In April, the Illinois House of Representatives passed HB2908, a bill to create a 21-member elected school board for the City of Chicago. Led by Rep. Delia Ramirez, this legislation is the product of years of collaboration between legislators, local officials, advocates, parents, teachers, and students.

The Board members serving new terms will be elected at the Annual Meeting. Elected Board members will serve two-year terms (2021-2023). Each director will be responsible for the portfolio identified herein.

At the Annual Meeting, the Budget Committee will present an overview of LWV Chicago’s financial activities and answer questions regarding the budget, the methodology for developing it, and recommendations with respect to future financial actions.

A change in our bylaws was approved by the LWV Chicago Board. This amendment specifies an annual review of the financial records of the organization at the end of each fiscal year by a committee including a board member, director, and a non-board member, rather than an audit.

Every biennium, local Leagues engage in program planning to assess their positions and recommend alterations. Local Leagues also identify focus areas or other actions that will guide their work.

Check out some of the highlights of our interview with Alderman Sophia King of the 4th Ward.

The City of Chicago has placed on hold the permit that would allow General Iron to relocate a scrap metal shredding plant to the Southeast Side. Environmental and community organizations, with the support of LWV Chicago, have been working for months to shine a light on the dangers of relocating the facility.

Three University of Illinois at Chicago professors make a strong case for taking Chicago ward redistricting out of the hands of politicians. In the past, maps drawn by the City Council were the norm.

There are no major statues of women historical figures in Chicago. The Mother Jones Chicago Statue Campaign wants to change that by honoring the iconic Irish immigrant and founder of the American labor movement—the Mother of the working class—with a statue in the city she called home.

Chicagoans interested in serving on an independent commission to redraw the city’s ward map need to submit an application online by April 9. The commission will create a map to compete with the one aldermen are expected to draw.

Check out some of the highlights of our interview with Ald. Leslie Hairston of the 5th Ward.

Having an independent commission redraw the city’s ward map—as a coalition led by CHANGE Illinois is promoting in Chicago—is unusual but not unheard of in this country. It worked in 2013 for Austin, Texas, which is about to repeat the process.

Check out some of the highlights of our interview with Ald. Roderick T. Sawyer of the 6th Ward.

In cooperation with neighborhood organizations and good government groups, CHANGE Illinois will be creating the Chicago Advisory Redistricting Commission. “Our goal is to see an independent remapping commission that will reflect the core rich diversity of the city.”

Check out some of the highlights of our interview with Ald. Daniel La Spata of the 1st Ward.

Ann Williams (D-Chicago), Illinois General Assembly Representative for the 11th District, has been actively involved in environmental work and legislation for more than a decade. In this interview with LWV Chicago, Rep. Williams discusses her involvement in environmental issues and CEJA.

Check out some of the highlights of our interview with Ald. Brian Hopkins of the 2nd Ward.

No Chicago neighborhood has suffered more from municipal gerrymandering than Englewood. The largely African American community on the South Side has been divided among six wards since the 1970s and has never had a single alderman.

“Opaque,” “confusing,” “obscure”: the descriptions of Chicago’s decennial ward remapping tell how the process has appeared to the average citizen. Since knowing the rules may lessen confusion, we’ll try to explain the procedure.

CHANGE Illinois and other groups are planning to create an independent commission to draw the next Chicago ward map even if aldermen draw their own map.