Misinformation and Disinformation - Threats to Democracy
2024-04-10 19:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | Zoom Meeting
Join us for our April Ideas Forum!
The proliferation of misinformation and disinformation has emerged as a significant threat to our democratic processes and informed decision-making of the electorate.
We make important decisions based on what we hear on social media and in the news. When we are unable to distinguish between truth and mis/disinformation, it can cause confusion and misunderstandings, leaving a generalized sense that “you can’t believe anything anymore.”
Mis/disinformation ultimately undermines trust in legitimate information sources, increases polarization in our society, and leads to misinformed decisions. Learn:

The difference between misinformation and disinformation
How to spot it
What you can do about it

This event is free, but please register.
Our presenter is Barb Laimins, a former public school civics teacher and civic mentor liaison to social studies teachers in Illinois for the McCormick Foundation. She currently serves on the Illinois General Assembly Rank Choice Voting Task Force, the planning team for the LWV/National Institute for Civic Discourse, and co-chair of the LWVIL Mis/Disinformation Task Force.

Friday Book Club - Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President
2024-04-19 12:30 - 13:30 (America/New_York)
by Candice Millard
Register for our April Book Club meeting!
From Goodreads:
James A. Garfield was one of the most extraordinary men ever elected president. Born into abject poverty, he rose to become a wunderkind scholar, a Civil War hero, and a renowned and admired reformist congressman. Nominated for president against his will, he engaged in a fierce battle with the corrupt political establishment. But four months after his inauguration, a deranged office seeker tracked Garfield down and shot him in the back.
But the shot didn’t kill Garfield. The drama of what happened subsequently is a powerful story of a nation in turmoil. The unhinged assassin’s half-delivered strike shattered the fragile national mood of a country so recently fractured by civil war, and left the wounded president as the object of a bitter behind-the-scenes struggle for power—over his administration, over the nation’s future, and, hauntingly, over his medical care. A team of physicians administered shockingly archaic treatments, to disastrous effect. As his condition worsened, Garfield received help: Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, worked around the clock to invent a new device capable of finding the bullet.
Meticulously researched, epic in scope, and pulsating with an intimate human focus and high-velocity narrative drive, The Destiny of the Republic will stand alongside The Devil in the White City and The Professor and the Madman as a classic of narrative history.

Tuesday Book Club - Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President
2024-04-23 19:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York)

Is It for You? Exploring the Benefits and Challenges of Ranked Choice Voting in the US
2024-05-08 19:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | Zoom Meeting
Join us on May 8th, at 7 pm, for our monthly Ideas Forum, Is it for You? Exploring the Benefits and Challenges of Ranked Choice Voting in the US.

Canvassers are currently collecting signatures to gather support for a binding referendum on the Naperville April 2025 ballot, asking voters if they want to use ranked choice voting to elect the city’s mayor and council. Ranked Choice Voting is an alternative electoral system that allows voters to rank candidates by preference.

Dr. Chod of North Central College will lead a discussion highlighting the advantages and complexities of adopting ranked choice voting (RCV) in the U.S. electoral system. Topics covered include how RCV can increase voter representation, promote consensus, and decrease voters’ “wasted vote” approach. The discussion will also address the logistical hurdles, voter confusion, and structural changes required for successful RCV implementation. Ultimately, the talk is designed for attendees to answer the question: Is RCV for you?

Our presenter, Suzanne Chod, received her B.S. in Political Science from Bowling Green State University in 2002 and her PhD in the same field from Michigan State University in 2007. Dr. Chod joined the NCC faculty as an Assistant Professor in 2010. She teaches classes in American political institutions, parties, campaigns, and elections and courses focused on women in American politics and research methods. She is currently the Coordinator of the Gender and Sexuality Studies Program and a member of the President’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force.

This event is free, but please register here.

Sip, Shop and Celebrate Spring
2024-05-10 13:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | J. McLaughlin, 216 S. Main Street, Naperville, IL, 60540, United States
Looking for gifts or outfits for Mother’s Day, graduations, or other upcoming events? Visit J McLaughlin in downtown Naperville on May 10, 2024, to see what they have in store. A portion of your purchase will benefit LWV Naperville.

