Recent Events:
Breaking Local News:
At its June 26 meeting, the Village Board voted 5-2 to OPT-IN to the Cook County Minimum Wage Ordinance with several amendments. Thank you to those trustees who voted to opt-in: Trustees Dodd, Kurzman, Pearce, Plunkett and Wolfe. The Village Board also voted 6-1 to continue to OPT-OUT of the Cook County Sick Leave Ordinance. Thank you to Trustee Kurzman for his opt-in vote.
Thank you to all of the League members who worked tirelessly to advocate for for an increased minimum wage and paid sick leave. The opt-in vote will benefit more than 1000 workers in our community and make Wilmette a leader on this important issue.
For additional information on this vote, please go to the Village website at: Village Board Minimum Wage/Sick Leave
For additional information on this vote, please go to the Village website at: Village Board Minimum Wage/Sick Leave
LWV-W Welcomes Cook County Clerk David Orr on All Things Elections:
Lessons Learned from the April 5, 2018 Program
David Orr has served as Clerk of Cook County since 1991. During his tenure, Mr. Orr has worked tirelessly to modernize the voting processes in one of the largest voting district in the United States. His office supervises elections for all of suburban Cook. Mr. Orr is credited with bringing many non-partisan reforms to both our county and state.
SUMMARY OF DAVID ORR’S SPEECH TO THE LEAGUE
Mr. Orr generally discussed the challenges to democratic participation, making the following points:
There are two major issues that present a challenge to our democracy: voter suppression and the growing use of “dark” money. In 2014, 51% of donated funds to candidates came from those who donated a million dollars or more. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, ⅔ of all political campaign contributions came from .0025% of voters (one quarter of 1%).
With respect to suppression, tens of thousands of dollars have been spent to find erroneous votes in Texas yet only a handful of bogus votes were found. It is estimated that the implementation of more stringent voter identification requirements would cause as many as 600,000 to lose their right to vote. Additionally, 1 in 4 states strip felons of their voting rights and only some restore them after their sentences have been served.
There are also issues of gerrymandering/redistricting to resolve. Sometimes redistricting is complicated because you cannot disenfranchise whole groups of people. For this reason, there is some justification for factoring in the characteristics of a district in creating new precinct lines.
With respect to cyber-attacks, Cook County, is moderately well protected because our voting machines produce a paper record that the voter can check before completing their vote. This provides a check against attack although more robust security is also desirable.
TOPICS OF GREATEST INTEREST DURING THE Q AND A
NON-PARTISAN PRIMARIES
Audience members, including election judges, voiced an interest if being treated as independent of a party affiliation. Several states and municipalities have introduced Ranked Choice Voting, where all candidates irrespective of party affiliation are listed on the ballot. Under this system, voters may vote for multiple candidates of either party or put all available votes on a single candidate. Those candidates receiving the greatest number of votes move forward to the November election roster. Allowing voters to vote across party lines and is more representative of voter support. It also requires fewer election judges. However, a Rank Voting system would require costly changes to current county voting machines and paper ballots.
VOTING FOR JUDGES
It is well recognized that voters are ill-prepared to vote for judicial candidates either as new judges or for retention of a judgeship. Mr. Orr pointed out that although many organizations evaluate judges, insufficient numbers of voters take the time to come prepared to make informed choices. Many professional groups, including the League of Women Voters, have called for a system of judicial review by the courts themselves, whereby standing judges are evaluated by supervisors and only those judges for whom there are poor evaluations are placed on the ballot for a “yes” or “no” public vote.
ELECTION JUDGE ISSUES
With the increase in the use of Early Voting centers, it would make sense to consolidate more precincts. The advantage would be to decrease the number of Election Judges needed (training expense, stipends) and to reduce the number of stations that need equipment only used once or at most twice a year.
