Naperville Community Unit School District 203 Board Candidate Forum
2025-03-04 19:00 - 20:00 (America/Chicago) | Zoom Meeting
Investing in Education—Meet the Candidates!
Get to know the candidates vying for a seat on the Naperville Community Unit School District 203 Board! This is your chance to hear directly from them, understand their perspectives, and learn how they plan to shape the future of our schools.
Join us on March 4th at 7 pm via Zoom, when candidates will answer community-submitted questions* and share their visions in a fair, nonpartisan forum. Whether you’re a parent, educator, or engaged community member, this event is your opportunity to stay informed before heading to the polls!
This event is free, but you must register at https://rebrand.ly/district203-forum.
Candidates Participating:

Charles Cush
Holly Joy Blastic
Jillian Langer
Amanda McMillen
Marc Willensky

** All candidates have been invited **
This event is sponsored by The League of Women Voters of Naperville and Naperville General Home & School.
If registration for the event exceeds the Zoom capacity, you can watch it live on our Facebook page. After the event, a video will be available on our YouTube channel.
How a Candidate Forum Works
All candidate forums are run by trained, nonpartisan, and out-of-district moderators. Candidates are given equal time to answer each question.
Each candidate will have one minute to present an opening statement alphabetically.
Questions will be chosen in advance by the League for appropriateness and relevance from those solicited from League members and community members. Questions are not shared with the candidates before the forum.
The moderator will ask questions in rotation so that a different candidate will have the opportunity to be the first to answer. Candidates will each have one minute to answer each question.
After the questions are completed, each candidate will have one minute to provide a closing statement.
No surrogates are permitted to participate. An uncontested forum, that is, one with only one candidate, is not permitted.

Indian Prairie School District 204 Candidate Forum
2025-03-06 17:00 - 18:00 (America/Chicago) | Zoom Meeting
Education Matters—Meet the Candidates!
Get to know the candidates running for a seat on the Indian Prairie School District 204 Board during our Candidate Forum on March 6 at 5 PM via Zoom! This is your opportunity to hear directly from them, gain insight into their perspectives, and learn how they plan to shape the future of our schools. Candidates will answer community-submitted questions and share their visions in a fair, nonpartisan forum. Whether you’re a parent, educator, or engaged community member, this event will help you make an informed decision before heading to the polls!
This event is free, but you must register at https://rebrand.ly/district204-forum.
Candidates Participating:

Allison Albert
Laurie Donahue
Allison Fosdick
Supna Jain
Susan Taylor-Demming

** All candidates have been invited **
This event is sponsored by The League of Women Voters of Naperville and the Indian Prairie Parents’ Council.
If registration for the event exceeds the Zoom capacity, you can watch it live on our Facebook page. After the event, a video will be available on our YouTube channel.
How a Candidate Forum Works
All candidate forums are run by trained, nonpartisan, and out-of-district moderators. Candidates are given equal time to answer each question.
Each candidate will have one minute to present an opening statement alphabetically.
Questions will be chosen in advance by the League for appropriateness and relevance from those solicited from League members and community members. Questions are not shared with the candidates before the forum.
The moderator will ask questions in rotation so that a different candidate will have the opportunity to be the first to answer. Candidates will each have up to one minute to answer each question.
After the questions are completed, each candidate will have one minute to provide a closing statement.
No surrogates are permitted to participate. An uncontested forum, that is, one with only one candidate, is not permitted.

Naperville City Council Candidate Forum
2025-03-11 19:00 - 20:00 (America/Chicago) | Zoom Meeting
Your Voice, Your City—Meet the Candidates!

