This Tuesday, April 9, 9:30am, Oak Park Village President Vicki Scaman, Founding Mayor and Executive Team for C4, and Seven Generations Ahead Director Colleen Feeny will present on the Cross Community Climate Collaborative (C4) at the April Second Tuesday. They will give an overview of C4 and the involved communities and will lead a discussion on the successes and challenges within C4 and the associated sustainability initiatives of the participating communities.

C4 is a project of co-led organizations Seven Generations Ahead and the Urban Efficiency Group with the mayors of Broadview, River Forest, and Oak Park and is designed to bring together BIPOC and non-minority communities across income lines to share ideas, secure resources, and drive large-scale projects within and across communities to achieve greenhouse gas emissions reductions and equity and sustainability goals. Currently, 14 disinvested and resourced communities in Illinois are involved. Please join us at the Nineteenth Century Association, 178 Forest Ave., Oak Park, this Tuesday from 9:30-11:30am. Invite your friends and neighbors to this free event!

Join GCM for a special conversation with the conservative former Illinois Congressman Joe Walsh and activist Fred Guttenberg, whose daughter died in the Parkland shooting. Two Dads Defending Democracy: Bridging the Gap During Divisive Times will be moderated by veteran reporter, editor, and GCM Board member Sheila Solomon. This conversation event will take place on Tuesday, April 9, 7:00pm, at the Lund Auditorium, Dominican University, 7900 W. Division Street, River Forest. LWV OPRF is one of the sponsors of this evening, and tickets are discounted for our members to $15.00. We will also have reserved seating at the front of the Lund Auditorium. You can buy your tickets online here with the code FF15, buy your tickets by calling the box office (708-488-5000), or purchase your tickets in person at the event. 

Mark your calendars now for the April 17-23 One Earth Film Festival. Some of the events are in person and some are virtual. Many of the events are in Oak Park or close to it. You can read their newsletter which includes all the information about the events leading up to and during the Film Festival.

Get Involved with the LWV OPRF Issues and Advocacy Committee! As a critical arm of the League, the I&A Committee advocates and influences public policy and legislation on issues studied and prioritized by the LWV IL Issues & Advocacy Committee. Each year we set up meetings with our Illinois legislators to advocate the LWV IL’s positions on pending legislation, the state budget, and other priority issues. We are getting ready to schedule our first set of meetings for the spring legislative session and will be traveling to Springfield for the League Lobby Day on May 1 (for OPRF members shared transportation will be available).  We encourage you to join this dynamic and important committee. Together, we can affect the outcome.  Contact Marilyn Pearson

by email or call (708)203-0251 for more information. You can find a detailed outline of our stances on issues in Where We Stand, the guide to LWVIL public policy positions, also available in a convenient abridged version. In concert with Impact on Issues, the guide to LWVUS public policy positions, it forms the basis for all action taken by Illinois Leagues on national and state issues.

This Tuesday, April 9, at 6:30pm, there will be an Oak Park Township Town Hall meeting. At this meeting we will join Change Illinois in their Township project, the Illinois Redistricting Collaborative, in asking that a non-binding referendum question about redistricting be put on the Oak Park November election ballot. We need at least 25 Oak Park citizens to show up to vote in support of this initiative. The referendum question that will be submitted is "Should the State of Illinois adopt an independent citizens commission for the federal and state redistricting process?" Petitions with at least 30 Oak Park citizen signatures have been submitted to get on the Town Hall agenda. This will be happening at other Townships across the state. The results of a referendum question are a great way to show our elected officials that voters want a change from gerrymandering to fair maps. If you are an Oak Park resident, please plan to attend this April 9 Oak Park Township Town Hall meeting in support of the Illinois Redistricting Collaborative. The Town Hall meeting will be at the 105 S. Oak Park Avenue Township building. Questions? Contact Peggy Kell.

Join us on Thursday, April 18, 6:30pm, at the April Drinks & Dialogue for an informative evening to learn about the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District. Environmental concerns, flood mitigation, and where your poo goes will be discussed by Dawn Walker, Chief of Staff for Water Reclamation Commissioner Davis, and Matthew Estenssoro, an attorney and expert in environmental law. They will share their expertise and insights about our water system at Friendly's Tap, 6731 Roosevelt Road, Berwyn, starting at 6:30pm. Snacks, a cash bar, and engaging conversations will be part of the evening. All are welcome. Bring a friend!

Mark your calendars now for our Annual Plant Sale Fundraiser scheduled for May 3-5, from  9:00am-5:00pm at the Good Earth Greenhouse, 7900 Madison, River Forest. Our League will receive a percentage of plant sales by our members on those days.

On February 29, the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability (CTBA) held its annual fiscal policy symposium at Roosevelt University. The symposium’s theme was “How the State Budget Can Be Used to Address Historical Inequities and Structural Racism.” Roosevelt University was a particularly relevant site for this event. After all, the term “structural racism” was popularized by Charles V. Hamilton, a graduate of Roosevelt University who wrote on the politics of Black Power in America during the 1960s and 1970s.

Recalling the battles of civil rights leaders from W. E. B. Du Bois and Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. to Rep. John Lewis, speakers at the CTBA symposium cited the need for taking intentional, determined, and persistent efforts to redress the long-standing inequities created by structural racism in various core public systems, including education, healthcare, housing, and economic development. The symposium featured leaders of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus and CTBA Executive Director Ralph Martire, who focused the discussion on what House Speaker Emmanuel “Chris” Welch said is the ongoing challenge to “redress inequities generally and racism specifically.”

If you were unable to attend CTBA’s 2024 fiscal symposium, you can watch it at your leisure by clicking on the following link: CTBA 2024 Fiscal Symposium (youtube.com). 

On Sunday, April 14, from 1:00-4:00pm, there will be a Celebration of Life gathering for Mary Haley at the Carleton Hotel, 1110 Pleasant St., Oak Park. Mary was a valued member of our League who passed away in March.

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