The KCDW annual meeting on January 11, 2025, featured a special guest speaker: Lt. Governor Juliana Stratton. Members, local politicians, and county residents attended the event to hear the call to action from the lieutenant governor who acknowledged that we are currently living in challenging times when justice, equity, and opportunity for many people are under attack. She reminded us that the municipal elections are coming up in April 2025, and local elections such as those for mayor, clerk, alderperson or trustee, school board, library board, and park district board can have a significant impact on our daily lives in the present and in the future. Our first step should be to check the records of the candidates who are running. When women are elected and given leadership roles, the effects are profound. By voting and electing candidates at the local level, we are building a bench of strong, capable leaders who may move from a local office to a state office or from a state office to a national office. These leaders are fostering a culture of leadership that will continue throughout generations.
Presently, we are at a critical moment in history. Democracy is under attack, and there are threats to reproductive rights, attacks on minorities, and attacks on education with a call to ban books and deny the truth about history. We must stand together and push back to change the culture of leadership that is happening throughout the U.S. By our actions, we show that change is possible if we stand up and speak out against injustice. Our voices matter, and we have the power to make a difference.
Fortunately, our current state government in Illinois promotes the well-being of women. The Illinois Council on Women and Girls was formed to advise the governor and general assembly on policy issues affecting women and girls in Illinois. Members of the Council suggest policies that advance the participation of women and girls in politics and put in place programs that advocate equitable pay, opportunities for academic growth, protection from sexual harassment, access to reproductive healthcare, and freedom from violence. We should use the resources from this council to bring about changes throughout our state in both urban and rural areas.
Lt. Governor Stratton concluded by reminding us that the work we do today matters. Working on campaigns and having conversations with people in our community are parts of a larger story taking place throughout the country. It is a story of hope that we as women are writing together throughout the nation. To achieve our goals we need courage, passion, and the belief in what is possible. When women work together, they are unstoppable.