The future of Naperville is in your hands! Get to know the candidates running for Naperville City Council and hear their thoughts on the issues that matter most to our community. Join us on March 11th at 7 pm via Zoom for a nonpartisan forum that offers a chance to learn about their priorities, leadership styles, and responses to questions from the community.* This is your opportunity to make an informed decision before Election Day!
This event is free, but you must register at https://rebrand.ly/citycouncil-forum.
Candidates Participating:

Meghna Bansal
Jennifer Bruzan Taylor
Mary Gibson
Ian Holzhauer
Nag Jaiswal
Derek McDaniel
Ashfaq Syed
Benny White

** All candidates have been invited **
This event is sponsored by The League of Women Voters of Naperville.
If registration for the event exceeds the Zoom capacity, you can watch it live on our Facebook page. After the event, a video will be available on our YouTube channel.
How a Candidate Forum Works
All candidate forums are run by trained, nonpartisan, and out-of-district moderators. Candidates are given equal time to answer each question.
Each candidate will have one minute to present an opening statement alphabetically.
Questions will be chosen in advance by the League for appropriateness and relevance from those solicited from League members and community members. Questions are not shared with the candidates before the forum.
The moderator will ask questions in rotation so that a different candidate will have the opportunity to be the first to answer. Candidates will each have one minute to answer each question.
After the questions are completed, each candidate will have one minute to provide a closing statement.
No surrogates are permitted to participate. An uncontested forum, that is, one with only one candidate, is not permitted.

Park District Candidate Forum
2025-03-12 19:00 - 20:00 (America/Chicago) | Zoom Meeting
Shaping Our Parks, Enriching Our Community!
Naperville’s parks, recreation programs, and green spaces impact all of us—now it’s time to hear from the candidates who want to lead them!
Join us for our Naperville Park District Board Candidate Forum on March 12th at 7 p.m. You’ll learn about each candidate’s vision and answer questions from the community.* From maintaining open spaces to enhancing programs, this event will give you the insight you need to vote with confidence!
This event is free, but you must register at https://rebrand.ly/parkdistrict-forum.
Candidates Participating:

Rhonda Ansier
Aishwarya Balakrishna
Natalia Dagenhart
Zachary Jarrell
Leslie Ruffing
Alison Thompson

** All candidates have been invited **
If registration for the event exceeds the Zoom capacity, you can watch it live on our Facebook page. After the event, a video will be available on our YouTube channel.
How a Candidate Forum Works
All candidate forums are run by trained, nonpartisan, and out-of-district moderators. Candidates are given equal time to answer each question.
Each candidate will have one minute to present an opening statement alphabetically.
Questions will be chosen in advance by the League for appropriateness and relevance from those solicited from League members and community members. Questions are not shared with the candidates before the forum.
The moderator will ask questions in rotation so that a different candidate will have the opportunity to be the first to answer. Candidates will each have one minute to answer each question.
After the questions are completed, each candidate will have one minute to provide a closing statement.
No surrogates are permitted to participate. An uncontested forum, that is, one with only one candidate, is not permitted.

Casting a Historic Vote: Suffrage for Women in Illinois
2025-03-19 19:00 - 20:00 (America/Chicago) | Zoom Meeting
Join us via Zoom on March 19th at 7 pm for our monthly Ideas Forum, “Casting a Historic Vote: Suffrage for Women in Illinois.” This event is free, but please register.
This event is co-sponsored by AAUW Naperville Area Branch and NCJW North Shore.
Prior to 1920, women were denied the vote in the majority of elections in the United States. The struggle for enfranchisement began with the birth of our nation and was strategized differently in our local, state, and federal elections. Despite what people today believe to be a straightforward goal, the path to women’s suffrage was infused with sexism and racism and triggered a fear of feminism, whose roots are still seen today.
While wealthy women advocates played a vital role in the suffrage movement, they were not the only ones seeking enfranchisement. From attorney Ellen Martin, the first woman to vote in Illinois, to Ida B. Wells, a woman who did not let racism silence her voice, women’s suffrage has been a battle hard fought by a diverse group of activists in Illinois.
Presented by Jeanne Schultz Angel
Jeanne is the Director of Learning Experiences and historical Resources for Naper Settlement. She is a nonprofit administrator and museum professional with more than 24 years of experience in cultural institutions. She holds a BA in Anthropology and an MA in History from Illinois State University.
She has been the executive director of three Chicagoland historical organizations: St. Charles Heritage Center, Lombard Historical Society/Sheldon Peck Homestead, and the Nineteenth Century Club in Oak Park.
In addition, she served as the executive director of the Illinois Association of Museums. Most recently, she was the lead historian in Seeking Charlie: Connecting the Dots Left by a Freedom Seeker in Illinois, a grant funded by the Association of African American Life & History and the National Park Service.

