support our section. As always, you can make a one time donation or purchase a tribute (links are below), you can even purchase an NCJW star necklace or hanger charm or become a monthly donor!