I’m A Clubwoman

Legislation Day

by karen on 03/15/09 at 2:28 pm

GFWC Illinois Visits the State Capitol

Every year GFWC Illinois schedules Legislation Day.  It’s a day in our state capital for our members.  This year there were about 60 ladies that attended.  The morning began with a short speeches from two of our state representatives.  Then we were addressed by a representative from our state Special Project, A Safe Place for Every Child, Prevent Child Abuse, Illinois.  Our brand new governor, Pat Quinn, was scheduled to speak to us, but he was busy in meetings with the heads of the Senate and House of Representatives.

Carolyn Brown Hodge

So we were very fortunate to have his Deputy Chief of Staff, Carolyn Brown Hodge address us instead.  She is a dynamic, informed woman leader who inspired us with her descriptions of Gov. Quinn’s agenda.  Carolyn publishes a bi-weekly mailing list that makes information easy to find on topics such as grants that are available.  Any Illinois resident can subscribe to her mailing list by emailing her a note at Carolyn.BrownHodge@Illinois.gov.  We recommend all clubs avail themselves of this service.

After lunch, which was included in the schedule of the day, we were off to visit the Capitol on our own.  Our little group was fortunate to find our local State Senator in his office.  He welcomed us in and right away started to explain a local highway improvement project.  We had a wonderful visit and took pictures with our Michael Bond.

State Senator Michael Bond

Our group went down to Springfield, a 5 hour drive, a day early.  On Tuesday, we visited the new Abraham Lincoln Museum and then had dinner with our local State Representative, Joanne Osmond.  If you live anywhere in the Midwest, I recommend a special trip to the museum!  It’s only a year old, so it makes excellent use of the newest multi-media presentations to bring Abraham Lincoln to life.

Pat Rung, Mabel Lou Weber, Karen Erb at Lincoln Museum, Springfield, IL

Our representative, like her Senate counterpart the next day, couldn’t wait to tell us about the highway project most likely to impact our community.

Citizens need to take a little time to get to know their legislators.  It was terrific experience for all of us.  Not only did we get to bond with our sisters from all over the state, we got a real education on what the daily life of a law maker is all about.  I can’t stress the importance of an educated electorate to you.  I guess this is really my “Passion Project!”

Memorable quote:  “Nothing moves fast in a Democracy!”…Carolyn Brown Hodge