Winning elections take people willing to work. Democrats need to take the U.S. House. To make it happen, Democrats need to win in Illinois and other Midwestern states.
Northside DFA is a Chicago affiliate of Democracy for America (Wikipedia (DFA)).
The mission of Northside DFA is to elect socially progressive, fiscally responsible, ethically committed Democrats to all levels of government. NDFA accomplishes this by getting members active in campaigns as volunteers.
On Tuesday, NDFA is holding our monthly meeting at the Lincoln Restaurant, 4008 N. Lincoln, Chicago. The social hour starts at 6 PM. The formal meeting starts at 7 PM.
You are invited!
NDFA has four speakers scheduled.
Wendy Katten of Raise Your Hand will speak about Chicago Public Schools and the ongoing contract negotiation with Chicago Public Schools, as well as the issues Raise Your Hand has identified as most pressing for CPS.
Jorge Sanchez or Mexican American Legal Defense Foundation (MALDEF) will speak about the ward map passed by the city council. While the average ward size is over 53,000+ the largest wards are 4,000 residents bigger and the smallest wards are 4,000 residents smaller. The pattern was not only to protect incumbents, but to protect Black and Irish alderman on the South Side while diminishing the influence of Latinos and voters on the North Side.
Julie Morrison is running for state senate in Chicago's northern suburbs. The seat is being vacated by Sen. Susan Garrett (link, ) (D-Lake Forest)
Carl Wasco is running for a vacant state representative seat in Rockford.
If you live on the North Side and read Daily Kos, NDFA wants you.
There are no membership dues to join NDFA. If you want to just come for the meeting, you don't have to buy any food.
NDFA decides whom to endorse and adopted based on votes by the "voting members". One becomes a voting member by attending three meetings in the last year and attending three campaign activities for endorsed or adopted candidates. Campaign activities include: knocking on doors, making phone calls, working on mailings, attending fundraisers and other activities deemed supportive by the campaigns. For instance, one of our older members does a great deal of data entry for our endorsed campaigns.
If you read Daily Kos, your values are probably similar to the people who are already active in NDFA. If you join NDFA you will be part of a community that empowers you to be part of the process and make it more reflective of the way you believe it should be.
NDFA needs people like you to transform Chicago politics. And you need organizations like NDFA.
This election cycle NDFA has adopted Leslie Coolidge (D-Barrington Hills), who is challenging U.S. Rep. Peter Roskam. Because U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh is such a lightening rod, sometimes people overlook the extreme Right Wing politics of some of Illinois' other Republicans. Roskam is a movement conservative. He's as far to the Right was Walsh, but much more savvy.
Coolidge was a partner at KPMG LLP. She not only knows accounting, business and budgets. She's also an unabashed progressive on a range of issues, including gender issues and the environment. She's making the dysfunctional Congress the center of her campaign. Coolidge is not like Melissa Bean and some other suburban Democrats who try to blur the difference. Coolidge is running on the assumption there is a difference between Democrats and Republicans and it matters.
NDFA has also endorsed: Tammy Duckworth (Congress), Debra Shore and Kari Steele (Metropolitan Water Reclamation District) and Marty Moylan (state representative).
Transportation: Parking is free. It's north of Irving Park Road, west of Damen, the parking lot that says "Parking for Lincoln Restaurant". Also, the Lincoln Restaurant is two blocks west of the Brown Line (Irving Park). Three buses stop nearby, including Irving Park (#80), Damen (#50) and Lincoln (#11).
Can't come but want to be invited in the future? Email NorthsideDFA@gmail.com with your contact info and note that you want to be invited to future meetings.
Also, feel free to "like" Northside DFA's Facebook page.