Changing our voting day to a weekend would serve to boost voter turnout and make finding election judges easier. Election judges in the audience also made a case for allowing judges to split shifts with another judge. This would allow older judges or those with family commitments to continue to serve. The 15-hour day is an impediment for many who would like to participate. Doing so would increase the cost of training, however, Mr. Orr did indicate that a 5 am to noon shift with a reduced stipend is under consideration.
POSSIBLE ELECTION EQUIPMENT UPDATE
The next evolution of voting hardware is likely to be a hybrid system in which the voter inserts a full-sized ballot, makes choices on a screen, removes the ballot and then with the help of an election judge feeds it into the counting system. While there is a receipt-style paper that voters review now when using current electronic voting machines, the new system when implemented would more robust. No date was given for this possible update.
WHAT IS NEXT FOR DAVID ORR
Mr. Orr said he will not stop campaigning for better election laws and as a result improved governance.
AND FOR US…
This program has really helped us establish a more direct relationship with the Cook County Clerk’s office that will go beyond Mr. Orr’s retirement. His knowledgeable and friendly staff will continue to great sources of information in support of our voter education and empowerment goals.
Lessons Learned from the April 5, 2018 Program
David Orr has served as Clerk of Cook County since 1991. During his tenure, Mr. Orr has worked tirelessly to modernize the voting processes in one of the largest voting district in the United States. His office supervises elections for all of suburban Cook. Mr. Orr is credited with bringing many non-partisan reforms to both our county and state.
SUMMARY OF DAVID ORR’S SPEECH TO THE LEAGUE
Mr. Orr generally discussed the challenges to democratic participation, making the following points:
There are two major issues that present a challenge to our democracy: voter suppression and the growing use of “dark” money. In 2014, 51% of donated funds to candidates came from those who donated a million dollars or more. According to the Center for Responsive Politics, ⅔ of all political campaign contributions came from .0025% of voters (one quarter of 1%).
With respect to suppression, tens of thousands of dollars have been spent to find erroneous votes in Texas yet only a handful of bogus votes were found. It is estimated that the implementation of more stringent voter identification requirements would cause as many as 600,000 to lose their right to vote. Additionally, 1 in 4 states strip felons of their voting rights and only some restore them after their sentences have been served.
There are also issues of gerrymandering/redistricting to resolve. Sometimes redistricting is complicated because you cannot disenfranchise whole groups of people. For this reason, there is some justification for factoring in the characteristics of a district in creating new precinct lines.
With respect to cyber-attacks, Cook County, is moderately well protected because our voting machines produce a paper record that the voter can check before completing their vote. This provides a check against attack although more robust security is also desirable.
TOPICS OF GREATEST INTEREST DURING THE Q AND A
NON-PARTISAN PRIMARIES
Audience members, including election judges, voiced an interest if being treated as independent of a party affiliation. Several states and municipalities have introduced Ranked Choice Voting, where all candidates irrespective of party affiliation are listed on the ballot. Under this system, voters may vote for multiple candidates of either party or put all available votes on a single candidate. Those candidates receiving the greatest number of votes move forward to the November election roster. Allowing voters to vote across party lines and is more representative of voter support. It also requires fewer election judges. However, a Rank Voting system would require costly changes to current county voting machines and paper ballots.
VOTING FOR JUDGES
It is well recognized that voters are ill-prepared to vote for judicial candidates either as new judges or for retention of a judgeship. Mr. Orr pointed out that although many organizations evaluate judges, insufficient numbers of voters take the time to come prepared to make informed choices. Many professional groups, including the League of Women Voters, have called for a system of judicial review by the courts themselves, whereby standing judges are evaluated by supervisors and only those judges for whom there are poor evaluations are placed on the ballot for a “yes” or “no” public vote.
ELECTION JUDGE ISSUES
With the increase in the use of Early Voting centers, it would make sense to consolidate more precincts. The advantage would be to decrease the number of Election Judges needed (training expense, stipends) and to reduce the number of stations that need equipment only used once or at most twice a year.
