Join IC-SS on Zoom – Wed., April 6th
Let’s get together! Join us online on Wednesday, April 6th, 7:30-9:00 pm to reconnect and find out exciting ways to get involved and make a difference in 2022.
Join us 4/6 to hear from Kina Collins + Julia Kline + Bill Mengebier (or other ICA organizer)
Special Guests
- Kina Collins, our endorsed candidate for Congress in IL-07. Hear about the issues she’ll fight for and ask her your questions.
- Julia Kline, co-leader of Neighbors Who Vote and a member of IC-SS. Learn about Illinois’s new program of permanent vote-by-mail.
- Indivisible Chicago Alliance (citywide) – Bill Mengebier or another organizer (TBA) from the ICA Election 2022 Team. Learn how you can join with others to fight for progressive candidates and a Democratic majority at the state and national levels.
Share
- Share your own action priorities and ideas for involvement.
- Work on your own Vote Forward letters and show them off.
- Make cocktails & mocktails with Esther! Recipes after you register.
Co-leader Esther Peters will demonstrate fun drinks for the evening. RSVP & get recipes!
Register
Register here, and mark your calendars! Wed, April 6th, 7:30-9:00 pm.
Fight for Voting Rights: Phone Voters
Ready to fight for voting rights in the states? All you need is a phone and computer. Newbies welcome! You get training and support on Zoom from friendly organizers from Common Cause and Indivisible Chicago.
- Tuesdays, 3:00-5:00 pm. With citywide Indivisible Chicago, we’ve been calling voters in other states & helping them take action to protect elections. (You may see co-host Sarah Lincoln and other familiar faces.) Get info/Sign up.
- Need other days/times? Common Cause offers phonebank opportunities every day of the week, with many options outside regular working hours. Get info/Sign up
Friends Recommend
Got a resource to suggest? Email us a link to your suggested resource and share a sentence or two about it.
Ruth Ben-Ghiat & Lucid
Authoritarianism. How do people prevent it or overcome it – around the world? Indivisible Chicago-South Side Co-Leader Teri Watkins recommends we listen to the perspective of historian Ruth Ben-Ghiat.
Ruth Ben-Ghiat at one of her Friday noon Zooms – free to attend for Lucid subscribers
“Ruth Ben-Ghiat is a scholar of Italian fascism,” says Teri. “I appreciate how she is able to address the impact of authoritarianism on U.S. politics and reference the disparate treatment of refugees in our world in the context of Putin’s war on Ukraine.”
- “The Ukrainian refugee crisis [will not] lead illiberal politicians to welcome refugees regardless of their race, ethnicity, or religion. The far right, former U.S. President Donald Trump included, has found weaponizing fear of non-White migrants and refugees too effective in attracting voters to give up the tactic.” ~Ruth Ben-Ghiat, The Ukrainian Refugee Crisis Reminds Us of Authoritarianism’s Devastating Impact, Lucid 03-08-22
Ruth Ben-Ghiat Online
- Website + Facebook + Twitter
- Lucid* – blog on abuses of power and how we can counter them (free basic subscription, but pay for access to additional content)
Sample posts
- Dr. Carballo On Physical & Psychosocial Challenges Refugees Face
- Putin Miscalculated, But Kleptocracy May Delay Regime Change
- The Convoy Is Coming For Our Democracy
Book
*When you subscribe to Lucid (whether free or upgraded), you get invited to Ruth Ben-Ghiat’s weekly Friday Zoom talk at noon (never recorded). Ruth speaks about current events, then opens the floor for Q & A.
Chicago Fights for Wisconsin – Join Us!
Wisconsin is at the frontline in the fight for democracy. Chicago can help.
Find Your Way to Volunteer for WI: Texting & More
Help WisDems keep Wisconsin blue and save democracy too. Say you like texting? They got you! Like helping recruit volunteers by phone? You can do that, too. Go here for all the info – then see specific opportunities below.
Help Recruit Poll Observers: Tues, Wed, Thurs
Let’s protect elections in Wisconsin. WisDems needs your help to recruit poll observers so that voters can safely and easily cast their ballots in the April 5 local elections.