March Book Club - Friday: We Need to Talk About Antisemitism
2025-03-21 12:30 - 13:30 (America/New_York) | Zoom Meeting
Join us for our March Book Club meeting on Friday 21st, at 12:30 pm.
Author: Rabbi Diana Fersko
From Goodreads:
Millennial rabbi, Rabbi Diana Fersko, explores why we’re reluctant to discuss antisemitism—and empowers us to fight against it. Exploring topics like vile myths about Jewish people and the intersection of antisemitism with other forms of discrimination, the book gives readers the tools they need to understand the state of antisemitism today. Fersko shows Jews and non-Jews alike how to speak up and come together, spreading a message of solidarity and hope.

March Book Club - Tuesday: We Need to Talk About Antisemitism
2025-03-25 19:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | Zoom Meeting
Join us for our March Book Club Meeting on Tuesday, March 25th, at 7:00 pm.
Author: Rabbi Diana Fersko
From Goodreads:
Millennial rabbi, Rabbi Diana Fersko, explores why we’re reluctant to discuss antisemitism—and empowers us to fight against it. Exploring topics like vile myths about Jewish people and the intersection of antisemitism with other forms of discrimination, the book gives readers the tools they need to understand the state of antisemitism today. Fersko shows Jews and non-Jews alike how to speak up and come together, spreading a message of solidarity and hope.

April 5 Protest Rallies for the Nationwide Day of Action
2025-04-05 11:30 - 13:00 (America/New_York)
A host of organizations supporting Democracy are planning peaceful rallies on April 5 in multiple locations around the region.
Our sister League in Kane County is sponsoring the Geneva gathering. Bring signs, flags, and a friend!
Here are the details:
Saturday, April 5

Rally Option: 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m., Route 38 Bridge, Geneva, IL
Rally Option: Noon, Daley Plaza, Chicago

Please register for the Geneva rally!

How Area Teens View Our Government
2025-04-09 19:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | Zoom Meeting
Join us for the April Ideas Forum on April 9th at 7 pm via Zoom.
We will have an insightful conversation with Waubonsie Valley High School social studies and government teacher Chris Wolak. Wolak will draw on his experience to discuss students’ perspectives on government and their expectations of post-high school voter participation.
Chris Wolak also sponsors the Youth & Government Club at WVHS and formerly worked for the Naperville Sun.
He has degrees in journalism from Illinois State University, secondary education/history from DePaul University, and a Master of Arts in education from Concordia University Chicago.
This event is free, but please register!

April Book Club - Friday: By the Fire We Carry: The Generations-Long Fight for Justice on Native Land
2025-04-18 12:30 - 13:30 (America/New_York) | Zoom Meeting
Join us for our Friday book club meeting on April 18th, at 12:30 PM
Author: Rebecca Nagle
From GoodReads:
A powerful work of reportage and American history that braids the story of the forced removal of Native Americans onto treaty lands in the nation’s earliest days, and a small-town murder in the 1990s that led to a Supreme Court ruling reaffirming Native rights to that land more than a century later. Here Rebecca Nagle recounts the generations-long fight for tribal land and sovereignty in eastern Oklahoma. By chronicling both the contemporary legal battle and historic acts of Indigenous resistance, By the Fire We Carry stands as a landmark work of American history. The story it tells exposes both the wrongs that our nation has committed and the Native-led battle for justice that has shaped our country.