Changing our voting day to a weekend would serve to boost voter turnout and make finding election judges easier. Election judges in the audience also made a case for allowing judges to split shifts with another judge. This would allow older judges or those with family commitments to continue to serve. The 15-hour day is an impediment for many who would like to participate. Doing so would increase the cost of training, however, Mr. Orr did indicate that a 5 am to noon shift with a reduced stipend is under consideration.
POSSIBLE ELECTION EQUIPMENT UPDATE
The next evolution of voting hardware is likely to be a hybrid system in which the voter inserts a full-sized ballot, makes choices on a screen, removes the ballot and then with the help of an election judge feeds it into the counting system. While there is a receipt-style paper that voters review now when using current electronic voting machines, the new system when implemented would more robust. No date was given for this possible update.
WHAT IS NEXT FOR DAVID ORR
Mr. Orr said he will not stop campaigning for better election laws and as a result improved governance.
AND FOR US…
This program has really helped us establish a more direct relationship with the Cook County Clerk’s office that will go beyond Mr. Orr’s retirement. His knowledgeable and friendly staff will continue to great sources of information in support of our voter education and empowerment goals.
Equal Mean Equal
Film Screening and Panel Discussion
Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017
72% of Americans mistakenly believe that the U.S. Constitution already guarantees equal rights for women. In our country women and men do not have equal rights and there is no guarantee against discrimination. Equal Means Equal is an award winning documentary about the urgent need for ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment in the United States. Ratification matters now because only two more states must ratify to make this amendment part of the Constitution. Currently Illinois is the state closest to doing so.
Thursday, November 30th almost 100 people gathered in the Wilmette Public Library auditorium for a screening of the film and discussion with Illinois State Representative 16th District Lou Lang and Michelle Fadeley, President of Illinois National Organization of Women NOW. The film creates the compelling case for ratification through an “unflinching look at how women are treated in the United States today”. Director Kamala Lopez uncovers how discriminatory attitudes inform and influence many issues from work place harassment and wage discrimination to domestic violence and sexual assault, to the foster care and the judicial systems. The revelation of the inadequacy of present laws reinforces the need for constitutional amendment.
Representative Lang and Ms Fadeley explained that at the state level, ERA is a resolution that both the House and the Senate can vote to approve, it needs no signature from the governor. This vote will likely be called this spring after the primary. The Senate has enough supporters to pass, the House still needs a few more.
Learn more - visit:
www.equalmeansequal.org
Illinois Now: www.ilnow.org
Follow ERA Ilinois Coalition at facebook.com/ERAIllinois or www.eraillinois.com
Thursday, November 30th almost 100 people gathered in the Wilmette Public Library auditorium for a screening of the film and discussion with Illinois State Representative 16th District Lou Lang and Michelle Fadeley, President of Illinois National Organization of Women NOW. The film creates the compelling case for ratification through an “unflinching look at how women are treated in the United States today”. Director Kamala Lopez uncovers how discriminatory attitudes inform and influence many issues from work place harassment and wage discrimination to domestic violence and sexual assault, to the foster care and the judicial systems. The revelation of the inadequacy of present laws reinforces the need for constitutional amendment.
Representative Lang and Ms Fadeley explained that at the state level, ERA is a resolution that both the House and the Senate can vote to approve, it needs no signature from the governor. This vote will likely be called this spring after the primary. The Senate has enough supporters to pass, the House still needs a few more.
Learn more - visit:
www.equalmeansequal.org
Illinois Now: www.ilnow.org
Follow ERA Ilinois Coalition at facebook.com/ERAIllinois or www.eraillinois.com
November 5, 2017 Presentation:
Finally, Illinois School Funding Reform
On Sunday, November 5th, Marin Gjaja and Ben Boer, both of Advance Illinois, presented on the Illinois Education Funding Bill, SB1947, which was signed into law at the end of August. Advance Illinois is a nonpartisan education policy advocacy organization and founding member of a coalition that designed and successfully advocated for a new more equitable school funding formula.