Friday Book Club: Madam Secretary: A Memoir
2024-05-17 12:30 - 13:30 (America/New_York)
by Madeleine K. Albright
Register for our May Book Club meeting!
From Goodreads:
In this outspoken and much-praised memoir, the highest-ranking woman in American history shares her remarkable story and provides an insider’s view of world affairs during a period of unprecedented turbulence. A national bestseller on its first publication in 2003, Madam Secretary combines warm humor with profound insights and personal testament with fascinating additions to the historical record.

Friday Book Club: Every Day Is a Gift: A Memoir
2024-06-21 12:30 - 13:30 (America/New_York)
by Tammy Duckworth
Register for our June Book Club meeting!
From Goodreads:
In this New York Times bestselling book, learn the incredible story of Illinois senator and Iraq War veteran Tammy Duckworth and see what inspired her to follow the path that made her who she is today.​
In Every Day Is a Gift , Tammy Duckworth takes readers through the amazing—and amazingly true—stories from her incomparable life. In November of 2004, an Iraqi RPG blew through the cockpit of Tammy Duckworth’s U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter. The explosion, which destroyed her legs and mangled her right arm, was a turning point in her life. But as Duckworth shows in Every Day Is a Gift , that moment was just one in a lifetime of extraordinary turns.
The biracial daughter of an American father and a Thai-Chinese mother, Duckworth faced discrimination, poverty, and the horrors of war—all before the age of 16. As a child, she dodged bullets as her family fled war-torn Phnom Penh. As a teenager, she sold roses by the side of the road to save her family from hunger and homelessness in Hawaii. Through these experiences, she developed a fierce resilience that would prove invaluable in the years to come.
Duckworth joined the Army, becoming one of a handful of female helicopter pilots at the start of Operation Iraqi Freedom. She served eight months in Iraq before an insurgent’s RPG shot down her helicopter, an attack that took her legs—and nearly took her life. She then spent thirteen months recovering at Walter Reed, learning to walk again on prosthetic legs and planning her return to the cockpit. But Duckworth found a new mission after meeting her state’s senators, Barack Obama and Dick Durbin. After winning two terms as a U.S. Representative, she won election to the U.S. Senate in 2016. And she and her husband Bryan fulfilled another dream when she gave birth to two daughters, becoming the first sitting senator to give birth.
From childhood to motherhood and beyond, Every Day Is a Gift is the remarkable story of one of America’s most dedicated public servants.

Tuesday Book Club: Every Day Is a Gift: A Memoir
2024-06-25 19:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York)

Friday Book Club: Romney: A Reckoning
2024-07-19 12:30 - 13:30 (America/New_York)
by McKay Coppins
Register for our July Book Club meeting!
From Goodreads:
A remarkably illuminating biography of the political maverick, filled with revelations and written with his full cooperation by an award-winning writer at The Atlantic.
Authoritative, personal, and vividly written, Romney: A Reckoning is a revealing account of Mitt Romney’s life.
Based on dozens of exclusive interviews with Romney, his family, and his inner circle as well as hundreds of pages of his personal journals, this book offers a rare, portrait of a politician who in recent years has been at the center of our nation’s most defining political dramas.

Tuesday Book Club: Romney: A Reckoning
2024-07-23 19:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York)

August Ideas Forum: An Insider's Look at VOTE411
2024-08-14 19:00 (America/New_York) | Zoom Meeting
Join us for the August Ideas Forum on August 14th at 7:00 pm on Zoom.

If the past month is any guide, it promises to be a “hot hot hot” election season. The League’s VOTE411 is a key public service that helps voters learn about the candidates.
Be sure to catch this discussion with the national league’s VOTE411 coordinator Megan Brown as she gives us an insider’s look at the task of providing information on every possible candidate.
She’ll talk to us about what online guides offer every voter. This event is free, but please register!

