On Tuesday we had a high of 67; today the high temperature was 38; and they predict we will be in the 70s over the weekend. Say what you like about Spring in Chicagoland but it keeps you guessing.

To us at NCJW, Spring means it's time for our annual Mother's Day Basket Project. This initiative means so much to the women spending Mother's Day in DV shelters in our community and even more so now, one year into the pandemic. We have seen a dramatic increase in domestic violence calls during COVID19. The Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline saw a 16% increase in the number of calls they received but so many women, stick at home with their abusers, are unable to call and receive help. It's a scary time and we hope that the Senate will pass the VAWA reauthorization quickly. If you would like to participate in our Mother's Day Project, see the information further below in this email or visit our website.

And scroll down for section news and information and more details about these great April events:

Thank you to those who have completed our membership survey! It really helps to have all that information as we start to plan for next year (and next year starts July 1). This is the last month of our survey so if you haven't already responded, please do so. It's pretty quick and the information is so helpful to make sure we can get you the program, advocacy and community service information that most interestes you! Click here for the survey.

You deserve some me time. Join us for Chocolate Creativity and Connections, a deliciously fun and enjoyable self-discovery journey through simple art and writing activities. Chocolate is a metaphor for passion. In the “meet in person version,” we would have a chocolatier. For today, chocolate is optional. Discover three easy ways to boost your creativity and reduce stress in as little as ten minutes. Come away feeling renewed and refreshed while creating a stronger bond with your NCJW family. No artistic experience needed. Please bring plenty of papers, glitter, stickers, markers, colored pencils or anything that delights you. If you can hold a crayon, you will be successful. Click here to register.

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. Depending on the status of the pandemic, the format of Soup Kitchen may be altered. Contact Lauren with any questions labsler@att.net.

Wild fires, floods and bad air quality right here in Chicago are only a few tipping points threatening the planet. President Biden has made climate change a priority. And Dick Durbin has introduced America’s Clean Future Fund Act. But will it pass as no other climate change bill has? Henry Moss will explain the urgency and how we can help. Please join us for a discussion led by Henry Moss, who is Citizens Climate Lobby’s Liaison to Sen. Durbin. Click here to register.

The new criminal justice reform bill includes significant positive changes but may not cover the scope of needed accountability. Our expert panel will sift through this complex bill, so that we all better understand the gains we’ve made and areas that still require advocacy. Q and A will follow. Participants include: Hon. Chris Welch, Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives, Kim Foxx, Cook County State’s Attorney, Eric Rinehart, Lake County State's Attorney, Sharone Mitchell Jr., Cook County Public Defender, John Maki, Director of Innovations, Alliance for Safety and Justice and the program will be moderated by: Rev. Dr. Janette C. Wilson, Rainbow PUSH Coalition.

This program is co-sponsored by Rainbow PUSH Coalition, NCJW Illinois, NAACP DuPage County, Illinois NOW, League of Women Voters of Naperville, NAACP Evanston/North Shore, and Courts Matter Illinois. Click here for additional information. Registration opens on April 8.

JCAST Chicago is thrilled to partner with Mary Bonnett and Her Story Theater for this event featuring a fifteen-minute monologue taken from Mary’s fourth play, MONGER performed by Jamise Wright, Artistic Associate, Her Story Theater and lead in original MONGER production. After the performance, Mary and panelists will explore the impact of men’s participation in domestic sex trafficking; and how it effects individual lives, families, and communities. Please note, this program will contain adult content and mature themes. We invite audience members who are triggered during the program to do what you need to feel safe including turning off your camera or leaving the event until you feel comfortable returning. If you have any questions, please reach out to jcast@ncjwcns.org. Click here for more information and to RSVP.

Join NCJW for this amazing and exclusive event. Last Hermanos, an audio translation of a stage-work in progress, is a story of tenacious brotherhood, both chosen and blood. The audio play will be available to listen to on demand from May 1 through May 9. Join us at 7pm on May 13 for a Theatre Talk Back with Chicago-based film, television and stage actor Larry Grimm, A Red Orchid Theatre ensemble member. Set in the not-too distant future, brothers Miguel and Julio are fleeing an America where being Latinx is a life sentence. Finding themselves sequestered in a Texas state park, the arrival of a sympathetic deserter, Shepherd, brings the conflict between Julio’s desire for revolution and Miguel’s need to return to normalcy into sharp focus. Registration will open mid-April. Click here for more information.

Very soon you may be bombarded with requests from NCJW and other organizations in Illinois to fill out “witness slips.” Why?

A witness slip expresses a person’s or group’s position (either for or against) on a bill pending in the Illinois legislature. A witness slip can be filed by an individual or on behalf of an organization (if you have the organization’s permission or authority to act on its behalf). 

Witness slips used to be actual pieces of paper used by lobbyists and others prior to committee hearings to let legislators know who would be pleased (or not) with their vote. It was very much an insider’s tool.  Now, however, the process is much more transparent and anyone with access to the internet can go onto the Illinois General Assembly website and fill out slips for any bills they like.  Witness slips are now used to show support or disapproval for bills early in a legislative session and to engage advocates or opponents and others in creating “buzz” around an issue. They become especially important when a bill is controversial.

Calls for witness slips are often urgent since they can only be filed once the bill has been scheduled for a hearing, usually with less than a week’s notice. 

So if you see a call from NCJW or another trusted organization for witness slips, PLEASE FILL ONE OUT. We’ll only ask if we believe they’re needed and can make a difference.

In addition, consider becoming an NCJW Witness Slip Warrior available to respond to these urgent requests for witness slips. We’ll provide instructions! To become a Witness Slip Warrior, click here.

