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Dear Friends,
Hello May and a wide-armed welcome to green grass, red tulips, and yellow jonquils! The winter was dark, and we celebrate the time that Ralph Waldon Emerson describes as when “the earth laughs in flowers.” If you’re planning vegetable and flower beds or a pot of balcony herbs, don’t forget to shop at the League’s annual fundraiser at the Good Earth Greenhouse on Friday, May 5 - Sunday, May 7, and be sure to tell them you’re with the League and bring your checkout form for listing the amount paid.
The April 4 elections are behind us. The local newspaper did an outstanding job covering the races, and there was no shortage of spirited letters endorsing one candidate or another. Neighbors stood up to run the race. Our League hosted six successful candidate forums with 1,300 participants. The League’s Illinois Voter’s Guide included information on 6,668 candidates in 3,894 municipal and school board races. The elections were peaceful and secure. The bad news? Several races were uncontested, and voter turnout in two of our three communities was, frankly, dreadful: Oak Park, 18%, and River Forest, 21%; Forest Park, while still low, was better with a 32% voter turnout. The League has work to do.
We salute everyone who stepped up for democracy and ran for office. One successful April contestant is LWV OPRF member Jessica Voogd, who won a second term as a Forest Park Commissioner. Perhaps it was her work in getting Forest Park recognized as a Tree City USA or her success in passing a plastics ordinance requiring restaurants to make plastic utensils optional. Congratulations Jessica!
The legislative session concludes this month, and if you were unable to act on Lobby Day, you still have time. Pick your issue and go to the LWV IL Lobby Day guide: Voting Rights, Reproductive Health Care, Environment, Education, Budget, or Criminal Justice. Each issue page has a script, bill numbers, and a link to your legislator's contact information. Go here to access each issue. Use your voice; civic engagement is democracy in action. Thank you to Marilyn Pearson and the Advocacy Committee for interviewing our legislators and to Ann Courter and the other League Issue Specialists for the resulting testimony, legislation, and state budget requests.
Current affairs can be crushing, but do not overlook democracy’s endeavors. Be inspired by the one thousand plus Tennessean students chanting “You ban books. You ban drags. Kids are still in body bags.” They’re reading the room correctly. Be thankful that the constituents of the outrageously expelled Black legislators returned them to the chamber within a week. Applaud the thousands of high school students who walked out of class at more than three hundred schools in 41 states protesting gun violence: there’re reading the room too. Despite the noise, censorship isn’t popular; a recent Wall Street Journal report found that 61 percent of politically bi-partisan parents were deeply concerned about book bans. A news organization was just ordered to pay three-quarters of a billion dollars to a litigant for spewing election lies. Reproductive rights are not a 50-50 issue; see Janet Protasiewicz’s 11-point blowout victory. Celebrate that the Moms for Liberty school board candidates were largely and roundly defeated across Illinois. Re-charge this summer and what the heck, maybe have a Bud Light and green M and M’s!
May is the month to remember the military members who defended our nation with their hands, hearts, and lives. So, before lighting the grill, consider joining your neighbors in commemorating these individuals by attending a Memorial Day ceremony: Oak Park will hold one in Scoville Park on May 29 at 11:00, and River Forest will hold its 97th annual Memorial Day parade on May 29 at 9:30 starting from Augusta and Ashland. May your potato salad be creamy and your salmon perfectly grilled!
In solidarity,
Jane and Joan
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