Friday Book Club: The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life of Frances Perkins, FDR'S Secretary of Labor and His Moral Conscience
2024-08-16 12:30 - 13:30 (America/New_York)
by Kirstin Downey
Register for our August Book Club meeting!
From Goodreads:
Frances Perkins is no longer a household name, yet she was one of the most influential women of the twentieth century. Based on eight years of research, extensive archival materials, new documents, and exclusive access to Perkins’s family members and friends, this biography is the first complete portrait of a devoted public servant with a passionate personal life, a mother who changed the landscape of American business and society.
Frances Perkins was named Secretary of Labor by Franklin Roosevelt in 1933. As the first female cabinet secretary, she spearheaded the fight to improve the lives of America’s working people while juggling her own complex family responsibilities. Perkins’s ideas became the cornerstones of the most important social welfare and legislation in the nation’s history, including unemployment compensation, child labor laws, and the forty-hour work week.
Arriving in Washington at the height of the Great Depression, Perkins pushed for massive public works projects that created millions of jobs for unemployed workers. She breathed life back into the nation’s labor movement, boosting living standards across the country. As head of the Immigration Service, she fought to bring European refugees to safety in the United States. Her greatest triumph was creating Social Security.
Written with a wit that echoes Frances Perkins’s own, award-winning journalist Kirstin Downey gives us a riveting exploration of how and why Perkins slipped into historical oblivion, and restores Perkins to her proper place in history.

Tuesday Book Club: The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life of Frances Perkins, FDR'S Secretary of Labor and His Moral Conscience
2024-08-20 19:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York)

How Disabled People Vote (It's Not Always Easy)
2024-09-11 19:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | Zoom Meeting
When the average person heads to the polls, it’s usually an easy ‘in-vote-out’ process. However, even getting to a polling place can be difficult if you’re differently-abled.
Join us at September’s Ideas Forum on 9/11 at 7:00 pm via Zoom to learn about barriers and services available.
How do you fill out a ballot privately if you’re blind, unable to write, or can’t reach the polling booth’s desktop? Disability Voting Rights Week, which aims to raise awareness about the obstacles to voting for the disabled community, is September 9-13.
This event is free, but please register.
Our panelists for this program include:
Brandy Johnson – Board for the Illinois Chapter of the United Spinal Association
Professor Johnson is a decorated and widely published Assistant Professor at Southern Illinois University Simmons Law School. While in private practice, she specialized in Illinois and Missouri workers’ compensation law and appellate advocacy and gained experience in premises liability, personal injury, product liability, and other areas of insurance defense. She serves on the board for the Illinois Chapter of the United Spinal Association.
Patti Gregory-Chang – National Federation of the Blind
Patti Gregory-Chang graduated from the University of Chicago Law School in 1988 and worked in the City of Chicago Law Department for twenty-eight years. In 2016, Patti embarked on a second career, accepting the position of Director of Outreach for the National Federation of the Blind, the largest organization of blind people in the world. She is currently the Second Vice President of the Illinois affiliate of the NFB. She has served on its National Board of Directors and worked as national scholarship committee chair for many years.
Rebecca Leder – Will County Clerk’s Office
Rebecca Leder has served Will County residents for almost 10 years as the senior election analyst at the Will County Clerk’s Office. She assists and supervises elections, administers the Will County Clerk’s website, and educates voters on social media and at events. Rebecca serves on the board of Bridges to a New Day, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping victims of domestic violence and providing therapy for those who cannot afford it.
Before the meeting, visit the American Association of People with Disabilities website to learn more about its mission.
By the way, is there a topic you’d like to learn about at upcoming Ideas Forums? If so, please send your ideas to lwvnaperville.programming@gmail.com.

