The culmination of all the meetings and presentations by the Criminal Justice Committee will take place on Saturday, January 30, at 1:30pm. Full recommendations and the LWV OPRF Member Consensus Meeting is scheduled via Zoom. Register here today for the Consensus Meeting. Take the time to review Presentations Part I and Part II before the meeting. Consensus is one of the League's most important activities!

Checking In: Housing and Food in the Pandemic - Join us on Tuesday, February 9, 9:30-11:00am, to meet with Housing Forward and Beyond Hunger, key leaders in our local safety net. Ask your questions and learn today's facts. To attend this virtual event, register here.

The Candidate Forum Schedule for the contested races in Oak Park and River Forest can be see on our website. Invites are going out to candidates on a weekly basis. These forums will be done in partnership with the Oak Park and River Forest Libraries. Their expertise in virtual technology should make these events go smoothly. Attendance sign-up will be done through the libraries. Once available, these links will be posted on our website and the libraries' website. How can you be involved? We need intelligent, probing questions for each race. Though we will allow questions to be submitted via chat during the forum, it's important we have questions ready at the start of the program. And League members have the best questions! Submit questions for the Oak Park and River Forest Village President, Trustees, and Clerk here. Submit questions for School District 90, 97, and 200 here. Links for Park District, Library, and Township Trustee races will appear in next week's email.

Members of our Observer Corps have long attended various monthly meetings of Oak Park and River Forest municipal governments, tracking and reporting on the key issues facing our communities. To learn or refresh your skills, LWV IL is offering an Observer Training on Saturday, January 30, 10:00-Noon. Register in advance here to receive a confirmation email and the Zoom link.

Sinclair College will present a virtual webinar for the 6^th Annual Black Unity Conference, on Friday, February 5, beginning at 3:00pm CST. Journalist Timothy Moore will interview Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University, and discuss racial and social injustice, civil rights, and commentary on the 2020 election and what the future holds for the nation. He will also discuss his new book on James Baldwin. This virtual event is free, but you need to register here.

If you missed the last MWRD tour of the Deep Tunnel, you are in luck. There is another one scheduled for February 19, from 10:00-11:15am. The event is free, but you will need to register here to attend. This would be a great program to school children to see also. The tour explains the reversal of the river (and there are some cool photos from the digging of the canal from the 1890's), the combined sewer system and separate waste and storm water sewers, how the waste water is treated at the MWRD plants, the biosolids produced, and the Deep Tunnel System, as well as some of the programs such as the Space to Grow Schoolyards program.

Deputy Registrar Certification ends on the last day of November in even numbered years. All you need to do to recertify your number is download and print out the Deputy Registrar Oath and mail it in to the Cook County Clerk's Office. This will ensure you remain certified to register voters till 2022. Don't delay, do it today!