The League of Women Voters of Illinois’ monthly Lunch & Learn series will next feature a presentation from Matt Dietrich, Illinois State Board of Elections Public Information Officer, on elections: what stays, what's changed, and questions.

This meeting is open only to League of Women Voters members.

Register to attend

Join us for a virtual series that explores the U.S. Constitution through both its historical foundations and its ongoing relevance in today’s headlines. Each session, held the third Thursday evening of each month at 7:00 pm, will take a deeper look at how the framers’ debates, amendments, and landmark interpretations continue to shape the issues we see in the news—from voting rights and separation of powers to free speech, federalism, and more.

Register to attend

Designed for adults seeking a clearer understanding of how our government works, this series blends accessible history with thoughtful discussion of current events. Participants will gain practical civic knowledge, learn how constitutional principles apply to modern challenges, and leave better equipped to evaluate news and public policy.

Whether you're a longtime civic learner or just beginning to dig into constitutional questions, these programs will offer an engaging, nonpartisan space to explore how America’s founding document continues to guide—and sometimes complicate—our democracy today.

The programs will be presented by Steven D. Schwinn, who teaches constitutional law at UIC Law School. Steve is founding editor-in-chief of the American Constitution Society Supreme Court Review and founding co-editor of the Constitutional Law Prof Blog. He is a longtime member of the American Constitution Society Chicago Lawyers Chapter Board of Advisers.

This series is sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Wheaton.

One of the most important, yet little-known, initiatives of the mid-20th-century civil rights movement were "Citizenship Schools,” a literacy and civics education program that trained and mobilized hundreds of thousands of Black citizens in the Jim Crow South to understand their Constitutional rights and demand the right to vote.

Join the League of Women Voters of Chicago to hear noted author and speaker Elaine Weiss discuss this audacious experiment in civic education and leadership training.

This event is free and open to the public. Registration is required; seating is limited.

About the Speaker

Elaine Weiss is an award-winning author and journalist who holds a graduate degree from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.

Her first book on the women's suffrage movement, The Woman's Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote was a GoodReads Readers' Choice Award winner, short-listed for the 2019 Chautauqua Prize, and received the American Bar Association's highest honor, the Silver Gavel Award.

Her newest book, Spell Freedom: The Underground Schools that Built the Civil Rights Movement, has won high praise from scholars and readers alike. It has been long-listed by the American Library Association for the Carnegie Medal for Excellence and was selected by Amazon's editors as one of the best history books of 2025.

Weiss resides in Baltimore, and is a member of the League of Women Voters of Baltimore City.

Past Chicago in Focus Programs

How do we talk with kids when the headlines feel scary and the future feels uncertain? From elections and protests to immigration crackdowns, ICE, and other issues they may hear about at school or on the news, young people are absorbing more than we think.

Join the League of Women Voters of Chicago for a virtual conversation with Seoyeon Sohn, M.A., M.P.P, who will share practical tools for talking with children about hard topics, answering tough questions honestly and helping them feel safe, heard and empowered.

This event is free and open to the public. Families, caregivers, educators and anyone who cares about kids are welcome.

About the Speaker

Seoyeon Sohn is blogger and a doctoral student at the University of Delaware who studies how playful learning supports young children’s development. Her work with the Partnership for Public Education connects her research to local schools and communities, advancing more equitable and accessible learning opportunities. Before her Ph.D., she studied public policy at the University of Chicago (MPP ’19) and human development and psychology at UCLA (M.A.), and she previously supported marginalized immigrant families as a community health worker for mental health services in LA County. Across her work, Seoyeon is committed to creating ethical, equitable learning environments that honor children’s rights in diverse communities. Seoyeon is also a member of the League of Women Voters of Chicago.

This event is part of our Chicago in Focus lecture series, which seeks to highlight and explore the most important issues facing Chicagoans today.

Donate to support Chicago in Focus programming.

Past Chicago in Focus Programs

Join Alds. Matt Martin, Julia Ramirez, and Mike Rodriguez, State Rep. Theresa Mah, 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.