Marin and Ben emphasized that under the new bill, school funding in Illinois will now be evidence-based, with new dollars directed toward the neediest students and districts first in order to close the existing funding gaps in the system. The first five slides review the poor state of education funding in Illinois that was the impetus for reform. The next five slides overview the fundamental principles underlying the new, progressive funding formula. Click here to see the complete presentation.
For more information on SB1947, please go to www.advanceillinois.org or contact pres2lwvw@gmail.com.
Marin and Ben emphasized that under the new bill, school funding in Illinois will now be evidence-based, with new dollars directed toward the neediest students and districts first in order to close the existing funding gaps in the system. The first five slides review the poor state of education funding in Illinois that was the impetus for reform. The next five slides overview the fundamental principles underlying the new, progressive funding formula. Click here to see the complete presentation.
For more information on SB1947, please go to www.advanceillinois.org or contact pres2lwvw@gmail.com.
Local government officials in attendance at the LWV Wilmette State of the Village Dinner, Wednesday November 1, 2017 at the Lakeview Center Gillson Park, Wilmette
From left to right:Cathy Albrecht, Heather McCammond-Watts, Frank Panzica, Stephen Leonard, Kathy Dodd, Steve Wilson , Lisa Schneider-Fabes, Mark Steen, Gail Schnitzer Eisenberg, Amy Wolfe, Paul Sally, Rick Zelinsky, Greg Robitaille, Kathleen O'Laughlin, Tim Frenzer, Kevin Jauch, Joel Kurzman
From left to right:Cathy Albrecht, Heather McCammond-Watts, Frank Panzica, Stephen Leonard, Kathy Dodd, Steve Wilson , Lisa Schneider-Fabes, Mark Steen, Gail Schnitzer Eisenberg, Amy Wolfe, Paul Sally, Rick Zelinsky, Greg Robitaille, Kathleen O'Laughlin, Tim Frenzer, Kevin Jauch, Joel Kurzman
On Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2017 the LWV-WIlmette hosted more than 80 members of the community for the biennial State of the Village event at Wilmette's Lakeview Center, This program is a rare gathering of representatives from all of the elected Boards of the government entities in the Village. For the first time in the event's history, a representative of the New Trier Township Board was also present. The evening began with dinner which was provided by The Noodle of Wilmette. Thanks to help from Collective Resource of Evanston, it was the LWV-Wimette's first ever zero waste event!
After dinner, each Board representative addressed remarks to the audience covering their Board's strategic priorities, most pressing financial issues, and most important issue for the community to watch in the coming year. Members of the audience had an opportunity to ask questions, which ranged from inquiries about the possibility of combining taxing bodies, particularly school districts, to the best way for community members to participate in Board decision making. The formal program ended just after 8 pm but Board and community members lingered much longer to continue conversations.
After dinner, each Board representative addressed remarks to the audience covering their Board's strategic priorities, most pressing financial issues, and most important issue for the community to watch in the coming year. Members of the audience had an opportunity to ask questions, which ranged from inquiries about the possibility of combining taxing bodies, particularly school districts, to the best way for community members to participate in Board decision making. The formal program ended just after 8 pm but Board and community members lingered much longer to continue conversations.
The League of Women Voters Wilmette attended the League of Women Voters of Illinois State of the State luncheon on October 11, 2017. Senator Dick Durbin spoke and posed with our members.
Update on the Minimum Wage and Earned Sick Leave Ordinance
At the Village Board meeting on Tuesday, August 22nd, Village President Bielinski announced that the Board Finance Committee has been tasked with further study of the Cook County Minimum Wage and Earned Sick Leave Ordinances.
