News from Democratic Women of DuPage County (Corrected) · DuPage Airport Authority (8 or 9 members, at least 2 women, one of whom is the Secretary) Regional Transport Authority (16

In this issueMessage From thePresidentNote from the EditorGreetings from JuliaYour Membership

<Back PrintYou're receiving this email because of your relationship with Democratic Women of DuPage County. Please confirmyour continued interest in receiving email from us. You may unsubscribe if you no longer wish to receive our emails.

Democratic Women of DuPage CountyNewsletter (Corrected)

Reflecting Back and Reaching Forward March 2010c

It was discovered after the newsletter was sentout that technological glitches had createdmultiple 'typos'. Please enjoy this correctedversion and let us know if you see any otherproblems.---------------------------------------------

The Democratic Women of DuPage County (DWDC) is recognized by the DemocraticParty of Illinois and was founded to create a forum for Democratic Women to worktogether to promote the ideals of the Democratic Party and to foster the participation ofwomen in all levels of the Democratic Party.

Our objective is to unite women of the Democratic Party and to encourage fullparticipation of women in every level of the Democratic Party Structure:

To recruit, develop and support women;To promote cooperation among women in politics;To enhance the participation of DuPage Democratic women by providingeducational, social and networking experiences and opportunities.

Message From the PresidentA study by Catalyst found that "Fortune 500companies with the highest percentage of womenon their boards experienced equity returns thatwere 53 percent higher than those with thefewest number of women on the board over thefour-year span of the study. Furthermore, there isan increase in performance for companies with atleast three women on the board. Companies in

News from Democratic Women of DuPage County (Corrected) https://ui.constantcontact.com/templates/previewer.jsp?format=...

1 of 6 7/25/10 9:07 PM

this group managed a 16.7 percent return onequity compared with 11.5 percent for theaverage company during the period."

In 2003 Norway passed legislation to requirewomen on company boards. Norway now has thehighest proportion of women on boards anywherein the world with 44.2% - up from 6% in 2001.

The proportion of female directors among US Fortune 500 firms is 15.2%.

In a bill submitted to the French parliament in December 2009, all companieslisted on the Paris stock exchange would have to ensure females made up 50%of their board members by 2015.

The current DuPage County Board has three women members out of eighteen,one a Republican whose term expires this year and who chose not to run forreelection. The Republican primary candidates did not include a single woman.Three Democratic women won in uncontested primaries. If they are all threeelected, we will have a County Board with five women out of 18, or 28%. Wealso have an opportunity to elect a Democratic woman as County Board Chair.

Achieving membership on elected boards is obviously different from appointedboards. One of the objectives of DWDC is to train and recruit more womencandidates, which over time will help the gender balance in elected positions.But the elected DuPage County Board makes appointments to many otherBoards and Commissions, such as:

DuPage Board of Health (10 members, 2 women)Zoning Board of Appeals (7 members, all men as of the minutes of April 2,2009, the last posted)DuPage Airport Authority (8 or 9 members, at least 2 women, one ofwhom is the Secretary)Regional Transport Authority (16 members, 1 woman)Downers Grove Sanitary District (3 men)

The DuPage County Board does not even have applications or applicationinformation on their website, for men or women. Appointment is a closedprocess controlled by a fraternity of men.

I lived for eight years in a small town in Iowa, eighteen years ago. At the time,they had a local ordinance requiring gender balance on all appointed boards andcommissions. I spoke with the mayor last week - they still have the ordinance.Gender balance on appointed boards and commissions gives women theopportunity to make a contribution, to learn the ropes, and in some cases, growinto candidates for elected office, while giving to the community the benefit oftheir ideas, energy and perspective.


2 of 6 7/25/10 9:07 PM

I would like to challenge you to do at least one of the following:

Learn who are the members of your local Town or Village government;Find a local, township or county board or commission and learn who themembers are;Select a local, township or county board or commission and follow theiractions by attending or reading their online minutes; orGet involved - seek appointment to a local, township or county board orcommission!

If becoming more involved in the Democratic Women of DuPage County is whatwould interest you, please contact me at [email protected]

Karol Sole, President

Read about the Catalyst study...