April Book Club – Tuesday: By the Fire We Carry: The Generations-Long Fight for Justice on Native Land
2025-04-22 19:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | Zoom Meeting
Join us for our April Book Club meeting on Tuesday 22nd, at 7 pm.
Author: Rebecca Nagle
From GoodReads:
A powerful work of reportage and American history that braids the story of the forced removal of Native Americans onto treaty lands in the nation’s earliest days, and a small-town murder in the 1990s that led to a Supreme Court ruling reaffirming Native rights to that land more than a century later. Here Rebecca Nagle recounts the generations-long fight for tribal land and sovereignty in eastern Oklahoma. By chronicling both the contemporary legal battle and historic acts of Indigenous resistance, By the Fire We Carry stands as a landmark work of American history. The story it tells exposes both the wrongs that our nation has committed and the Native-led battle for justice that has shaped our country.

Sips, Sweets, and Shop Spring Fundraiser
2025-05-09 13:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | J. McLaughlin, 216 S. Main Street, Naperville, IL, 60540, United States
Celebrate Mother’s Day with Style — and Give Back!
Join us at J. McLaughlin in downtown Naperville for a special afternoon of shopping, sips, and sweets!
Hosted by Donna Cheesebrough, this festive event offers the perfect opportunity to find something beautiful for Mom — and support a wonderful cause at the same time.
On Friday, May 9ᵗʰ, from 1–5 PM, stop by J. McLaughlin at 216 S Main Street to enjoy refreshments and a relaxed shopping experience.
Whether looking for the perfect Mother’s Day gift or a little something for yourself, you’ll find plenty of stylish inspiration.
Plus, 10% of all sales during the event will benefit the League of Women Voters of Naperville, supporting our vital work in empowering voters and strengthening our community.
Bring your friends, treat yourself, and shop with purpose — we can’t wait to see you there!

Under Attack: The State of Democracy Around the World
2025-05-14 19:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | Zoom Meeting
Join us for the May Ideas Forum on May 14 at 7 pm (CST) via Zoom.
This event is free, but please register.
Is the world’s democratic moment coming to an end? What does the future of democracy hold? Join us for our May Ideas Forum featuring Dr. William Muck, Professor of Political Science at North Central College.
Professor Muck will explore global trends in democracy, highlighting data showing that in every region of the world, democracy finds itself under attack. He will explore the implications of this democratic decline and focus specifically on the case of American democracy. How do you know when your democracy is in danger, and how should you respond? He will also reflect on the dramatic actions taken by the Trump administration and offer thoughts on how they fit within this broader anti-democratic moment.

William Muck is the chair of the Political Science Department and the coordinator for the College’s Global Studies program. He teaches a variety of courses on international politics and foreign policy. His scholarship focuses on international security, the practice of military intervention, and the pedagogy of promoting civic engagement.
He has been active in presenting research at various international studies conferences around the world. In 2018, Bill was named a Ruge Fellow by North Central College for his contributions to teaching and learning on campus. He is co-author of the book Technology and Civic Engagement in the College Classroom and other articles on international security and higher education pedagogy.

If you are in the Chicago area, you may have seen Bill offering political analysis on ABC 7, CBS Chicago, Fox 32 Chicago, or WGN Evening News. He is also a regular guest host for WCPT 820am radio and his weekly podcast, The Politics Lab.

May Book Club - Friday: Rough Sleepers
2025-05-16 12:30 - 13:30 (America/New_York) | Zoom Meeting
Join us for our May book club meeting on Friday 16th, at 12:30pm.
Author: Tracy Kidder
From GoodReads:
When Jim O’Connell graduated from Harvard Medical School and was nearing the end of his residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, the chief of medicine made a proposal: Would he defer a prestigious fellowship and spend a year helping to create an organization to bring health care to homeless citizens? Jim took the job because he felt he couldn’t refuse. But that year turned into his life’s calling. Tracy Kidder spent five years following Dr. O’Connell and his colleagues as they served their thousands of homeless patients. In this book, we travel with O’Connell as he navigates the city, offering medical care, socks, soup, empathy, humor, and friendship to some of the city’s most vulnerable citizens. He emphasizes a style of medicine in which patients come first, joined with their providers in what he calls “a system of friends.”

