**PRESS RELEASE**

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Indivisible Illinois Endorses Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth for 48th Ward Alderperson

Indivisible Illinois, a progressive, grassroots organization with chapters around the state, is proud to endorse Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth in her bid to represent the 48th ward on the Chicago City Council.

Leni is the embodiment of all that the progressive movement represents. Her entire life has been devoted to improving the lives of ordinary people like herself through political change and social reform. As a lifelong resident of Chicago and the child of immigrants, she knows the hard work and determination it takes to live and thrive in Chicago, through her own lived experience. 

• Leni is a long-time small-business owner in Andersonville. With her business experience, she is well-placed to represent other small-business owners in the 48th ward when they have needs or issues with the city.
  

• Leni was born and raised in Chicago and attended Chicago public schools, as have her children. She was recently active in organizing parents of Jones College Prep High School to fight against harassment and discrimination at the school. She is now eager to pursue reform of the entire public school system.
  

• As a member of two targeted communities (Asian-American and LGBTQ+), she knows intimately the problems and fear of violence faced by minority communities. She is committed to working with all groups to prevent discrimination and ensure safety, regardless of ethnic or religious origin.
  

• In 2017, she co-founded Indivisible Illinois to promote progressive policies throughout the state. The organization now has chapters from the Wisconsin border to the southern tip of the state, including Andersonville’s Indivisible IL9. She is also the co-founder of the Indivisible Illinois Racism, Equity, and Inclusion team.
  

• A big believer in motivating people to vote, Leni founded ILVOTE, a non-partisan voter registration organization certified by the Illinois State Board of Elections. ILVOTE actively engages with everyone from high school students to seniors to ensure that every eligible citizen registers and turns out to vote. The group, which started with two chapters in Chicago and Cook County, now has several chapters throughout the state.
  

Says Scott Cross, Indivisible Illinois co-founder and co-leader, “Leni is an inspiring and amazing person to work with. She’s the kind of person who enjoys helping people and changing things for the better. I know she will work tirelessly for the residents of the 48th ward because she loves this community. For all these reasons, there is no doubt in our minds that the only choice for 48th ward alderperson is Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth.”

###

Five Downstate Candidates Discuss How to Win Elections in Traditionally Rural Illinois

Indivisible Rural Illinois, on  August 3, hosted four rural Democrats from the Metro East area plus the first-time Congressional candidate for IL-13 at the weekly Indivisible Illinois Community Collaborative meeting to discuss how to win in traditionally Rural Illinois. They are State Senator Chris Belt, representing the 57th Senate District; State Senator Kris Tharp, representing the 56th Senate District; State Rep. Jay Hoffmann, representing the 113th State House District; State Rep. LaToya Greenwood, representing the 114th State House District; and Nikki Budzinski, a first-time candidate in the newly drawn IL-13, which covers a swath of Rural Illinois from Champaign County to Metro East. Hear how they’ve managed to run and win, and plan to do it again, despite the wide swaths of Red in Rural Illinois. https://bit.ly/3BUhYNQ

I was honored to be one of 36 State Campaign Organizers hired around the Nation by The Repairers of the Breach. Their goal was to mobilize and organize Illinois and other States to get folks out to the Low Wage Workers and Moral March on Washington DC on June 18th. I was honored to work with Illinois Poor People’s Campaign and some fantastic organizers and activists in Illinois and the surrounding states. With the help of friends, allies, and organizers, we signed up 45 people from Southern Illinois! Indivisible Metro East sent some members to the March, Illinois showed up and showed out! Making so many new connections with many different organizers and activists were terrific. We worked hard together and built a strong camaraderie to help organize and mobilize our people to the polls this November!

 -Forward Together, Not One Step Back.

Jessica Motsinger is the founder and coordinator of Indivisible Metro East, Co-coordinator for the Indivisible Illinois Connecting for Action Statewide Newsletter and a Co-coordinator with Indivisible Rural Illinois. She is also a member of Common Defense, the largest grassroots membership organization of progressive veterans standing up for communities against the rising tide of racism, hate, and violence.

All photos below courtesy Jessica Motsinger.

Photo above: left to right: Carlos Rodriguez (Illinois Poor People’s Campaign), Daisy Carter (Sunrise Movement, KY), Michael Stinson (Illinois Poor People’s Campaign) and Jessica Motsinger

Courts Matter to Voting Rights & Protection

A Program to increase Awareness and Understanding of the Fundamental Right to Vote and How it Relates to Our Judicial System

The overturning of Roe vs Wade despite the leak of the draft opinion was a stunning occurrence with the reverberations still being felt today.  How did this happen?  We know that it was decades in the making. The creation of the Federalist Society and massive amounts of investments are just part of the story.  The change in our judicial system toward a more conservative slant appears prevalent at all levels from appellate to circuit to the highest court in the land.  Where do we go from here? How do we start? The VBM Taskforce is proud to host a presentation by Courts Matter IL to give us a deep dive into our judiciary system.  In order to return power to the people, we must understand how the fundamental right to vote is tied to our Courts.  We welcome you to join us to increase our understanding and harness that power to fight for our voting rights, reproductive freedom and gun violence prevention.  

Marching from the Federal Triangle to Pennsylvania and Third Avenues where thousands gathered for the rally. Photos above: Candace Davis

Read:

Field Team 6 identifies unregistered voters, likely Democrats, especially those who identify as LGBTQ+ or are strong allies. When we reach out and help LGBTQ+ voters register and vote, they can shift the balance in their state to make sure every LGBTQ+ person can live openly and freely.

• Statistically, 1 in 5 LGBTQ+ folks are eligible but not registered to vote.
• In 2016, 1 in 5 of those registered voters did not vote in the election.
• In 2020 turnout was nearly 90%, among registered queer voters, with 81% voting for Biden.

We will not give up until ALL Americans have access to the ballot box. Massive voter registration needs to happen before Midterm elections. Working together – we will get the job done.

Please join us at 11:55 AM CDT on Sat., June 25th for the noon start and learn how YOU can help!

Signup link: https://bit.ly/IISJA_VR_LGBTQ_plus

JOIN THE VBM TASKFORCE AND WISDEMS ON THURSDAYS AT 5:30PM CDT FOR WEEKLY PHONEBANKS TO THE SWING STATE OF WISCONSIN!

Wisconsin is one of only a few “swing states” in the country where elections always come down to a handful of votes. This year may be no different with crucial elections for U.S. Senate and Governor and other important races up and down the ballot. As the Midterms approach and in light of Republican efforts in Washington and Wisconsin to strip away fundamental rights and freedoms and to tamper with the election process itself, it is crucial that we get as many Democrat-leaning Wisconsinites out to vote as possible.

In a recent election, over 90% of Wisconsin voters who requested mail-in ballots actually voted! And so, we are calling into Wisconsin to reach out to infrequent voters (who we believe lean Democratic) to help them request absentee ballots for the rest of the year.

Please join us for this important work! The phone bank will be from 6:00-8:00pm Central Time, with training for newer volunteers or anyone who needs a refresher at 5:30pm. Even if you cannot make the entire session, please join us for whatever time you have!

Find out more and signup:  https://act.indivisible.org/event/local-actions/166503

Indivisible IL9 hosts Hoan Huynh discussing how we can build back better on the Northside of Chicago and statewide.

Since 2017, Indivisibles across the nation have turned out to resist fascism and protect our democracy. We have done it before and we will do it again. Grassroots are on the forefront of this fight to expand and engage everyday people to vote for their values. Join us!