Note from the EditorThe motto of the DWDC's Newsletter is "Reflecting Back and Reaching Forward".To that worthy goal I would like to add, "While Building the Present". The goal ofour Newsletter is to honor and respect the efforts and accomplishments of pastgenerations of women and mentor our future women leaders, while building aPresent that reflects the Past and enables the Future. Thus, I would like toprevail upon our Membership and Friends to feel free to offer article ideas, actualarticles and suggestions of women that we may approach for articles. It is hopedthat the Newsletter, in conjunction with our other outreach media, will becomethe voice and vision of the DWDC. But, for that to occur, we need the ideas,suggestions, vision and goals of our Membership and Friends to become a partof our voice.

Please feel free to contact me at [email protected]

Susan Lubonovich, Editor

Greetings from JuliaThis is my first greeting to fellow Democratic Womenof DuPage members and friends since I became yourPresident-Elect. Thanks to all who attended oursecond Annual Meeting Brunch in January and votedfor our slate of officers. I am proud of the goals wehave accomplished in our first two years.

In the next two years, we officers want to achieve


3 of 6 7/25/10 9:07 PM

so much more. Here are some of my personalwishes for the DWDC:

Now that we have put down our roots and established our organization, let'sreach out to many more Democratic women and double the size of ourorganization. That means adding some 50 more members this year. To put itanother way, if each of us current members brought in someone new, the goalwould be reached.

Conduct at least two solid training sessions with experienced campaigners whohave helped their candidates win.

And, most importantly, raise money so that the DWDC can give meaningfulfinancial assistance to the candidates we support. Our goals are to showcase,help and elect women candidates to office in DuPage County.

I am excited about the possibilities for DWDC. Join us in our quest to improve thequality of Illinois government!

Julia Kennedy Beckman, President-Elect

Your MembershipAre you interested in helping women get elected? Women who care about thesame issues that you care about and who will fight for those issues?

Are you interested in networking with women from across DuPage County? If so,then membership in the DWDC is for you! The DWDC works together to promotethe ideals of the Democratic Party and to foster the participation of women in alllevels of the Democratic Party.

As a member you can participate in any of the following committees:

Bylaws: Proposes Bylaws changes.

Campaign/Liaison: Coordinates volunteers to work in campaigns of candidateswho support the purposes of DWDC and issues endorsed by the DemocraticParty. Act as liaison for DWDC with various Democratic Party organizations.

Finance/Fundraising Committee: Prepares an annual budget for theorganization, has general supervision of all expenditures and assists theorganization in developing a sound financial policy. Organizes fundraisingprojects.

Issues Management: Plans and implements a well-coordinated annualprogram based on DWDC objectives. Chaired by the President-Elect.


4 of 6 7/25/10 9:07 PM

Legislation: Studies local, county and state legislative needs in order to makerecommendations to the organization.

Membership: Promotes, expands, stabilizes and orients the membership.Chaired by the Vice-President.

Newsletter and Public Relations: Directs press, radio and television servicesof the organization; creates and distributes the DWDC newsletter.

Senate District Coordinators: Each senate District Coordinator will help tocoordinate publicity and fundraising within their Senate District.

Training/Education: Coordinates programs to be presented at regular andspecial meetings of the DWDC for the purpose of educating Democrats in thefunction and participation in the Democratic Party and the political process.

Union Liaison: Acts as liaison for DWDC with the unions in DuPage County.

Young Democratic Woman: Encourages recruitment of young people intomembership and organizes appropriate activities and awards.

To become a member or to renew your membership, simply send your check for$25.00 to

Democratic Women of Dupage CountyP.O. Box 224Glen Ellyn, IL 60138

New members: please add a $5.00 processing fee. Your check for $30.00 shouldbe sent to the above address.

We look forward to your participation in helping our membership grow andelecting more Democratic women to office.

Laura Fletcher, Vice President, Membership

Paid for by the Democratic Women of DuPage County. A copy of our report is (or will be) available forpurchase from the Du Page County Clerk. Donations to the Democratic Women of DuPage County are

not tax deductible.

Quick Links...Democratic Women of DuPage Visit our facebook page


5 of 6 7/25/10 9:07 PM

County website

Illinios Democratic Women

email: [email protected]

Forward email

This email was sent to [email protected] by [email protected] Profile/Email Address | Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe™ | Privacy Policy.

Email Marketing by

Democratic Women of DuPage County | P.O. Box 224 | Glen Ellyn | IL | 60138


6 of 6 7/25/10 9:07 PM

Documents

News from Democratic Women of DuPage County (Corrected) · DuPage Airport Authority (8 or 9 members, at least 2 women, one of whom is the Secretary) Regional Transport Authority (16