Each week, make calls with WisDems organizers
Join WisDems to phone likely Democratic voters in Wisconsin and recruit them as poll observers. You just need a phone and computer. Every Tuesday & Thursday, 5:00-7:00 pm and every Wednesday, 12:00-2:00 pm. Get info/Sign up.
PS Want to volunteer as a poll observer in Wisconsin on their Tuesday April 5th spring primary? You’d observe at a polling place and report any problems. Half-day and full-day shifts will be available. Fill out this interest form, and WisDems will contact you with info.
FYI: Wisconsin Election Dates for 2022
- WI spring primary (local): Feb 15 + WI spring election (local): April 5
- WI partisan primary: Aug 9 + US midterm elections: Nov 8
Write Letters & Postcards – Have an Impact
Super busy but still want to make a difference? Find small gaps in your schedule and write to voters from your living room.
Vote Forward Letters
Check out the many Vote Forward campaigns here – including some in Illinois, like Rep Lauren Underwood‘s district (IL-14). Do a little window shopping and then make your choice!
ACT: Start writing: sign up now right here.
Postcards to Swing States
Get ready to write postcards to voters in key states withPostcards to Swing States, a Progressive Turnout Project effort. For most campaigns, you’ll get postcards, instructions, and mailing lists for free and then buy your own stamps. (For a few campaigns, you provide your own postcards.) Sign up now.
Organizations & Opportunities
Indivisible Chicago-South Side shares information and action announcements from other organizations on issues important in our country, state, city, and communities.
Chicagoans Tortured into False Confessions – Act!
Too many people were tortured by Chicago police into false confessions and continue to suffer behind bars decades later. On its website, CAARPR’s Campaign to Free Incarcerated Survivors of Torture (CFIST) has painstakingly documented dozens of cases.
Find general statistics and case-by-case documentation at CAARPR’s CFIST page
LEARN
CFIST says, “In response to Chicago’s long history of torture, activists, family members, and survivors have chosen to organize, share their stories and make the issue public in the media. Get involved by reading the CFIST Report on Torture and taking action with us to demand the pardoning of all torture survivors.”
And watch “Not One More Hour,” a livestream recorded yesterday. You’ll hear searing testimonials from mothers and fathers of incarcerated survivors of police torture. Hear also about the advocacy work done by CAARPR and by MAMAS Collective – and ways you can take action.
Watch recording of Not One More Hour for testimonials from parents + advocacy info
ACT
- Sign the letter to State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, calling on her to release survivors of police torture.
- Find other actions at CAARPR’s CFIST page.
The SAFE-T: Smart on Safety
Let’s be smart on safety. All of us want safe communities, but cynical players use “tough on crime” rhetoric to defeat political opponents or undercut bills like Illinois’s SAFE-T Act, which is approved by civil liberties organizations and survivor groups alike.
The Illinois SAFE-T Act is a criminal justice reform bill passed in 2021 and revised early in 2022. Along with other measures, this act created new accountability for police, including limits on the use of excessive force, and, though its component, the Pretrial Fairness Act, it will end the state’s cash bail system. (See description of the SAFE-T Act/HB 3653 via the Civic Federation).
IL State Senator Robert Peters, a champion of the SAFE-T Act, said, “I want to uplift the voices of advocates and empower them to help create real solutions to violence in our communities and not surrender to the political theater of the past.”
Sen Peters &some of the survivor advocates discussing SAFE-T Act: WATCHWatch & Learn:Listen to the panel of survivor advocates Senator Peters convened last week to discuss the SAFE-T Act and how it will help to increase public safety and justice: recording here.
Act: Illinois GOP lawmakers are trying to dismantle the Pretrial Fairness Act, which is part of the SAFE-T Act. Fight back! Tell your lawmaker to defend the Pretrial Fairness Act – via Color of Change, send a quick letter to your state rep.
Newsletter Notes
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Indivisible Chicago-South Side
Email: Indiv.Chi.South@gmail.com
Follow IC-SS on Facebook and Twitter
Co-Leaders: Sarah Lincoln, Esther Peters,
Betsy Rubin, Teri Watkins
About: Group & Co-Leader Statements
