League of Women Voters of Oak Park & River Forest Newsletter May 2024 Volume 11 Issue 10

Our Centennial

Shortly after the League’s Oak Park and River Forest chapter was established 100 years ago, member Hannah Fyfe made history. Ms. Fyfe paved the way for women to serve on juries, but the breakthrough didn’t come without an extended legal battle.

Hannah Fyfe set the tone when she received a jury summons addressed to H.B. Fyfe. She showed up at court but was turned away, “Sorry you’re a woman, you can’t serve on jury,” explains League secretary and Archives Committee chair, Mary Ann Porucznik. “I’m a citizen, why can’t I serve on a jury?” After she was turned away, Ms. Fyfe hired a League lawyer and they took the case to court. The lower court confirmed her ability to serve, but the ruling was overturned at the appellate level. In 1931, the Illinois Supreme Court upheld the right of women to serve on juries. Three women from Oak Park and River Forest served on the first Illinois jury that swore in women.

It was start of an auspicious century of activism and advocacy for our League chapter, which this year is marking our centennial. Our centennial highlight comes on October 20 with a gala at the Nineteenth Century Women’s Club. In addition, the Centennial Committee is developing historical exhibits showing a century of our chapter’s accomplishments. Exhibits will be on display at the Nineteenth Century Club, the Oak Park Public Library, the River Forest Public Library, the Forest Park Public Library, and the Oak Park River Forest Museum during September and October. 

The League of course is known for advocating the importance of voting. In 1948, when voting machines were introduced in Oak Park and River Forest, League members explained the functions and operations of the voting machines and sponsored a session with the major party candidates. “The League has done everything short of black flips to inform voters of the issues at stake and the importance of voting,” said an editorial in the Oak Leaves. 

Our chapter has a long history of advocating on criminal justice issues. Members for decades pushed to eliminate the bonding system as discriminatory against the poor. That initiative finally bore fruit in 2022 when Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed revisions to the SAFE-T Act, which eliminated cash bail.

The OPRF League also has a notable record on environmental issues. In the 1960s, League members created and planted the wildflower display in Austin Gardens. When in the early 1970s Oak Park closed Lake Street to traffic and converted it to a pedestrian-only mall, League members planted rhododendrons and other flowers. Our League supported the Cook County property tax increase for the Forest Preserve that was endorsed by voters in 2022. And our Environmental Committee successfully advocated for restaurants to not distribute plastic utensils for take-out orders unless requested, as well as a ban on foam containers.

Also notably, our League was a strong supporter of Oak Park’s fair housing policy, which integrated the village at a time when white families were leaving the West Side of Chicago for the suburbs and shaped the modern character of the village. Oak Park passed an ordinance outlawing “for sale” signs and provided low-interest loans to landlords to maintain and upgrade their properties.

There’s much more – from poll watching and candidate forums to work on economic development, mental health, and immigration. If you would like to join the centennial celebration, mark your calendar for the October 20 gala. And please consider making a donation to our League in honor of this milestone. Your additional support will enable us to continue and expand our civic and voter education programs as well as our efforts to register voters and increase voter turnout. You can visit our website sponsorship page here.

Judith Crown

You can still sign up today for this Wednesday's LWV IL Lobby Day in Springfield. You can make a difference! During Lobby Day, we’ll meet with our legislators and advocate for multiple critical issues, from a state Child Tax Credit to wetlands preservation to criminal justice measures to fair housing protections. Never lobbied in Springfield before? No worries, assistance will be provided and you can be partnered with a more experienced advocate. We'll meet up in Springfield on Wednesday, May 1 at 9:45 am (kick-off at 10:15 am). The day will wrap around 1:30 pm.

Learn more and sign up here for this event here.

Our Annual Plant Sale Fundraiser is scheduled for this coming weekend. On May 3-5 from 9:00am-5:00pm at the Good Earth Greenhouse, 7900 Madison, River Forest, you can purchase a lovely selection of plants and planting items. The League will then receive 15% of your purchases. When you check out, be sure to tell the clerk that you're participating in the League event and fill out the form at the cash register. Check out the Good Earth Greenhouse website here.

The League's Observer Corps play a key role in community education and engagement. Trained Observers help their communities stay informed about decisions that impact them locally, while encouraging government transparency and accountability. Join the LWV IL for this session to become a trained Observer on Saturday, May 4, from 9:00-10:00am. Register here.

On April 16, Reform for Illinois had a virtual panel discussion on Bail Reform in Illinois. If you missed it the first time, you can see the video here.

The Primary Election results again demonstrate the importance of every vote.

Fact: The difference between the two candidates for the Democratic nomination for Cook County State's Attorney was 1,571 votes.

Fact: The total number of precincts is 2,720 in Chicago and Suburban Cook County.

You don’t have to be a math wizard to recognize that there could have been a different outcome – or a wider winning margin – if just one more person had voted in each precinct. Something to use when urging people to vote in November. See all the official results for each race (combining Suburban Cook and Chicago) at the Final Combined

Results.



Here are the total turnout numbers for the March 19 Primary: clearly, there's a lot

to do!

The "one person, one vote” principle lies at the core of our democratic values. However,

the current Electoral College system does not always reflect this principle. In two of our

last six elections, the candidate who received the most votes nationwide did not win the

presidency.

The National Popular Vote (NPV) solves this issue without eliminating the Electoral

College. Instead, it proposes a shift from the current "winner-takes-all" approach, where all of a state's Electoral College votes go to the candidate who wins the popular vote in that state. On Thursday, May 16, starting at 6:30pm at Friendly's Tap, 6731 Roosevelt Road, Berwyn, we will delve into the thought-provoking topic of the National Popular Vote for Presidential Elections.

All are welcome to this free event. Your questions, your perspectives, and most importantly, your presence, are crucial to our collective exploration of ways to strengthen our democracy and ensure that every vote truly counts. Please bring a friend!