League of Women Voters of Illinois (LWVIL) collection

The League of Women Voters of Illinois' central office communicated with local leagues throughout the state. The state board of directors produced a comprehensive activities report every year to the national office in Washington, D.C. This sub-series covers the years 1922 to the present and includes official board reports, memoranda to league officials, and state sequence materials. Toward the end of this sub-series, the state sequence materials provide an in depth look at how the league operated on a day-to-day basis.

As a member of the National American Woman Suffrage Association (the precursor to the League of Women Voters), Susan B. Anthony fought throughout the 19th and early 20th century for women's right to vote. Two of her letters to younger members of the association can be found in this sub-series. Consisting of materials from1922 to the present, the sub-series also contains newspaper clippings and written correspondence between the league president and local league members.

On a biannual basis, members from across the state convened to discuss future league programs and agendas. In other years, local presidents would meet with the state board to plan for upcoming conventions and program conferences. In 1981, the state convention was held in southern Wisconsin to protest the Illinois legislature rescinding its endorsement of the Equal Rights Amendment. Materials also depict interim meetings and program conferences. This sub-series relates to the years 1922 to the present and consists of convention minutes, transcripts, publicity and various brochures.

As a non-profit corporation, the League of Women Voters of Illinois was continually in need of funding for its various projects and educational programs. Funding for the league came from membership dues, donations, and various fundraising campaigns. In fiscal year 1972-1973, local leagues spent 59 percent of the local, state, and national budgets. Materials in this sub-series cover the years 1921-1991 and include local and state budgets, treasury reports, and fundraising programs.

Because the League of Women Voters of Illinois maintained a decentralized bureaucratic structure, many local leagues outside of Chicago ran voter registration and education drives in smaller communities. They received most of their materials from the state and national offices concerning political party platforms, but candidates for office consistently provided local leagues in their home districts with specific opinions on local issues and government. This sub-series consists of the years 1916 to the present and contains pamphlets, voter guides, election statistics, and correspondence. Sub-series comprises 2.5 linear feet of textual materials (5 boxes).

In the mid-1970s, the League of Women Voters began to host debates between candidates running for national, state, and local offices. As a non-partisan organization, many candidates felt the league to be not only legitimate but the best way to connect with individual voters. This sub-series contains materials from 1946 to the present and includes correspondence, reports, candidate questionnaires, newspaper clippings, and the rules of each debate the league administered.

Each year members of the League of Women Voters of Illinois would vote on a league platform and agenda for work. This democratic process led the league into lobbying and fighting for reforms in government at the local, state and national level. This sub-series contains documents from 1921 to the present, including brochures, programs, league studies, booklets, court cases files, correspondence, and newspaper clippings. This sub-series documents the Illinois league's presence at the state house as well as at county courthouses and at school board meetings.

In order to educate its members on government and voting, the League of Women Voters of Illinois created several legislative seminars and workshops. These seminars instructed women on their rights as citizens, the legislative process, and how to effectively run meetings and budgets at a local level. This sub-series, illustrating the years 1922-1989, contains newspaper clippings, correspondence, booklets, newsletters, and buttons.