Friday Book Club: A Way Out of No Way: A Memoir of Truth, Transformation, and the New American Story AND America, a Redemption Story: Choosing Hope, Creating Unity(optional)
2024-09-20 12:30 - 13:30 (America/New_York)
by Raphael Warnock
Register for our September Book Club meeting!
From Goodreads:
On the heels of his historic election to the United States Senate, Raphael G. Warnock shares his remarkable spiritual and personal journey.
“Sparkling… a narrative of an extraordinary life, from impoverished beginnings in Savannah to his arrival on Capitol Hill. Along the way, he reflects with considerable candor and insight on the meaning and importance of faith, truth-telling and political and social redemption.”— The New York Times Book Review
“A compelling, insightful memoir that details an extraordinary journey.” — Bryan Stevenson
Senator Reverend Raphael G. Warnock occupies a singular place in American life. As senior pastor of Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, and now as a senator from Georgia, he is the rare voice who can call out the uncomfortable truths that shape contemporary American life and, at a time of division , summon us all to a higher moral ground.
Senator Warnock grew up in the Kayton Homes housing projects in Savannah, the eleventh of twelve children. His dad was a World War II veteran, and as a teenager his mom picked tobacco and cotton in rural Georgia. Both were Pentecostal preachers. After graduating from Morehouse College, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s alma mater, Senator Warnock studied for a decade at Union Theological Seminary while serving at Harlem’s Abyssinian Baptist Church. At thirty-five, he became the senior pastor at Ebenezer, where Dr. King had preached and served.
In January 2021, Senator Warnock won a runoff election that flipped control of the Senate at one of the most pivotal moments in recent American history. He is the first Black senator from Georgia, only the eleventh Black senator in American history, and just the second Black senator from the South since Reconstruction. As he said in his maiden speech from the well of the senate, Senator Warnock’s improbable journey reflects the ongoing toggle between the pain and promise of the American story.
A powerful preacher and a leading voice for voting rights and democracy, Senator Warnock has a once-in-a-generation gift to inspire and lead us forward. A Way Out of No Way tells his remarkable story for the first time.
*OPTIONAL*
by Tim Scott
From Goodreads:
The American Dream isn’t a thing of the past, but a miracle of the present.
Now more than ever it’s easy to focus on the divisions that plague our nation. It may seem as if our best days are behind us, but bestselling author and senator Tim Scott believes we have yet to realize the fullness of our identity. We are in the midst of a story that’s still unfolding. And beautiful opportunities await.
In this powerful memoir, Scott recounts formative events of his life alongside the inspiring stories of other Americans who have risen above hardship and embodied the values that make our nation great. Together these personal and inspirational accounts call readers to embrace
the mountaintops as well as the valleys on the journey to a more perfect union;a path marked by optimism, hope, and resolve; anda future characterized by endurance, unity, and strength.
Both a clear-eyed reckoning with our nation’s failures and an ode to its accomplishments, America, a Redemption Story issues a clarion call for all of us to rise courageously to the greatness within our reach.

Tuesday Book Club: A Way Out of No Way: A Memoir of Truth, Transformation, and the New American Story AND America, a Redemption Story: Choosing Hope, Creating Unity(optional)
2024-09-24 19:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York)
Register for our September Book Club meeting!
From Goodreads:
On the heels of his historic election to the United States Senate, Raphael G. Warnock shares his remarkable spiritual and personal journey.
“Sparkling… a narrative of an extraordinary life, from impoverished beginnings in Savannah to his arrival on Capitol Hill. Along the way, he reflects with considerable candor and insight on the meaning and importance of faith, truth-telling and political and social redemption.”— The New York Times Book Review
“A compelling, insightful memoir that details an extraordinary journey.” — Bryan Stevenson
Senator Reverend Raphael G. Warnock occupies a singular place in American life. As senior pastor of Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, and now as a senator from Georgia, he is the rare voice who can call out the uncomfortable truths that shape contemporary American life and, at a time of division , summon us all to a higher moral ground.
Senator Warnock grew up in the Kayton Homes housing projects in Savannah, the eleventh of twelve children. His dad was a World War II veteran, and as a teenager his mom picked tobacco and cotton in rural Georgia. Both were Pentecostal preachers. After graduating from Morehouse College, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s alma mater, Senator Warnock studied for a decade at Union Theological Seminary while serving at Harlem’s Abyssinian Baptist Church. At thirty-five, he became the senior pastor at Ebenezer, where Dr. King had preached and served.
In January 2021, Senator Warnock won a runoff election that flipped control of the Senate at one of the most pivotal moments in recent American history. He is the first Black senator from Georgia, only the eleventh Black senator in American history, and just the second Black senator from the South since Reconstruction. As he said in his maiden speech from the well of the senate, Senator Warnock’s improbable journey reflects the ongoing toggle between the pain and promise of the American story.
A powerful preacher and a leading voice for voting rights and democracy, Senator Warnock has a once-in-a-generation gift to inspire and lead us forward. A Way Out of No Way tells his remarkable story for the first time.
*OPTIONAL*
From Goodreads:
The American Dream isn’t a thing of the past, but a miracle of the present.
Now more than ever it’s easy to focus on the divisions that plague our nation. It may seem as if our best days are behind us, but bestselling author and senator Tim Scott believes we have yet to realize the fullness of our identity. We are in the midst of a story that’s still unfolding. And beautiful opportunities await.
In this powerful memoir, Scott recounts formative events of his life alongside the inspiring stories of other Americans who have risen above hardship and embodied the values that make our nation great. Together these personal and inspirational accounts call readers to embrace
the mountaintops as well as the valleys on the journey to a more perfect union;a path marked by optimism, hope, and resolve; anda future characterized by endurance, unity, and strength.
Both a clear-eyed reckoning with our nation’s failures and an ode to its accomplishments, America, a Redemption Story issues a clarion call for all of us to rise courageously to the greatness within our reach.

