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Dear League Members,
This has been a very busy summer, and we haven't even begun our '19-'20 year!
SOCIAL ACTIVITIES
Twenty Leaguers and guests came to Austin Gardens on July 18 for a pre-show potluck and an evening of theatre to see Jeff-nominated "Elizabeth X". Anne Rooney, Festival Theatre Board Chair reached out to us offering discounted tickets and assistance with setting up our potluck. Actress Belinda Bremnert, playing Kate Tardwell, visited with us before the show. The play focused on Queen Elizabeth's struggle with ruling England as its first female monarch. (A perfect theme for the League)
CIVIC DUTY AND EDUCATING THE PUBLIC CANNABIS TOWN HALL PLANNING
Vicki Scaman, Oak Park Village Clerk, reached out to the League to involve us in planning a Town Hall in anticipation of the implementation of the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act on January 1, 2020. The purpose of the scheduled Town Hall will be to educate the public about the Law and obtain feedback about the many decisions that the Village will make regarding it.
Seven League members attended the first planning meeting in July.
The next one will be on August 14 at 3:30.
In the meantime, a small committee, of which Mary Haley is a member, has been meeting to iron out the particulars of the Town Hall agenda. It will take place on October 2, from 6:30 - 8:30, at Percy Julian Middle School.
FALL KICKOFF
The Co-Chairs of Second Tuesday and Drinks and Dialogue are working to organize the Fall Kickoff on the topic of
Criminal Justice Reform in Cook County
to be held at the Oak Park Public Library at 7:00pm on Wednesday, September 18. Check out the flyer.
ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE
"PLASTIC FREE JULY", a cooperative effort with the Energy and Environment Commission, was introduced at A Day in Our Village and followed up with the committee's table outside the Farmers Market from June 28 to July 27. Committee members volunteered their time speaking to the public about the benefits of reducing single use plastics. In advance of July, committee members contacted 100 local restaurants to determine which ones had made the change to compostables and to encourage those who still used plastic straws, carryout containers, and utensils to work toward making the switch. Articles about our efforts appeared in the Wednesday Journal and Oak Park Eats.
We feel that our involvement was successful in raising public awareness while reducing the use of plastics in Oak Park, River Forest, and Forest Park.
So we're off and running, looking forward to an active year with the upcoming 2020 election!
Beverly Graham
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