LETTER FROM THE CHAIR – FEBRUARY 2023.
By Julia Kennedy Beckman, DGTDO Chair
DGTDO continues to be active and involved in our township community. Right wing radical groups like Awake Illinois and even Proud Boys have been appearing at school board, library board and village council meetings since the beginning of the pandemic. Now they are running candidates in the April election for many of these boards and councils across the state. Our organization is answering the challenge by offering support to those candidates who share our values, truly American values: diversity in staff and differences in students, providing a full range of education, including accurate history and critical thinking.
We are committed to providing door knocking, phone calling, postcard writing, and sponsoring events — all to let the voting public know who the “good guys” are. We can all be proud of how we are standing tall in these important races. Our township includes 3 high schools and at least 11 elementary districts; 7 communities; several library and park districts, most of whom have an election on April 4. When a good candidate calls, answer the phone or door and help out!
We are already looking ahead to the 2024 election, whose petition gathering begins this August/September! A committee is beginning to construct a strategic plan which you’ll hear more about in the coming weeks. During the months between April and September, we will concentrate on expanding our organization, bringing more activists into our “big tent”. Please start thinking now how you can strengthen our presence so that we are ready for a challenging election campaign.