What We’ve Done Recently

Goal: Promote non–partisan voter education and encourage all eligible citizens to vote

Used the VOTE411 Candidate Guide, a unique LWV offering, to increase communication with potential voters

• Worked with other leagues to implement the newly designed VOTE411 website with updated features
• Provided support to Leagues adopting VOTE411 for the first time, including Wheaton, Roselle/Bloomingdale, McClean County, and Downers Grove/ Lisle/Woodridge
• Coordinated with the Illinois Voter Guide to share voter information and avoid duplication
• Used social media, posters, and yard signs to promote VOTE411 with the community
• Increased VOTE411 participation and continued to gather statistics on VOTE411 engagement

Led and supported candidate forums for the November 2022 General Election and the April 2023 Consolidated Election

• Organized and led a total of seven candidate forums and a question-and-answer discussion during two election cycles, reaching voters through Zoom, Facebook Live, and YouTube
• Assisted with candidate forums and candidate meet & greets led by other local Leagues, such as Aurora Area/Central Kane and the DuPage County Leagues as a group
• Continued to gather statistics on attendance and social media views for candidate forums

Expanded voter registration and voter education efforts

• Increased the number of LWV-sponsored voter registrars for DuPage and Will Counties
• Applied and received another youth voter registration grant from LWVUS Education Fund to continue the Remember to Vote postcards and the birthday box program
• Participated in National Voter Registration Day at five local high schools
• Held spring registration drives at all District 203 and District 204 high schools
• Significantly increased the number and types of venues for voter education and registration events. Held voter education/voter registration events at West Suburban Food Pantry, Warrenville Horizon Senior Center, Tabor Hills, Storypoint, a naturalization event at Cantigny, Monarch Landing, Cars.com, North Central College, Ulta Beauty HQ, Phoenix Closures HQ, and the Naperville Riverwalk.  Held a CAWA (Chinese-American Women in Action) event, a Plainfield Pride event, and a Naper Pride event   
• Delivered close to 1000 (954) redesigned birthday boxes with updated voter registration information to students at area high schools
• Held a youth outreach event with the local Girl Scouts of America
• Mailed ‘Get Out the Vote’ postcards prior to the November election
• Tracked statistics for participation in registration events, reminder postcard participation, and birthday box distribution

Advocated for voter access and supported election integrity

• Trained poll watchers in Will and DuPage counties to promote secure elections
• Attended voting machine testing for both Will and DuPage Counties for the November 2022 General and the April 2023 Consolidated Elections 
• Monitored a DuPage County election lawsuit
• Monitored a Will County lawsuit alleging voter fraud in the County Clerk race
• Monitored the Will County process of procuring new voting equipment  

Goal: Increase advocacy for issues important to Naperville

• Placed greater priority on issues and advocacy by electing an Issues and Advocacy Director and organizing an Issues and Advocacy Committee
• Conducted legislative interviews with state and local legislators to explore issues of importance to the League  
• Helped organize and execute the very successful ‘Rapid Response Rally’ to protest the SCOTUS decision on reproductive rights and helped mentor students to produce a second rally
• Published letters to the editor, spoke at city council meetings and spoke at NCTV-17  on issues important to the League of Women Voters of Naperville
• Engaged with local government officials to advocate for an end to coal power in Naperville and to support open meetings for all of Napervile’s public and private entities
• Produced a series of impactful social media videos to publicize Naperville’s reliance on coal power
• Advocated for passage of referendums supporting 708 mental health boards
• Collaborated with LWV Highland Park Highwood to best support the Naperville assault weapons sales ban, which included remarks before the City Council and letters to editors of local papers
• Monitored the status of criminal justice legislation in Illinois 
• Conducted a study and two consensus meetings on the municipal boards and commissions appointment process, leading to the adoption of a position on Naperville’s process for making nominations and appointments to municipal board and commissions 
• Initiated and advanced a process to bring diversity to the DuPage Heritage Gallery
• Produced weekly social media updates on local government meeting schedules on Facebook
• Organized a lobbying event at the state capitol in conjunction with other local Leagues

Goal: Raise the League’s public profile

• Continued work with a coalition including Naperville AAUW, National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW), and Illinois N.O.W. to partner on issues of local importance
• Expanded topics for community forums in partnership with outside organizations, such as the Naperville Public Library, the Islamic Center of Naperville, and the Naperville Women’s Club
• Reached out to CAWA (Chinese-American Women in Action) to identify shared concerns
• Participated in local rallies and vigils supporting positions on legislative issues
• Regularly participated in community events, such as the Labor Day Parade, St Patrick’s Day Parade, the Municipal Bake Sale/cannon fest, Naper Pride 2023 Health and Resource Fair, and Earth Day, and reintroduced ‘Billy the Ballot Box’
• Honored the LWV’s 103rd anniversary on February 14 with a ceremony at the Naperville Cemetery for the local suffragists buried there
• Added new videos to our YouTube channel, including recorded events and candidate forums
• Built a larger social media presence over the past year, including the launch of selective paid Facebook posts to increase awareness of voting issues and Naperville’s reliance on coal power
• Launched a newly designed, functional website to improve ease of use and streamlined the process for refreshing its content
• Continued to hold monthly idea forums open to the public as well as to the membership

Goal: Build greater influence with the state and national Leagues

• Sent delegates to the 2022 Annual Meeting of the LWVUS 
• Gained greater access to LWVIL with regular attendance at LWVIL Issues meetings and the appointment of the LWV Naperville Voter Service Director to the LWVIL Voter Service team
• Continued Inter-League dialogs among Illinois local League presidents to share information and plan joint actions

Goal: Build a purpose-driven organization by attracting and engaging members

• Reaffirmed goals and priorities for the LWV Naperville with input from the membership
• Increased the number of members in the Naperville League by an average of 6% over the last three years, with a total membership in the top 5 statewide
• Expanded member outreach and membership renewal efforts to retain members and have retained over 80% of our membership year after year
• Established a reserve fund through member increases and a sustaining member program to support critical and important League initiatives
• Encouraged greater member engagement with purpose-driven events
• Registered with GivingDuPage to be able to use them as a source of volunteers, if needed