You can read President Bielinski's full memo to the Board on this matter on pages 292-295 of the Packet for the 8/22/17 meeting on the Village Website, https://www.wilmette.com/…/…/agendas/2017/Agenda-8-22-17.pdf
You can read President Bielinski's full memo to the Board on this matter on pages 292-295 of the Packet for the 8/22/17 meeting on the Village Website, https://www.wilmette.com/…/…/agendas/2017/Agenda-8-22-17.pdf
Automatic Voter Registration Expands the Reach of Voter Registration Exponentially
On Monday Illinois become the 10th state in the nation and the first state in the Midwest to enact automatic voter registration. Governor Rauner signed our signature Automatic Voter Registration legislation on Monday, August 28th. This historic milestone is a direct result of the determined leadership and advocacy of the League of Women Voters of Illinois along with our coalition partners at Just Democracy Illinois. In an August 31st editorial, the New York Times heralds the great news for Illinois in contrast to what is happening in Texas and other states fighting voter suppression. https://goo.gl/YVKBLL.
On Monday Illinois become the 10th state in the nation and the first state in the Midwest to enact automatic voter registration. Governor Rauner signed our signature Automatic Voter Registration legislation on Monday, August 28th. This historic milestone is a direct result of the determined leadership and advocacy of the League of Women Voters of Illinois along with our coalition partners at Just Democracy Illinois. In an August 31st editorial, the New York Times heralds the great news for Illinois in contrast to what is happening in Texas and other states fighting voter suppression. https://goo.gl/YVKBLL.
Tuesday, September 26th is National Voter Registration Day!
Questions about Voting Rights or Your Registration?
Stop by and talk to LWV Wilmette!
Questions about Voting Rights or Your Registration?
Stop by and talk to LWV Wilmette!
Across the village, League deputy registrars will provide voter services at the following locations:
This is a day to set aside differences and celebrate the rights and opportunities we all share. The promotion and protection of voters’ rights is a core mission of the national League of Women Voters and the local chapter is proud to participate.
In 2016, over 3500 partner organizations and 10,000 volunteers helped 750,000 voters use National Voter Registration Day to register to vote across all 50 states.
The LWV has been the largest on the ground participant in NVR Day for five years running. In 2016, over 350 state and Local LWVs took part nationwide, hosting more than 400 registration events.
Ideas or questions? Please contact Trish Nealon at trishanealon@me.com and Anne Treadway at anne.e.treadway@gmail.com.
- Wilmette Community Recreation Center - 8:30 am - 10:30 am
- Park District Facility at Mallinckrodt - 10:00 am to noon
- Wilmette Public Library - 10:00 am to noon
- Wilmette Village Hall Lawn – 10:00 am to 2:00 pm
- Mather Retirement Community - 11:00 am. to 1:00 pm
- New Trier High School, Winnetka – 11:00 am to 1:15 pm
- Centennial Ice Rink and Tennis Facility - 4:00 to 6:00 pm
- Niles West High School – 10:30 am to 12:30 pm
- Niles North High School – 11:30 am to 1:30 pm
This is a day to set aside differences and celebrate the rights and opportunities we all share. The promotion and protection of voters’ rights is a core mission of the national League of Women Voters and the local chapter is proud to participate.
In 2016, over 3500 partner organizations and 10,000 volunteers helped 750,000 voters use National Voter Registration Day to register to vote across all 50 states.
The LWV has been the largest on the ground participant in NVR Day for five years running. In 2016, over 350 state and Local LWVs took part nationwide, hosting more than 400 registration events.
Ideas or questions? Please contact Trish Nealon at trishanealon@me.com and Anne Treadway at anne.e.treadway@gmail.com.
Annual Summer Book Luncheon
The Book Luncheon was held on July 12th with over 40 League Members and guests in attendance and was a great success. Stephanie Hochschild and Jon Grand of The Book Stall discussed an extensive list of wonderful fiction summer reads and a comprehensive and relevant list of books on environmental, historical and political issues. Please visit and purchase your books from the Book Stall to support their business! Click here for this summer’s Book List
The Book Luncheon was held on July 12th with over 40 League Members and guests in attendance and was a great success. Stephanie Hochschild and Jon Grand of The Book Stall discussed an extensive list of wonderful fiction summer reads and a comprehensive and relevant list of books on environmental, historical and political issues. Please visit and purchase your books from the Book Stall to support their business! Click here for this summer’s Book List