This coming Saturday, March 16, all current and prospective members are invited to a luncheon at Brookdale Senior Living, 1111 Ontario, Oak Park. We will start welcoming participants at 11:30am to the top floor of Brookdale, where we can socialize with one another while enjoying the spectacular views from the top floor dining room. This is a great event to invite prospective members to learn about our League. Please RSVP your attendance and any guests you will bring here so we have enough food for everyone.

A panel of four library leaders will speak at the Second Tuesday event this week about the challenges that they are facing in today’s environment. The executive director from Broadview Library District, the Library Directors from River Forest and Bellwood Public Libraries, and the Head of Teen Services at Addison Public Library and member of the Illinois Library Association Intellectual Freedom Committee, will give us first-hand information on the pressures they face to restrict books. "To allow a group of people or any individual, no matter how powerful or loud, to become the decision maker about what books we can read or whether libraries exist, is to place all of our rights and liberties in jeopardy," states Deborah Caldwell-Stone, Director of the American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom.

The presentation will go from 9:30-11:00am this Tuesday, March 12, at the Nineteenth Century Charitable Association, 178 Forest Ave., Oak Park. This is a free and open to the public event. Everyone is welcome. Bring a friend!

Equal Pay Day, March 12, is intended to raise awareness around the gender pay gap and inspire action to combat pay inequities. It is appalling that women working full time still only make 84 cents per dollar paid to men—a pay gap that is significantly worse for many women of color and for women working part time or seasonally. The Paycheck Fairness Act (H.R. 17/S. 728) would address several components of pay equity, including ending use of salary history to determine wages, ending pay data collection, and establishing protections from retaliation for discussing wages. The gender pay gap impacts all women in nearly every profession at all education levels, and it worsens as we get older. This cannot be allowed to continue! You can join the social media storm online here on March 12 at 1:oopm CST. Read more about Equal Pay Day here.

In advance of the March 19 Primary Election, the new 2024 Voter Guide from WTTW News provides all the resources you need to make an informed decision when you head to the polls. Go here to access the guide. Also, the Illinois Voter Guide is now available for voting information. Go here to check your registration, see who is on the ballot, and find election dates and deadlines. Our LWV OPRF website also has links to these resources in addition to Vote for Judges and videos of the candidates for the Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Board of Review, 3rd District. Be an informed voter!

An expert panel of AAUW Fellowships & Grants alumnae moderated by Chief Executive Officer Gloria L. Blackwell will discuss the critical importance of policies and programs that support advancing work and life, the impact on women in the workforce, and strategies to advance women’s economic well-being during this March 20 webinar titled Busting Myths & Enhancing Support: Advancing Workplace Success for Women. The online webinar will start at 1:30pm CST. Register here.

Be brave and learn about your end-of-life options from Compassion and Choices at our Thursday, March 21 Drinks & Dialogue evening. The presentation will be by Catherine Marienau, Ph.D., who is a part of the local medical aid in the dying movement. In this interactive session, we will consider the importance of planning for end of life and explore options for persons with terminal illnesses. The presentation will be at Friendly's Tap, 6731 Roosevelt Road, Berwyn. The evening starts at 6:30pm with snacks, a cash bar, and engaging conversations. All are welcome. Bring a friend! Live music will follow the presentation.

Mark your calendars for the April 9, 7:00pm Oak Park Township Meeting, where we hope to get a non-binding referendum question put on the November ballot about redistricting. We need at least 25 citizens to show up to vote support for this Oak Park initiative. More information to come.

Enjoy learning something new about Illinois history. The LWV Cook County Forest Preserve Interest Group hosted a Zoom presentation on Freedom Seekers and the history of Northeastern Illinois on February 26th. You can view a recording of the presentation HERE,

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