Key Election Date: Early Voting at Election Authority Offices and Mailing of Mail in Ballots Begin
2024-09-26
September 26th marks the first day for early voting at your local office of the election authority and temporary locations designated by the election authority. It is also the first day for the election authority to mail an official ballot to a registered voter within the confines of Illinois who has applied to vote by mail.

DuPage County Voters can get more information by clicking on this link.
Will County Voters can get more information by clicking on this link.

October Ideas Forum: What's Up With Ballot Referendums?
2024-10-08 19:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | Zoom Meeting
Before you head to the polls, take this opportunity to learn about the two referendums that will be on our ballots during our October Ideas Forum.
Indian Prairie School District 204 Chief School Business Official Matt Shipley will discuss the basis for District 204’s referendum, and a representative from the DuPage Forest Preserve District will discuss the reasoning behind their referendum.
Learning about the needs that are driving the referendums will help inform your decision as you plan your vote. This event is free, but please register!

Our Presenters
Daniel Hebreard is the President of the DuPage Forest Preserve District. He was elected at-large to the Forest Preserve District’s Board of Commissioners in 2018. Daniel holds degrees in Parks and Recreation management and Business Administration, and worked for two local recreation departments before joining the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County as a ranger in 2005.
Matt Shipley has been the Chief School Business Official (CSBO) for Indian Prairie since 2021. In this role, he oversees the budget and accounting functions, support operations, building operations, safety and security, and employee benefits.

DuPage County Board - District 5 Candidate Forum
2024-10-09 19:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | Zoom Meeting
Learn more about the candidates running for the DuPage County Board – District 5 and their views and answers to questions from the community.*
Patty Gustin (R) and Saba Haider (D)
** All candidates have been invited **
This event is free, but you must register at https://rebrand.ly/oct24-forum.
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 two minutes 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 two minutes to answer each question.
After the questions are completed, each candidate will have two minutes to provide a closing statement.
No surrogates are permitted to participate. An uncontested forum, that is, one with only one candidate, is not permitted.

