LWV Chicago partners with Election Protection (866-OUR-VOTE) to train volunteer poll watchers and station them at Chicago polling locations to make sure voters’ rights are protected.

Join us for our next training session! Register.

Join the Chicago Women's History Center, the League of Women Voters of Chicago, and partner organizations for a timely virtual conversation about the women’s suffrage movement in Illinois from 1869 to the passing of women’s suffrage in 1920.

Timed to coincide with the Chicago run of the acclaimed Broadway musical Suffs, this program explores the parallel stories of Alice Paul — immortalized in the show — and Catharine Waugh McCulloch, a Chicago lawyer and suffragist whose strategic brilliance helped secure women's voting rights in Illinois and beyond. McCulloch's story is told in the documentary Shall Men Vote (coming Jan 2027), which reveals how Chicago and Illinois were central to the national suffrage movement and the ongoing struggle for equality for Black and White women alike.

Together, these two stories illuminate the courage, coalition-building, and persistence required to make progress — and what it means to carry that work forward today.

Presenter: Dr. Gwen Jordan, Legal Historian

We'll explore what these histories teach us about today's urgent need to protect and preserve women's achievements, and open a conversation about next steps in the ongoing march toward justice and equality.

Format: Free virtual event via Zoom

In honor of the sixth anniversary of the passing of Congressman John Lewis, kick off the Good Trouble Lives On Weekend of Action at Chicago's candlelight vigil, where we will come together to show that the fight for voting rights continues. 

Join Alds. Matt Martin, Daniel La Spata, Byron Sigcho Lopez, Anthony Quezada, and grassroots organizations for a town hall on the Chicago Fair Elections Ordinance—a small-dollar matching program that’ll increase participation in local elections, empowering regular people to run for office.

Chicago is currently the largest US city without publicly financed elections. This town hall is an opportunity to learn about the ordinance and discuss what Fair Elections would mean for you and your community.

RSVP is highly recommended but not required. Program begins at noon.

The Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's Policy Summit Live brings together policymakers, advocates, researchers, community leaders, and engaged citizens to discuss the issues shaping Black communities and the nation.

This event is free and open to the public.

Redistricting, Representation, and Black Political Power in Chicago

League of Women Voters Panel, 1:30 pm

In April 2026, a U.S. Supreme Court decision in Louisiana v. Callais opened the door to racist redistricting, raising new concerns about the future of voting rights protections and Black political representation nationwide.

In response to the ruling, Illinois lawmakers paused a proposed constitutional amendment intended to strengthen state-level Voting Rights Act protections, signaling broader uncertainty around how race can be considered in future redistricting efforts.

This timely discussion will examine the implications of the ruling for Black Chicago communities and explore how national legal shifts intersect with local issues, including demographic change, ward remapping, political representation, voter engagement, and disinvestment. Bringing together legal experts, advocates, organizers, and policy leaders, the panel will discuss what is at stake for Black political power in Chicago and identify strategies to protect equitable representation and democratic participation moving forward.

Artificial intelligence is no longer a distant or abstract technology. It is already shaping education, healthcare, employment, elections, public policy, and even the way institutions make decisions affecting people’s lives. In this presentation, LWV Chicago Vice President John Engle will offer an overview of what AI is, how it works, where the technology is heading, and why it matters for democracy.

The talk will examine both the promise and the dangers of AI, including its environmental costs, impact on truth and public trust, risks in healthcare and military decision-making, emerging concerns around AI-generated abuse and self-harm, and the central accountability question: if machines cannot be held responsible, how do we ensure humans remain accountable?

About the Speaker

John Engle is Vice President of LWV Chicago, as well as its resident historian and subject-matter expert on emerging and frontier technologies, including artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and new energy. A political strategist, writer, market commentator and communications consultant, John brings deep experience in public policy, government affairs, and innovation.

John currently serves as Chief Strategist at Purpose Brand, in addition to his independent political consulting practice. He works across communications, advocacy, political strategy, and public affairs. He has advised civic, nonprofit, public-sector, and private-sector clients on complex issues ranging from infrastructure and economic development to housing, technology, democracy reform, and public accountability. John holds degrees from the University of Oxford, Trinity College Dublin, and the London School of Economics, and has written widely on history, politics, political theory, markets, and tech innovation.