About the League

League of Women Voters^®
of the Homewood-Flossmoor Area

What is our mission? How are we structured? What is our history?

Our Mission. Our History. American Institution Turns 90.

Our Mission and Roles

The League of Women Voters is a nonpartisan political organization encouraging informed and active participation in government. It influences public policy through education and advocacy. We never support or oppose any political party or candidate.
The League of Women Voters has two separate and distinct roles.

Voters Service/Citizen Education: we present unbiased nonpartisan information about elections, the voting process, and issues.

Action/Advocacy: we are also nonpartisan, but, after study, we use our positions to advocate for or against particular policies in the public interest.

To conduct our voter service and citizen education activities, we use funds from the League of Women Voters of Illoinois Education Fund, which is a 501(c)(3) corporation, a nonprofit educational organization. The League of Women Voters, a membership organization, conducts action and advocacy and is a nonprofit 501(c)(4) corporation.
Our Vision, Beliefs, and Intentions guide our activities.

History of the League of Women Voters

Read a short History of the League of Women Voters.

American Institution Turns 90

League of Women Voters Celebrates Milestone Birthday
Ninety years ago, Carrie Chapman Catt first proposed a League of Women Voters to "finish the fight" and work to end all discrimination against women. And so the League of Women Voters was founded on Valentine's Day in 1920, six months before the ratification of the 19^th Amendment giving women the right to vote. Today we are a grassroots organization with 850 Leagues throughout all 50 states. Although the League is known widely for our voter education efforts, the Homewood-Flossmoor League of Women Voters has been an institution in the Homewood-Flossmoor area for 81 years. (The League of Women Voters of Flossmoor was founded in 1929, and the LWV of Homewood was founded in 1950. These two Leagues merged in 1972, and then the Chicago Heights League became a unit of this League in 1979. Although most of of our members live in Homewood and Flossmoor, we currently have members from Chicago Heights, Country Club Hills, Frankfort, Glenwood, Hazel Crest, Olympia Fields, Matteson and many other communities in the South Suburbs.) The H-F LWV hosts candidate forums, sponsors a variety of monthly programs of public interest, registers voters, and works with other Leagues throughout the state and nation to assure that government is responsive to the will of the people. The League is strictly non-/partisan/, but we have always been political, advocating to effect change at the national and local level. As we enter into a new year, we don't know exactly what issues will confront our community. We do know that the League will be there doing what it has been trusted to do for more than 90 years: discuss the important issues, ask the difficult questions and demand accountability from our local government.. Our members join the League because they know that whatever happens to our democracy over the next 90 years, it should be up to us, the people. The League of Women Voters is /the/ organization where hands-on work to safeguard democracy leads to civic improvement, and this year, on our 90^th Anniversary, we hope you will stand with us in this work. If we don't do it, who will?
Erin Roeper, Co-president, H-F Area LWV For more information about our League, log on to: _http://hfarea.il.lwvnet.org/index.html_

Comments, suggestions, questions? Contact our webmaster. Last revised: March 16, 2010 19:56 PDT.