Friday Book Club: The Joy of Politics: Surviving Cancer, a Campaign, a Pandemic, an Insurrection, and Life's Other Unexpected Curveballs
2024-10-18 12:30 - 13:30 (America/New_York)
by Amy Klobuchar
Register for our October Book Club meeting!
From Goodreads:
An intimate and revelatory memoir—on personal challenges, political turmoil, and the state of American democracy—from one of the most effective voices in politics, Amy Klobuchar.
During the past few years, as our country has faced unprecedented challenges, Senator Klobuchar has been in the room where it happens—on the Senate floor for critical votes during the pandemic, at the debate podium during one of the most critical presidential elections in US history, and in the Capitol on January 6, 2021, when insurrectionists stormed the building, interrupting the certification of the electoral college. It was well past midnight when Klobuchar stood beside then-Vice President Pence to officially certify President Biden’s victory.
In her candid, honest, and at times bitingly funny memoir, the pragmatic senator shares insider stories from these historic moments, while also inviting readers into her personal life. An underdog in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary campaign, she built surprising early momentum–only to suspend her candidacy in order to support Joe Biden. Within weeks of returning to work in the Senate, the sudden onslaught of COVID-19 hit her family directly. Her husband got very sick and spent a week in the hospital on oxygen and a month in isolation. Klobuchar shares her experience facing a cancer diagnosis while watching her beloved father succumb to Alzheimer’s. She recounts the dramatic narrative of January 6 and how close we came to losing our democracy. And, with her signature humor, she reveals what it’s like to work with some of her more…well, interesting…colleagues.
At the crux of these stories is a narrative of resilience – of personal resilience and the resilience of a nation – and, improbably, joy.

Key Election Date: Online Voter Registration Deadline
2024-10-20
Important Voting Reminder: October 20th is the Last Day to Register Online!
October 20th marks the final day to register to vote online through the Illinois State Board of Elections website. If you haven’t registered yet, make sure to visit ova.elections.il.gov and complete your registration.
If you miss the online registration deadline, don’t worry! You can still register in person at your polling place when you go to vote. Make sure your voice is heard in this election—get registered today!

Key Election Date: First Day of Early Voting - More Locations Open
2024-10-21
Get Ready! Early Voting for the 2024 General Election Continues!
Starting October 21, additional early voting locations across your County will open, making it easy to participate in this election.
Find your most convenient early voting location in your county and its applicable operating hours by visiting the DuPage County Clerk’s website or the Will County Clerk’s website. Don’t miss this chance to shape the future—get out and vote!

Tuesday Book Club: The Joy of Politics: Surviving Cancer, a Campaign, a Pandemic, an Insurrection, and Life's Other Unexpected Curveballs
2024-10-22 19:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York)

Key Election Date: Last Day of Early Voting
2024-11-04
Last Chance for Early Voting is November 4th!
November 4th is the final day to take advantage of early voting for the 2024 General Election. If you haven’t voted yet, this is your last opportunity to make sure your voice is heard before Election Day. Your vote counts, and early voting ensures it gets in on time.
You can find more information about voting by visiting the DuPage County Clerk’s website here or the Will County Clerk’s website here. Make sure your vote matters—vote early!

Key Election Date: General Election - November 5th
2024-11-05
Election Day is November 5th – Make Your Voice Heard!
November 5th is the big day—the 2024 General Election is here! It’s your chance to help shape the future by casting your vote. Voting in Illinois is straightforward, but there are a few important rules to keep in mind:

Polls are open from 6:00 AM to 7:00 PM. As long as you’re in line by 7:00 PM, you are legally allowed to vote.
Same-day voter registration is available. If you’re not registered yet, you can do so at your polling place and vote on the same day! Make sure to bring at least two forms of identification, with one showing your current address.
You have the right to vote. If you encounter any issues at the polls, election judges are there to help.
DuPage County Voters: You can vote at any valid polling place across the County.

Make sure you know your polling place and plan ahead. Your vote is your voice, and every vote counts. Get out and vote on November 5th!
DuPage County Voters: Find your polling place here.
Will County Voters: Find your polling place here.

