The deadline to RSVP to attend virtually or request child watch is Monday, June 16th.

Our chapter convention acts as one of our quarterly general meetings and is where we gather to debate and decide on our direction for the next year by voting on the authorization and/or re-authorization of chapter priority campaigns, hear from candidates seeking election as one of our Chapter Officers, and vote on other proposals submitted by members.

The convention will be a bit different than recent chapter meetings. First, we’re at a new venue. The convention will be held in the Riaz H. Waraich Auditorium at The Flats @ East-West University, which is in the downtown South Loop neighborhood. This venue will end up being much more affordable for us than other spaces we’ve used in the past, which means more money that can be spent on chapter organizing. The convention is also going to be a Saturday, not a Sunday, and it’s going to be... longer. Technically.

The current order of business for the convention is as follows and may be subject to change. Check-in for members will begin at 10:30AM with time for socializing over (free) coffee. Given the need for attendees to both check-in with the building security at the front desk (please bring a photo ID) on the first floor and then with chapter volunteers on the 5th floor to receive their voting card, and given the high attendance at our last two chapter meetings meetings, we ask that you plan to arrive no later than 11AM to check-in.

The meeting will be formally called to order at 11:30AM. From there will be an opening keynote address from a TBD guest speaker, a review of the Feminist Process and Roberts Rules of Order, and procedural votes to adopt the meeting's special rules and agenda. After that there will be reports on our political work from chapter committees and organizational reports from Chapter Officers followed by a TBD political education program.

At 1PM we will recess for a 1 hour lunch break. Note: we will not be providing lunch for attendees, though we will have some light snacks and beverages available throughout the meeting. We recommend that attendees either get lunch in the area (there are many options) or bring their own. Grant Park is steps away and a perfect place to picnic at with comrades or take a stroll through and enjoy what will hopefully be a sunny last day of spring.

The meeting will reconvene at 2PM for a forum of candidates running for Chapter Officer positions. Afterwards we will proceed to New Business (i.e., debate and voting on member submitted proposals). At 4:20PM (or sooner, depending on the tempo of new business and the number of proposals submitted) we will close the meeting and sing “Solidarity Forever” and formally adjourn by 4:30PM.

We know it’s asking a lot to spend 5 hours of your Saturday for this meeting. Our convention is our most important meeting of the year and we want to ensure that there is enough time for our membership to come together and set a clear direction for the year ahead. We are hoping that the lunch hour will give people plenty of time to eat and stretch their legs outside, and also give people the opportunity to arrive later in the afternoon if they just want to participate in the deliberative half of the meeting. This will be a hybrid meeting with members able to participate by attending in-person on by Zoom, but we highly encourage you to attend in-person if you can. We will again plan to offer child watch for parents on site as well.

Want to submit a proposal for consideration at the chapter convention? You can submit one using this form here. The deadline for Constitution and Bylaws (“C/B”) changes is May 30th and the deadline for resolutions is June 11th. We are excited to announce that members of the Executive Committee have been working on a package of potential C/B amendments to bring to the convention for consideration which should be released in the next week or so.

Interested in running for Chapter Officer or Branch Leadership? Submit your nomination through the forms linked above by June 15th.

To make our chapter convention a success we need a number of volunteers who can help both day of and in the lead up to the meeting. Sign up to volunteer here and join us at the next Logistics, Planning, and Organizing committee this Sunday to help us make our chapter convention the best it can be.