In this Issue: Illinois Secretary of State Giannoulias’ Transition Team Goals Include Voter Rights ● Lake County Democrats’ Presidents’ Day Fundraiser with Jill Wine-Banks ● Student Voter Registration Events Held in Waukegan, North Chicago High Schools ● Lake Dems at DC’s Reflecting Fools Comedy Event ● Volunteer Spotlight ● ICYMI (In Case You Missed It) ● Upcoming Events Below
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Illinois Secretary of State Giannoulias’ Transition Team Goals Include Voter Rights
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Before taking office, Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias put together a transition team to help him set an impactful agenda for the next four years. The transition team was made up of elected officials and other civic and business leaders including Chair of Lake County Democrats and former Illinois State Representative Lauren Beth Gash.
Broken into nine Transition Committees, their work was informed by hundreds of public comments, constituent calls and emails, and input from the public submitted through Giannoulias’ website. The recommendations of each of these committees is detailed in his Transition Report linked below which presents the top issues to be addressed by the new administration in Giannoulias’ first 100 days.
One of those Committees was the Voter Rights and Registration Committee which Lauren served on. This important committee made a series of recommendations for how the Secretary of State’s office could leverage its resources and collaborate with other government agencies to make voter registration easier and more accessible. It also made numerous recommendations for increasing voter participation by more effectively communicating information about how, when, and where to vote and expanding vote-by-mail opportunities, among other things.
You can access the full Transition Report here.
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Lake County Democrats’ Presidents’ Day Fundraiser with Jill Wine-Banks
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When: Monday, February 20, 2023, 5:30-7:30pm
Where: White Deer Run Golf Club, Vernon Hills
What: Lake County Democrats’ Evening with Jill Wine-Banks, MSNBC contributor, former Watergate prosecutor, and an always fascinating speaker.
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Jill Wine-Banks is currently an MSNBC contributor, appearing regularly on primetime and daytime shows. A sought-after speaker, Jill appears before professional, political, women’s and business groups, universities and law schools. In addition, Jill has written OpEds for NBC.com, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, Politico, and Huffington Post. She has also been featured in several documentaries and films, including Academy Award winner Charles Ferguson’s Watergate, or How We Learned to Stop an Out of Control President, Robert Redford’s All The President’s Men Revisited, ABC 20/20, and Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 11/9. We hope you will join us for this very special evening. Click here to register.
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Student Voter Registration Events Held in Waukegan, North Chicago High Schools
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A group of our volunteers who are Deputy Voter Registrars helped register voters at high schools in Waukegan and North Chicago last week. Antioch Township Democratic Chair Susan Moore helped organize the event.
Volunteers spent more than four hours at Waukegan High School during the lunch periods. Volunteers also spent lunch periods at North Chicago Community High School.
Volunteer Victoria Ratnaswamy said, “I love it because it will give us a better democracy. I’ve registered people in high schools, farmers markets and driveways. We need to make this as accessible as possible.”
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Waukegan High School senior Joanna Gutierrez registers to vote during the registration drive at the school. (Steve Sadin / Lake County News-Sun)
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Alyssa Harvey, a Waukegan High School senior, registers to vote during the registration drive at the school. (Steve Sadin / Lake County News-Sun)
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Lake Dems at DC’s Reflecting Fools Comedy Event
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On Sunday, January 29, 2023, Lake County Democrats got together for an afternoon of laughs and good food. Following a performance of the hilarious political comedy of DC’s Reflecting Fools, many of us enjoyed dinner at Jameson’s Charhouse. Lake County Board Member Sara Knizhnik welcomed the crowd and spoke about the importance of electing Democrats. Many enjoyed speaking with former Congresswoman Melissa Bean and the rest of the lively group of like-minded people.
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County Board Member Sara Knizhnik speaks at Jameson’s Charhouse after enjoying a performance of Reflecting Fools last Sunday.
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Lake Dems is grateful for our many active volunteers.
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Simi Mathew created our great graphic for the Reflecting Fools comedy show this past Sunday. She is a member of the Lake Dems Events Committee and is a volunteer from Gurnee. She also helped at our notary & lawyer look-over petition signing event for candidates in December. We look forward to continuing to work with her in the future!
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ICYMI (In Case You Missed It)
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To have your event included in this newsletter, click here to submit it for consideration.
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How Do I Join Lake County Democrats?
Lake County Democrats is made up of people like you, people who are passionate about building better communities and a better world. We’re a grassroots political organization, working with Democrats in all parts of Lake County – from Antioch to Highland Park, Libertyville to Waukegan, Barrington to Zion. Become a member online now, (individual: $35/couples $60 – though more is always appreciated), or send a check payable to Lake County Democrats to P.O. Box 671, Lake Zurich, IL 60047. Questions? Contact info@lakedems.org.
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