Friday Book Club: There Is Nothing For You Here: Finding Opportunity in the Twenty-First Century
2024-11-15 12:30 - 13:30 (America/New_York)
by Fiona Hill
Register for our November Book Club meeting!
From Goodreads:
A celebrated foreign policy expert and key impeachment witness reveals how declining opportunity has set America on the grim path of modern Russia—and draws on her personal journey out of poverty, as well as her unique perspectives as an historian and policy maker, to show how we can return hope to our forgotten places.
Fiona Hill grew up in a world of terminal decay. The last of the local mines had closed, businesses were shuttering, and despair was etched in the faces around her. Her father urged her to get out of their blighted corner of northern England: “There is nothing for you here, pet,” he said.
The coal-miner’s daughter managed to go further than he ever could have dreamed. She studied in Moscow and at Harvard, became an American citizen, and served three U.S. Presidents. But in the heartlands of both Russia and the United States, she saw troubling reflections of her hometown and similar populist impulses. By the time she offered her brave testimony in the first impeachment inquiry of President Trump, Hill knew that the desperation of forgotten people was driving American politics over the brink—and that we were running out of time to save ourselves from Russia’s fate. In this powerful, deeply personal account, she shares what she has learned, and shows why expanding opportunity is the only long-term hope for our democracy.

Tuesday Book Club: There Is Nothing For You Here: Finding Opportunity in the Twenty-First Century
2024-11-19 19:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York)

Gaining Perspective on Our Personal Response to Politics
2025-01-06 08:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York)
Join us on January 8th at 7 pm via Zoom for our monthly Ideas Forum!
After our November election, were you relieved or depressed?
Regardless of your political leanings or response to the election, you may be struggling personally with the current political climate and vitriol. Can you have the civil conversations with family and friends you would like? For many of us, the answer is not always.

Family therapist Christina Maki will discuss how to manage these struggles at our first Ideas Forum of 2025. Use the button below to register for this important event.

Maki is a licensed marriage and family therapist with over a decade of experience. Her primary aim is to help clients build resilience, find internal strengths, and create healthy relationships. Christina’s style of therapy is relational, strength-based, evidence-based, and integrative.

As a marriage and family therapist, Christina focuses heavily on relationships. These relationships start with ourselves and include friends, family, significant others, schools, and communities. When individuals learn how to be successful in relationships, they can learn how to get their needs met no matter the situation.

Christina’s clients describe her as intelligent, humorous, and straightforward. She also creates a safe, welcoming, and loving environment that is free from judgment and imposed expectations. Christina received her master’s degree from Friends University. Her ongoing training focuses on family, relationships, anxiety, and trauma.
This event is free, but please register here.

When Naperville Was a Sundown Town
2025-02-19 19:00 - 20:00 (America/Chicago)
Join us on Zoom for our February Ideas Forum featuring Dr. Raleigh Blasdell, North Central College Associate Professor of Criminology and Sociology; Chairperson Department of Sociology Criminology and Anthropology.
In 2022, a group of North Central College students, mentored by Dr. Raleigh Blasdell, researched and compiled a report on the history of Naperville’s ‘sundown policy’.
They investigated the role of churches in the city’s racial history and current practices, the impact of laws and policies, how zoning impacts sociodemographic populations, the challenges for Black business owners, and how Naperville’s public schools are addressing educational issues regarding racism and inequality.
Dr. Blasdell will discuss the findings, implications, and future directions for the research the students began in 2022. She will also engage with the audience, hearing their experiences and thoughts about the project.
Raleigh Blasdell (she/her) is a Criminologist who has taught at the collegiate level since 2008. She joined NCC’s Sociology, Criminology, and Anthropology faculty in 2019 and teaches criminology and criminal justice courses. Dr. Blasdell was instrumental in establishing the Criminology major, which launched in Fall 2022, and the Cardinal Destination Course Abroad, which explored Criminal Justice in England (May 2023).
Dr. Blasdell earned her Ph.D. in Criminology from The University of South Florida. She received her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Science in Criminal Justice from Illinois State University. She graduated from the Tokiwa International Victimology Institute’s (Tokiwa, Japan) Asian Postgraduate Course on Victimology and Victim Assistance. Before academia, she worked as a victim advocate (working with women and children who had been abused) and as a terrorism intelligence analyst.
Dr. Blasdell enjoys working with her students (who affectionately call her “Prof. B.”) to maintain an active research agenda that studies minoritized populations, victims of crime, and restorative justice. She has presented original research both independently and with students at over two dozen academic conferences across the United States and abroad.
This event is free, but please register.

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.
