On Monday, May 13, the Nineteenth Century Association Enrichment Series will present the making of the musical "Chicago." Chicago native Bob Fosse shaped the 1975 musical “Chicago! A Musical Vaudeville,” so that the show’s musical numbers included a pastiche of vaudeville performers or acts. Broadway musical historian Charles Troy will share the originals, the songs they inspired, and stories about Chicago in the 1920s and about Maurine Watkins, the enigmatic author of the play on which the musical is based. These programs are free and open to the public; voluntary donations are appreciated. To stream this program live on Zoom, view the recording one week later. To sign up for the luncheon preceding the program, visit the website. The luncheon is served at noon; doors open at 11:30 am. Luncheon cost is $25 for members and $30 for non-members. Luncheon reservations are required by Wednesday, May 8. 

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!

On Thursday, May 9 at 1:30pm at the Oak Park Main Library, 834 Lake Street, Oak Park, the Oak Park End-of-Life Options Coalition will show the movie "Last Flight Home." This is an examination of Eli Timoner's intentional death and his family's emotional turmoil with his decision to end his own life. The family journeys back through Eli's remarkable, painful life to reveal a final decision. This is a free event and no reservations are needed.

Community partners across Oak Park are eagerly counting down the days until Blast Off to Kindergarten, a community-wide event that celebrates and supports families preparing to start kindergarten in Oak Park. The event will take place on Sunday, May 19, in Oak Park’s Rehm Park, located at 1000 S. Scoville starting at 10:00am.

This fun event will feature early learning programs, after-school programs, parent-teacher organizations, District 97 staff, school administrators and staff from local parochial and private Oak Park kindergarten programs. There will be games, community resources, and a ‘kindergarten portal’ for our future kindergarteners to pass through (with or without the accompaniment of their families) and "officially" enter the "kindergarten universe." Register for this event here.

This year’s 100th LWV OPRF annual meeting will be on Wednesday, June 12, at Brookdale Senior Living, with registration beginning at 5:30pm. A light dinner will be served. The Call to Order will start at 6:00pm. A big thank you to Brookdale for hosting the League a second year!

The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago will host an open house and tours at the Stickney Water Reclamation Plant, 6001 W. Pershing Rd., Cicero, in conjunction with Chicago Water Week on Saturday, May 11, from 10:00am until 2:00pm. The public may visit without advanced reservations to see how they recover resources and transform water. All ages are welcome, and interactive activities will entertain and educate families. Oak tree saplings and milkweed seeds will be distributed.

Also, MWRD's rain barrel program is now open! Rain barrels capture rainwater from your roof and save it for later use. Rain barrels can help prevent basement backups, street flooding and sewer overflows by keeping rainwater out of the sewer system.

You can use rain barrel water to:

• Wash your car
• Water your lawn or garden
• Clean work boots, tools and bikes

Discounted rain barrels are available to Cook County residents. Find out more.

The following words are from Mary Rose Lambke, who started the Mothers and Others Journey in 2015.

We mothers were actually learning from Julia Ward Howe’s proclamation after the Civil War to make our actions for Mother's Day speed the seeds of peace. Mary Ellen Munley, emerita, Charlie Rossiter, Diane Scott, Sue Piha and Paul Seline, Karen Kavanaugh and Ali Brozek, Marilyn Myles, Krysten Benoit, Kathleen Spale, Susan Messer, and Stephen Jackson all contributed as constituents of our Oak Park Mothers and Others community.

Our first mission statement fueled our critical thinking: Replace impulsiveness with mindfulness; prevent international warfare; and reduce consumerism by educating ourselves to the true ideals of community. As Paul Seline wrote in 2022 after seeing the Hiroshima Peace Museum: “traumatized people can choose to respond, not with violence, but with introspection and commitment to peace.” Paul was a valued peacemaker and a beloved deceased friend. Martin Luther King’s historic 1965 "I Have a Dream" March on Washington, DC, was premier as “Peaceful Protest.” Susan Messer’s story of neighborhood community engagement of differing viewpoints highlights human sharing of those viewpoints.

We have presented several actions through the years that engaged many viewpoints and, we hoped, touched lives, an engaging journey with artwork, flowers, books, and importantly… time together! It has been an immense pleasure to work with so many committed community members. I am missing you greatly. You will always be in my memory bank, like Paul Seline.

Muchas gracias!

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