Join LWV Chicago in partnership with the Union League Club of Chicago for our first in-person Chicago in Focus program in over two years!

We will gather at the Union League Club (65 W Jackson Blvd) to discuss the Cook County Forest Preserves and the upcoming referendum regarding Preserve funding. The event will also be presented virtually.

Since its founding more than 100 years ago, the Forest Preserves of Cook County’s mission has been to protect and preserve public open space in its natural state for the education, pleasure and recreation of the public. The Forest Preserves are a place to go to experience nature close to home. They are a place where native plants and animals thrive. They offer opportunities for adventure and fun. And they make our communities healthier. They are to the Chicago region what the National Parks are to our country.

For the first time since the 1930’s, Cook County residents will be asked in the November 8 Election to vote on a referendum to bring more resources to the Forest Preserves. If approved, new funding would be used to expand and improve the benefits the Forest Preserves provides us all and set the Preserves on a sustainable fiscal path.

Our speakers for the evening are Benjamin Cox, Executive Director of the Friends of the Cook County Forest Preserves, and Iza Redlinski, Deputy Director of Resource Management for the Forest Preserves of Cook County. Our moderator for the evening is Matt Evans, Managing Ecologist, Woodlands at the Chicago Botanic Garden.

You must register to attend. A link to participate in the program virtually will be sent to registrants 24 hours in advance.

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This event is part of our Chicago in Focus lecture series, which seeks to highlight and explore the most important issues facing Chicagoans today. We host this series in partnership with the Union League Club of Chicago.