May Book Club - Tuesday: Rough Sleepers
2025-05-20 19:00 - 19:30 (America/New_York) | Zoom Meeting
Join us for our May book club meeting on Tuesday 20th, at 7pm.
Author: Tracy Kidder
From GoodReads:
When Jim O’Connell graduated from Harvard Medical School and was nearing the end of his residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, the chief of medicine made a proposal: Would he defer a prestigious fellowship and spend a year helping to create an organization to bring health care to homeless citizens? Jim took the job because he felt he couldn’t refuse. But that year turned into his life’s calling. Tracy Kidder spent five years following Dr. O’Connell and his colleagues as they served their thousands of homeless patients. In this book, we travel with O’Connell as he navigates the city, offering medical care, socks, soup, empathy, humor, and friendship to some of the city’s most vulnerable citizens. He emphasizes a style of medicine in which patients come first, joined with their providers in what he calls “a system of friends.”

June Book Club - Friday: Road Home
2025-06-20 12:30 - 13:30 (America/New_York) | Zoom Meeting
Join us for our June book club meeting on Friday 20th, at 12:3opm.
Author: Rex Ogle
From GoodReads:
This final, essential chapter in Rex Ogle’s memoir trilogy recounts being forced from his home and living on the streets after his conservative father discovered he was gay. When Rex was outed the summer after he graduated high school, his father gave him a choice: he could stay at home, find a girlfriend, and attend church twice a week, or he could be gay―and leave. Rex left, driving toward the only other gay man he knew and a toxic relationship that would ultimately leave him homeless and desperate on the streets of New Orleans. Road Home is a devastating and incandescent reflection on Rex’s hunger―for food, for love, and for a place to call home―completing the trilogy of memoirs that began with the award-winning Free Lunch.

June Book Club - Tuesday: Road Home
2025-06-24 08:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | Zoom Meeting
Join us for our June book club meeting on Tuesday 24th, at 7pm.
Author: Rex Ogle
From GoodReads:
This final, essential chapter in Rex Ogle’s memoir trilogy recounts being forced from his home and living on the streets after his conservative father discovered he was gay. When Rex was outed the summer after he graduated high school, his father gave him a choice: he could stay at home, find a girlfriend, and attend church twice a week, or he could be gay―and leave. Rex left, driving toward the only other gay man he knew and a toxic relationship that would ultimately leave him homeless and desperate on the streets of New Orleans. Road Home is a devastating and incandescent reflection on Rex’s hunger―for food, for love, and for a place to call home―completing the trilogy of memoirs that began with the award-winning Free Lunch.

July Book Club - Friday: Stolen Pride: Loss, Shame, and the Rise of the Right
2025-07-18 12:30 - 13:30 (America/New_York) | Zoom Meeting
Join us for our July book club meeting on Friday 18th, at 12:3opm.
Author: Arlie Russell Hochschild
From GoodReads:
In her first book since the widely acclaimed Strangers in Their Own Land, the National Book Award finalist and bestselling author Arlie Russell Hochschild now ventures to Appalachia, uncovering the “pride paradox” that has given the right’s appeals such resonance. In Stolen Pride, Arlie Russell Hochschild argues that Donald Trump has turned lost pride into stolen pride and shame into blame, and that the result of his rhetorical alchemy has been to weaponize that shame and introduce a potent blend of anger and often violent rhetoric—undermining democracy and highlighting revenge. Hochschild’s great gift is to decode the emotional narratives that demagogues can speak to and lay bare the pain that lies beneath the rage. And in some of the voices she listens to, Hochschild hears an alternative to the inchoate anger, as she and her subjects imagine a way we might build bridges and move forward.

