League Leaders' Update
Volume 1 Issue 6 - 02/13/15
This issue contains information regarding the following
- 2015 Issues Briefing
- Convention 2015
- 2015 Phonathon
- Upper Mississippi River Region InterLeague Organization
From the LWVIL President
What a great Issues Briefing
the Issues Committee has planned for all of us. I hope you have made a
reservation or are making one soon. Please remind your members it is coming
right up. Maybe you could make it an all-board outing. The registration form can be found here.
It will be held Saturday, March 7 from 8:30 am to 3:00 pm in downtown Chicago at the University Center, 525 S. State Street.
The dedicated Issues Committee members have worked for months organizing another worthwhile event. The speakers they have lined up are top notch and the topics are all timely subjects I wish I knew more about: Illinois fiscal issues, school funding, immigration, mental illness, challenges to the Affordable Care Act, climate change, advocacy and human services.
All of that information, time to network with fellow Leaguers, and a tasty breakfast and lunch, too - a great break during this loooong winter. I look forward to seeing you there!
Mary Kubasak
President LWVIL
It will be held Saturday, March 7 from 8:30 am to 3:00 pm in downtown Chicago at the University Center, 525 S. State Street.
The dedicated Issues Committee members have worked for months organizing another worthwhile event. The speakers they have lined up are top notch and the topics are all timely subjects I wish I knew more about: Illinois fiscal issues, school funding, immigration, mental illness, challenges to the Affordable Care Act, climate change, advocacy and human services.
All of that information, time to network with fellow Leaguers, and a tasty breakfast and lunch, too - a great break during this loooong winter. I look forward to seeing you there!
Mary Kubasak
President LWVIL
Convention 2015

As we’re reported
before, plans are underway for the 2015 League of Women Voters of Illinois State Convention taking place at the Lisle/Naperville Hilton Hotel.
Between now and the
June convention, the LWVIL Board and convention committee will be sending
reminders, updates and information upon which we will be asking local leagues
to take action.
2015 Awards: Please take a few minutes to think of all the things your League has accomplished during the last two years: a forum, program, event or project that was noteworthy. Please consider nominating your local league in either the Spotlight on League Achievement or Community Impact category.
We all know many wonderful League Leaders that should be honored. Nominate one (or some!) of them for the Carrie Chapman Catt award.
League of Women Voters of Illinois Amendments to the Bylaws: Article XIV of the Bylaws of the League of Women Voters of Illinois requires proposals for bylaw amendments to be submitted at least two months before the convention. Here are the current Bylaws.
The State Board, as required, will e-mail all proposed amendments with recommendations to Local League Leaders in the May 2015 Leaders Update.
Please indicate which article and section of the Bylaws you wish to amend, the exact wording you propose and a one-two sentence rationale for recommending the amendment. Please underline the proposed wording and put in parentheses the wording you want dropped.
Please complete and return the attached form to Mary Schaafsma, League of Women Voters of Illinois, 332 South Michigan Avenue, Suite 525, Chicago, Illinois 60604 or by fax to 312.939.6887 or by e-mail to marys@lwvil.org.
Convention costs:
Click HERE for REGISTRATION and MEAL PACKAGES.
Click HERE for CONVENTION HIGHLIGHTS.
Look for additional details & registration form in an upcoming mailing.
2015 Awards: Please take a few minutes to think of all the things your League has accomplished during the last two years: a forum, program, event or project that was noteworthy. Please consider nominating your local league in either the Spotlight on League Achievement or Community Impact category.
We all know many wonderful League Leaders that should be honored. Nominate one (or some!) of them for the Carrie Chapman Catt award.
League of Women Voters of Illinois Amendments to the Bylaws: Article XIV of the Bylaws of the League of Women Voters of Illinois requires proposals for bylaw amendments to be submitted at least two months before the convention. Here are the current Bylaws.
The State Board, as required, will e-mail all proposed amendments with recommendations to Local League Leaders in the May 2015 Leaders Update.
Please indicate which article and section of the Bylaws you wish to amend, the exact wording you propose and a one-two sentence rationale for recommending the amendment. Please underline the proposed wording and put in parentheses the wording you want dropped.
Please complete and return the attached form to Mary Schaafsma, League of Women Voters of Illinois, 332 South Michigan Avenue, Suite 525, Chicago, Illinois 60604 or by fax to 312.939.6887 or by e-mail to marys@lwvil.org.
Convention costs:
Click HERE for REGISTRATION and MEAL PACKAGES.
Click HERE for CONVENTION HIGHLIGHTS.
Look for additional details & registration form in an upcoming mailing.
2015 Phonathon
There is still time for Local Leagues to participate in the 2015 Phonathon. Local leagues that participate in the Phonathon are eligible to receive a share of the donations made to LWVIL or to the LWVIL Education Fund. The Participation Agreement to be signed by local league leaders can be found here. The form must be returned to the LWVIL office no later than February 27th.
Upper Mississippi River Region InterLeague Organization
For the last six months, League of Women Voters members from Dubuque and Cedar Rapids, Iowa, JoDaviess County, Illinois, and LaCrosse, Wisconsin have been meeting to develop a League of Women Voters: Upper Mississippi River Region Inter-league Organization (LWV: UMRR ILO). The primary purpose of this ILO is to coordinate and strengthen the work the LWV does on natural resource issues within the five states of the Upper Mississippi River Basin.
The state LWV boards of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin have voted to approve the development of this ILO and the decision is pending before the board of the LWV-Missouri.
LWVUS recommends an ILO’s membership to include two thirds of the local LWVs representing at least two thirds of the total membership within the ILO’s region. If in the next three months we receive commitments to join the ILO from a sufficient number of local LWVs, we will go ahead with planning the first annual meeting for the LWV- UMRR ILO next summer in Dubuque, Iowa.
Click HERE for what we need from you and your board:
The state LWV boards of Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin have voted to approve the development of this ILO and the decision is pending before the board of the LWV-Missouri.
LWVUS recommends an ILO’s membership to include two thirds of the local LWVs representing at least two thirds of the total membership within the ILO’s region. If in the next three months we receive commitments to join the ILO from a sufficient number of local LWVs, we will go ahead with planning the first annual meeting for the LWV- UMRR ILO next summer in Dubuque, Iowa.
Click HERE for what we need from you and your board: