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The League of Women Voters of Illinois was organized in Chicago in October 1920. The League's mission was "to secure democracy's promise for the people of Illinois through voter education, issue advocacy and citizen outreach." (League of Women Voters of Illinois website: www.lwvil.org/league history). Additional local leagues were formed throughout the state, including ten in the Chicago area. The Chicago League of Women Voters was created the same year deriving from the Chicago Political Equality League. It was intended to provide a superstructure to coordinate activities of the local leagues within the city. In 1922 the Chicago League changed its name to the Chicago League of Women Voters Forum. Shortly thereafter the Cook County League was formed as a council to serve as a governing body to all the Chicago leagues and the suburban leagues within Cook County.
The Council of Cook County League of Women Voters (also known as the Cook County Council) held its first meeting in January 1923. It was originally comprised of the Presidents and four delegates from each local league in the county. Its purpose was tri-fold: 1) to coordinate more closely the work and program of the League in Cook County; 2) to keep the local leagues in close touch with the affairs of government in Cook County and Chicago; and 3) to make more effective the work of the local leagues in the solution of governmental problems of a local or county nature. It arranged six committees, each focused on studying specific issues: Cook County Government, Chicago Affairs, City and Village Affairs, Sanitary District Affairs, Cook County Schools and Chicago Schools. Initially the Illinois League paid the office expenses for the Council.
Though the council was comprised primarily of white members, within months of its formation it began assist the "colored" members, who were members of various local leagues, in organizing their own local league. In 1923 the Douglas League was established, comprised of members from the first and third senatorial districts. Its leadership and membership was exclusively African American.
The Cook County Council went through a series of minor changes in its governance through the years. In 1927 Council of Cook County League of Women Voters began to maintain a Cook County office in conjunction with the Forum. Four years latter, in October 1931, the Cook County Council and the Forum merged becoming the League of Women Voters of Cook County. A decade later, in 1941 the merged league re-organized. The reasons summarized by the League's president were to allow it to focus on the "problems" of Cook County and Chicago, to eliminate overlap with the state and county leagues, to allow greater democracy within the League, and to reduce the financial contributions required of the local leagues to the County League. (Annual Report 1943, box 6, folder 77). At its annual meeting on May 16, 1950 the League once again reorganized, this time changing its name to the Cook County Council of the League of Women Voters. The purpose of the Council was "for study and action on county governmental matters.' It was comprised of the president of each local league (or her proxy) as well as the Chicago League's third vice-president who served as an additional representative for that league on the council. (Annual Report May 16, 1950 box 7 folder 84). The Cook County Council continued to operate into the twenty-first century.
The League of Women Voters of Cook County records consist of 11.75 linear feet of material covering the time period from 1923 to the mid-1980s. The records include reports, correspondence, meetings and conference summaries, surveys, pamphlets, brochures, and meeting minutes. They are divided into two series: administrative records and committee records. The administrative records contain two sub-series: unpublished reports and published reports. The Committee Records series contains twelve sub-series based on the committee activity conducted over the 60 year period. The committees included are: Adult Corrections, Juvenile Justice, Cook County Government, Human Resources, Environment, Housing, Intergovernmental Cooperation, Voters' Services, Civil Service, Public Officials, Publicity, and Schools.
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League of Women Voters of Cook County records, Special Collections and University Archives, University of Illinois at Chicago
Series I contains records generated by the administrative proceedings of the League of Women Voters of Cook County (LWVCC) from its founding in 1923 to 1981.
Subseries A consists of meeting minutes, newsletters, correspondence, financial records, policy information, and annual reports relating to the activities of the governing body of the LWVCC.
Subseries B contains published reports by the LWVCC and other government organizations relating to the activities of the league covering (incompletely) the years 1922 to 1985.
Series II contains the reports, minutes, correspondence, publications, and programs generated from the activities of the various committees of the LWVCC. The bulk of the records reflect the league's efforts to reform aspects of both the adult and juvenile criminal justice systems. Also included are the League's committee work on issues involving aspects of the Cook County Government, public aid (called Human Resources), pollution and the environment, community development and low income housing, intergovernmental cooperation, voters' services, civil service, correspondence with public officials on issues pertaining to the purpose of the league, publicity for the league's programs, and the schools.
Subseries A contains reports, studies, proposals, newspaper clippings, and meeting minutes on issues relating to the adult corrections systems in Cook County, including primarily a campaign to merge the House of Corrections and the Cook County Jail, creating the Department of Corrections. The committee also worked to establish a work release program and reform bail and probation guidelines. The records include material from 1950 to 1979.
Subseries B contains correspondence, reports, and publications regarding the committee's activities involving the Cook County juvenile court, the transformation of the juvenile court into the family court, and many branches of the Chicago municipal court.
Subseries C contains position statements, studies, correspondence, surveys and consensus reports (the compilations of survey results) regarding the committee's activities on issues involving the Cook County government from the 1940s through the 1970s. It also contains records involved in the production of "This is Cook County," a brochure the league produced and distributed in the 1950s that explained the structure and workings of the county government.
Subseries D contains memorandum, correspondence, surveys, and observer reports from members who sat in on government meetings regarding issues of public aid, community development, health services and community action programs.
Subseries E includes reports and correspondence on the committee's work on issues of water pollution and the policies of the Metropolitan Sanitary District.
Subseries F contains the committee's correspondence, reports, memorandum, and a legal brief submitted on issues of community development, low-income housing, and racial zoning policies. The LWVCC was an advocate for racially fair zoning laws and programs that would provide low-income minorities with assistance to acquire quality housing.
Subseries G contains studies, reports, correspondence, and statements from the league's committee that advocated for the improvement of intergovernmental cooperation.
Subseries H contains memorandum, correspondence, questionnaires, reports, meeting minutes, pamphlets, and maps regarding the committee's work to provide voting and candidate information to the public. Also included are documents relating the committee's production of a voters' guide in the 1960s and 70s.
Subseries I contains reports, pamphlets, newsletters and correspondence involving the committee's work informing the community about the Cook County Civil Service Act during the 1940s.
Subseries J contains correspondence between league members and local, county, state, and federal public officials on all matters pertaining to the purpose of the LWVCC dating from 1928 to 1944.
Subseries K includes scripts and promotion materials from the league's public programs from the 1940s and 50s.
Subseries L includes reports, correspondence, and City Club bulletins on the status of education in Cook County for the 1950s.