July Book Club - Tuesday: Stolen Pride: Loss, Shame, and the Rise of the Right
2025-07-22 19:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | Zoom Meeting
Join us for our July book club meeting on Tuesday 22nd, at 7pm.
Author: Arlie Russell Hochschild
From GoodReads:
In her first book since the widely acclaimed Strangers in Their Own Land, the National Book Award finalist and bestselling author Arlie Russell Hochschild now ventures to Appalachia, uncovering the “pride paradox” that has given the right’s appeals such resonance. In Stolen Pride, Arlie Russell Hochschild argues that Donald Trump has turned lost pride into stolen pride and shame into blame, and that the result of his rhetorical alchemy has been to weaponize that shame and introduce a potent blend of anger and often violent rhetoric—undermining democracy and highlighting revenge. Hochschild’s great gift is to decode the emotional narratives that demagogues can speak to and lay bare the pain that lies beneath the rage. And in some of the voices she listens to, Hochschild hears an alternative to the inchoate anger, as she and her subjects imagine a way we might build bridges and move forward.

Illinois Schools at a Glance: Issues, Progress, and Local Realities Amber Quirk, Regional Superintendent of Schools
2025-08-13 19:00 - 20:00 (America/Chicago) | Zoom Meeting
Join us on Wednesday, August 13, at 7:00 p.m. (via Zoom) for our monthly Ideas Forum. Regional Superintendent Amber Quirk will provide an insightful look into what’s happening inside Illinois schools today, both across the state and right here in Naperville.
In this one-hour virtual session, Amber will unpack the trends shaping our schools: how funding affects student opportunities, the growing impact of chronic absenteeism, evolving approaches to school safety, and the expansion of career pathways designed to prepare students for life beyond high school.
Expect a candid conversation about where we’re making progress, where we’re falling short, and what these realities mean for our community.
Whether you’re a parent, educator, or community member who cares about the future of education, this event will give you a clearer picture of the challenges and successes within our local districts.
You’ll walk away with a deeper understanding of how these issues influence classrooms in our county—and specifically Naperville schools.
This event is free, but please register.
Amber Quirk is the Regional Superintendent of Schools, supporting public and private schools in DuPage County. Ms. Quirk matriculated from Indiana, where she attended Purdue University.
She graduated with a BA in Secondary Education, majoring in Health and Safety and minoring in Biology. She obtained a Master’s Degree in Leadership and Administration from North Central College and will have her Superintendent License through Northern Illinois University in August 2025. Ms. Quirk taught her first year in Scituate, MA, and another eleven years in Lombard School District 44.
During her time in Lombard, she taught 6th graders reading and science, coached several sports teams, actively participated on the school improvement council, and supported colleagues as an instructional coach. She became an assistant principal, then principal, serving the families of Maercker School District 60 in the Southeast corner of DuPage County for eight years.
Ms. Quirk continued her administrative career at the Regional Office of Education, first as the Assistant Regional Superintendent, followed by her current elected position of Regional Superintendent.
She is a wife, mother of three wonderful teenage daughters, and two dogs. She enjoys spending free time with family, working out, and watching sports. She is passionate about supporting students, keeping them safe, and helping them gain access to helpful pathways for their futures.

August Book Club - Friday: White Poverty: How Exposing Myths About Race and Class Can Reconstruct American Democracy
2025-08-15 12:30 - 13:30 (America/New_York) | Zoom Meeting
Join us for our August book club meeting on Friday 15th, at 12:30pm.
Author: Reverend Dr. William J. Barber II with Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove
From GoodReads:
When most Americans think of poverty, they imagine Black faces. As a teenager, Reverend William J. Barber II recalls seeing Black mothers interviewed on television whenever there was a story on food stamps or unemployment; poverty, then as now, was depicted as an essentially Black problem. In a work that promises to have lasting repercussions, Barber—now a leading advocate for the rights of our nation’s poor and the “closest person we have to Dr. King” (Cornel West)—addresses white poverty as a hugely neglected subject that might just be the key to mitigating racism and bringing together the tens of millions working-class and impoverished whites with low-income Blacks. Recognizing that angry social media posts have replaced food, education, and housing as a “salve” for the white poor, Barber contends that the millions of America’s lowest-income earners have much in common, and together with Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, provides one of the most sympathetic and visionary approaches to endemic poverty in decades.

August Book Club - Tuesday: White Poverty: How Exposing Myths About Race and Class Can Reconstruct American Democracy
2025-08-19 19:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | Zoom Meeting
Join us for our August book club meeting on Tuesday 19th, at 7pm.
Author: Reverend Dr. William J. Barber II with Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove
From GoodReads:
When most Americans think of poverty, they imagine Black faces. As a teenager, Reverend William J. Barber II recalls seeing Black mothers interviewed on television whenever there was a story on food stamps or unemployment; poverty, then as now, was depicted as an essentially Black problem. In a work that promises to have lasting repercussions, Barber—now a leading advocate for the rights of our nation’s poor and the “closest person we have to Dr. King” (Cornel West)—addresses white poverty as a hugely neglected subject that might just be the key to mitigating racism and bringing together the tens of millions working-class and impoverished whites with low-income Blacks. Recognizing that angry social media posts have replaced food, education, and housing as a “salve” for the white poor, Barber contends that the millions of America’s lowest-income earners have much in common, and together with Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove, provides one of the most sympathetic and visionary approaches to endemic poverty in decades.

September Book Club - Friday: Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist
2025-09-19 12:30 - 13:30 (America/New_York) | Zoom Meeting
Join us for our September book club meeting on Friday 19th, at 12:30pm.
Authors: Judith Heumann and Kristen Joiner
From GoodReads:
One of the most influential disability rights activists in US history tells her personal story of fighting for the right to receive an education, have a job, and just be human. Paralyzed from polio at eighteen months, Judy’s struggle for equality began early in life. From fighting to attend grade school after being described as a “fire hazard” to later winning a lawsuit against the New York City school system for denying her a teacher’s license because of her paralysis, Judy’s actions set a precedent that fundamentally improved rights for disabled people. Candid, intimate, and irreverent, Judy Heumann’s memoir about resistance to exclusion invites readers to imagine and make real a world in which we all belong.

September Book Club - Tuesday: Being Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist
2025-09-23 19:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | Zoom Meeting
Join us for our September book club meeting on Tuesday 23rd, at 7pm.
Authors: Judith Heumann and Kristen Joiner
From GoodReads:
One of the most influential disability rights activists in US history tells her personal story of fighting for the right to receive an education, have a job, and just be human. Paralyzed from polio at eighteen months, Judy’s struggle for equality began early in life. From fighting to attend grade school after being described as a “fire hazard” to later winning a lawsuit against the New York City school system for denying her a teacher’s license because of her paralysis, Judy’s actions set a precedent that fundamentally improved rights for disabled people. Candid, intimate, and irreverent, Judy Heumann’s memoir about resistance to exclusion invites readers to imagine and make real a world in which we all belong.

October Book Club - Friday: We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation
2025-10-17 12:30 - 13:30 (America/New_York) | Zoom Meeting
Join us for our October book club meeting on Friday 17th, at 12:30pm.
Author: Eric Garcia
From GoodReads:
Autistic person and journalist Eric Garcia brings an insider’s perspective and a reporter’s eye to show that autism is a vital part of his community’s humanity, not a disease that needs to be cured.

October Book Club - Tuesday: We're Not Broken: Changing the Autism Conversation
2025-10-21 19:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | Zoom Meeting
Join us for our October book club meeting on Tuesday 21st, at 7pm.
Author: Eric Garcia
From GoodReads:
Autistic person and journalist Eric Garcia brings an insider’s perspective and a reporter’s eye to show that autism is a vital part of his community’s humanity, not a disease that needs to be cured.

SNAP-Ed: A Vital Investment in Illinois Families and Communities
2025-11-11 19:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | Zoom Meeting
Join us on November 11th at 7:00 pm via Zoom for this month’s Ideas Forum, “SNAP-Ed: A Vital Investment in Illinois Families and Communities.”
This event is free, but please register at https://rebrand.ly/nov11-ideasforum.
There is more to SNAP than the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. SNAP-Ed teaches SNAP participants how to use their food resources wisely to strengthen the health and well-being of their families. With the government shutdown still in effect at the time of this posting, and with SNAP funds unavailable, this is more important than ever.

In this Forum, you will hear how SNAP-Ed helps families make nutritious food choices, stretch their food dollars, and increase physical activity.

The session also explores partnerships with schools, food pantries and community organizations that create lasting, healthy changes—and demonstrates the strong return on investment SNAP-Ed provides to Illinois communities.
Our speaker, Christine Birns, is a SNAP-Ed educator with the University of Illinois Extension. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Human Development & Family Sciences from Northern Illinois University and a master’s degree in Social Work from University of Illinois at Chicago with an emphasis in child and family services.

Birns works with food pantries, K-12 schools, adult and youth community programs, and early childcare centers providing technical assistance at the systems and environmental levels. She provides assistance on nutrition education and obesity prevention to help make the healthy choice the easy choice.

November Book Club - Friday: Legacy: A Black Physician Reckons with Racism in Medicine
2025-11-21 12:30 - 13:30 (America/New_York) | Zoom Meeting
Join us for our November book club meeting on Friday 21st, at 12:30pm.
Author: Uché Blackstock
From GoodReads:
Growing up in Brooklyn, New York, it never occurred to Uché Blackstock and her twin sister, Oni, that they would be anything but physicians. In the 1980s, their mother headed an organization of Black women physicians, and for years the girls watched these fiercely intelligent women in white coats tend to their patients and neighbors, host community health fairs, cure ills, and save lives. As an ER physician, and later as a professor in academic medicine, Dr. Blackstock became profoundly aware of the systemic barriers that Black patients and physicians continue to face. Legacy is a journey through the critical intersection of racism and healthcare. At once a searing indictment of our healthcare system, a generational family memoir, and a call to action, Legacy is Dr. Blackstock’s odyssey from child to medical student to practicing physician—to finally seizing her own power as a health equity advocate against the backdrop of the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement.

November Book Club - Tuesday: Legacy: A Black Physician Reckons with Racism in Medicine
2025-11-25 19:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | Zoom Meeting
Join us for our November book club meeting on Tuesday 25th, at 7pm.
Author: Uché Blackstock
From GoodReads:
Growing up in Brooklyn, New York, it never occurred to Uché Blackstock and her twin sister, Oni, that they would be anything but physicians. In the 1980s, their mother headed an organization of Black women physicians, and for years the girls watched these fiercely intelligent women in white coats tend to their patients and neighbors, host community health fairs, cure ills, and save lives. As an ER physician, and later as a professor in academic medicine, Dr. Blackstock became profoundly aware of the systemic barriers that Black patients and physicians continue to face. Legacy is a journey through the critical intersection of racism and healthcare. At once a searing indictment of our healthcare system, a generational family memoir, and a call to action, Legacy is Dr. Blackstock’s odyssey from child to medical student to practicing physician—to finally seizing her own power as a health equity advocate against the backdrop of the pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement.

How Are Federal Funding Cuts and Policies Affecting Research In Higher Education?
2025-12-10 19:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | Zoom Meeting
Join us for our December Ideas Forum on Wednesday, December 10th, at 7:00 pm via Zoom.
In February, the government announced cuts to funding and grants to research institutions across the U.S. Around the same time, immigration raids in the Chicago metro area began in earnest. What happens to research and lab experiments when funding is revoked? How are student relations affected by the active presence of federal immigration agents in the community?
Dr. Timothy Koh, professor of kinesiology and nutrition at the University of Illinois at Chicago’s College of Applied Health Sciences, and Dr. Jeni Hebert-Beirne, professor of community health sciences at UIC’s School of Public Health, have both been dealing with the impacts of these and other federal actions, including DEI mandates. They will discuss how they’re navigating the changes to their research, classes, and institution.
This event is free and open to the public.
Dr. Koh has been focused on the mechanisms that regulate tissue inflammation and healing, in the context of diabetes, where impaired healing can lead to amputation or death. Dr. Koh is also passionate about training students for their own research careers.

Dr. Hebert-Beirne is a community-based participatory researcher, doing qualitative research to promote health equity and justice, particularly in Chicago. Her scholarship focuses on people most impacted by health inequities.