Check here for a schedule of Committee Hearings and to file a witness slip: dashboard of Illinois General Assembly website

And here is great guidance from the ACLU on witness slips, including how to fill them out. FAQ on witness slips

Jill Lexier, NCJW State Policy Advocate, jill@ncjwcns.org

The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), originally passed in 1994, was historical legislation that acknowledged domestic violence and sexual assault as crimes and provided federal resources to encourage community-coordinated efforts of addressing and responding to domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

VAWA is up for renewal every five years. While Congress has continued to appropriate funding even when VAWA’s reauthorization expires, each reauthorization has added critical provisions to better meet the needs of victims, survivors and advocates. Some of those provisions have included legal assistance programs, responses to dating violence, housing protections, culturally and linguistically specific services, access to safety for Native Americans and LGBTQ survivors. 

VAWA’s last authorization expired in December 2018. In mid-March 2021, the House of Representatives approved the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2021 (HR1620) and sent the law onto the Senate where it is facing some concerning opposition. The most contentious issues: closing the so-called “boyfriend loophole” which adds dating partners and stalkers to the provision banning spouses of convicted domestic violence or abuse from owning firearms and expanding protections for transgender women including providing access to women’s shelters.

With so much requiring attention – vaccine accessibility, economic recovery, migrants at the border, climate change and more – it would be easy for VAWA to get pushed aside. That would be a misfortune with long-term, deep magnitude. The tragedies in Atlanta and Boulder are grim reminders of the consequences of gun violence. Stay-at-home orders and the isolation of a more than year-long pandemic only served to heighten dangerous situations for women and children in abusive situations. Its past time for Congress to take action. Please urge the Senate to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act now.

Amy Rubin, JCAST Chicago Chair

Help make this a special Mother’s Day for women living in domestic violence shelters while honoring a special person in your life.

The NCJW Chicago North Shore Mother’s Day Project supports two area domestic violence shelters which serve women and their children who are victims of domestic violence by providing housing, meals, counseling and other personal essentials. The women at the shelters so often arrive with little more than the clothes they are wearing. We fill Mother’s Day baskets with many items we take for granted each day: shampoo, conditioner, body soap, lotions, gift certificates, chocolates and other items that would be “luxuries” for them at this time. Help make this a special Mother’s Day for the women at the shelter, and at the same time, honor a special woman in your life.

For each donation of at least $18.00, we will send a Mother’s Day card to your mother, aunt, daughter or anyone else you choose. She will know that in her honor, NCJW delivered baskets and best wishes to the women at the shelters –a double mitzvah. Or, you may wish to send a card in memory of a loved one –and their memory shall be a blessing. Click here to order online. If you prefer to mail a check, please make your donation no later than *April 30* so we can mail your card(s) on time! Click here to download an order form and send a check made out to the NCJW Chicago North Shore (NCJWCNS) to: NCJW Chicago North Shore, 5 Revere Drive, Suite 200, Northbrook, IL 60062.

Did you miss any part of our JCAST Chicago series on Discussing Healthy Relatinoships and Consent with Our Youth? All three programs were recorded. Just click on the links below to watch or share.

If you missed our March 9 discussion on the amazing documentary Shared Legacies, the recording of the panel is available on YouTube. Click here to watch or share.

The hidden resistance efforts of Jewish women in ghettos during Nazi occupation are one of the most extraordinary and often-overlooked stories about World War II and the Holocaust. The Light of Days: The Untold Story of Women Resistance Fighters in Hitler’s Ghettos, the soon to be released novel already optioned by Steven Spielberg for a major motion picture, shares the defiance and rebellion of women who worked together and risked their lives in the fight for justice and liberty. Click here to register for the virtual program

The Joint Memorial Day Ceremony, co-hosted by Combatants for Peace and Parents Circle – Families Forum, challenges the traditional narrative of victimhood and separation, and brings people together declaring, “War and occupation are Not Acts of Fate – but a Human Choice!” Last year 200,000 people participated in the live Broadcast. NCJW, Inc. is a co-sponsor of this event. Click here for more information and to register.

Did you know that young women, ages 18-24, are at a greater risk for sexual violence than other age groups? Or that most victims are exploited by people they know? Reclaim13 works to bring healing to survivors of sexual abuse and exploitation. Our Reclaiming Voices Survivor Art Show began in 2019 to give “voice” to the experiences of survivors. The 3rd annual Reclaiming Voices Survivor Art Show will be held on Sunday, April 25, 2021 and will be a hybrid event, with our in-person show at the Morton Arboretum and our virtual showcase the same evening online. Click here for more information.

The voting rights of America’s Voters of Color and Youth Voters are under attack nationally by state legislators introducing and passing laws to suppress their participation in elections. Meanwhile, Big Business and Billionaires are able to spend unlimited amounts of funding to buy our elections. Join us as we mobilize on May 8 in the name of John Lewis as part of 100 events across the nation. Together, we can build a better nation and a stronger democracy. If you have any questions, contact John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Day.

The Supermajority Education Fund’s Majority Leaders program will cover how to build political power, how to center women of color in our leadership, the Majority Rules, how to lead with our values, and what practical next steps we can take to grow the movement. Along the way, we will hear from leading activists and organizers who will give us tangible examples and lessons. Click here for more information and to apply.

NCJW and Workers Circle are teaming up for “April Actions for Democracy” to advocate for the For the People Act (S1). This democracy reform bill would strengthen and restore voting rights, offer new protections for voters, end the dominance of big money in politics, and implement anti-corruption, pro-ethics measures to clean up government. Watch this call recording and dive into the April Actions for Democracy toolkit to learn how to take action.

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!