Register to vote:  Now until February 21st.  An application can be downloaded from the web site below.

Mail Ballots that replaces the absentee ballot:  February 9 through March 15th

You may download an application or call 312-603-0946. Remember you must indicate your party preference.

Grace period for voter registration: February 22 – March 13th

Only available at Cook County Clerk offices located downtown Chicago and Rolling Meadows courthouse  Room 238.

Early voting:   February 27 through March 15 designated locations details yet to be posted

For further details go to www.voterinfonet.com

Interested in being an election judges:  Call 312-269-7984 or apply online.

These are NOT HanDI’s Endorsements

- – - – -

Cook County Democratic Party endorses Candidates on October 6, 2011

for 2012 Primary Election on March 20, 2011

Cook County Budget Deficit:

New Site Asks Residents How They Would Fix Budget Shortfall

The Huffington Post   Lizzie Schiffman   First Posted: 8/9/11 12:58 PM ET Updated: 8/9/11 02:13 PM ET

How would you fix Cook County’s $315 million budget shortfall? An interactive “Budget” section launched Tuesday on the Cook County government website lets residents take the county’s $3.1 billion budget into their own hands by adjusting current revenue and expenditure allocations to tweak the deficit total.

For example, by sliding the “government funding” bar down to half its current size and tripling the sales tax, the budget would be fixed! With the “Tell Toni” page, one can submit those suggestions to Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, who will review them before the preliminary budget hearing August 25.

Read the complete article here

This shock caused us to reflect outside of ourselves, outside of USA.  We were slapped into looking at this world in a different way followed by our response.

We are here this weekend at Camp Wellstone because we believe in positive change through peaceful action.  In the words of Senator Wellstone, “Politics is not just about power and money games. Politics can be about the improvement of people’s lives, about lessening human suffering in our world and bringing about more peace and more justice.”

On 9-11, the arc of the moral universe took as sharp turn.

Being here today is slowly correcting that sharp turn by bending that arc back towards justice.

To continue this bend toward justice let focus on the love.  The loving messages and conversations left by the 9-11 victims with their family.  At this time, we will observe a moment of silence that builds on that love.

The bell will sound 5 times:

• For the World Trade Center’s North Tower (1 WTC) and American Airlines Flight 11
• For the World Trade Center’s South Tower (2 WTC) and United Airlines Flight 175
• For the Pentagon and American Airlines Flight 77
• For the United Airlines Flight 93 in Shanksville PA where many lives were saved due to their heroism
• For the first responders of WTC lost during on 9-11 and the recovery teams working at the WTC that we continue to lose today.

CLOSING of Camp Wellstone on 9/11/2011 – Schaumburg, Illinois.

Hundreds of rescuers died alongside the people they had heroically attempted to save.  Their mission – to save lives. They understood humanity and the sacrifice to save the humanity.  Let’s take that message to Congress.  They must execute the courage that the first responders had on 9-11.  They need to serve and stand up for humanity and for what is right for this country; not for their political career.

Click here to register now

HanDI and our local partner organizations are thrilled to announce that registration is now open for Camp Wellstone, the three-day progressive training camp to be held right here in suburban Chicago!

Check here for the Camp Wellstone 2011 flyer.

- Electoral Campaigns: Tools and Tactics for Success

- Citizen Activism: Grassroots Advocacy and Organizing

- Being a Candidate: How to Run and Win a Progressive Campaign

Much more information about the Camp Wellstone curriculum is available on their website.

Enrollment is limited:  sign up today!

HanDI is seeking partners to help publicize Camp Wellstone-Schaumburg and recruit attendees for the event. If you represent a local group and are interested in getting involved, please contact us at the email or phone number below.

Questions: hanovertdi@gmail.com, 630-213-3325

On the weekend of June 10 and 11, Hanover Township celebrated its annual Freedom Bash, and HanDI was there.  Several of us volunteered at the donations booth, where we accepted gifts of “comfort items” to be sent to troops abroad. Then on Saturday evening, the usual suspects (and family) gathered to dine on hot dogs, hear the musical performances, and (for the younger set) get airborne in the bounce house. Half-empty view: the weather was cool and drizzly. Half-full view: no waiting in lines!

The theme of Freedom Bash is “support the troops,” and some of us had expressed concerns about lending HanDI’s name to the event as a co-sponsor, since this phrase is often twisted to mean, “accept unconditionally the military and foreign policy of whatever administration is in power right now.”  I’m glad we followed through on Trudy’s suggestion, and she and I spent a few hours on Saturday afternoon conversing with the other occupants of the donation tent, who were there to represent Operation Support Our Troops America. Volunteers Joe and Diane are both parents of servicemen, and they offered a nuanced perspective on the US involvement in Iraq that I found refreshing. It was also startling to learn how much service people crave these comfort items, which are not provided as part of their standard military rations and which are not even available for purchase from the “PX” when troops are working far out in the field. For example, mouthwash and eye drops are an antidote to the dry, sandy conditions of the desert. Let’s hope these troops continue to get the support mot just from sympathetic members of the general public but also from their government, in the form of adequate medical and psychological treatment for as long as they need it.

PBS Need to Know: Crisis Mapping

May 13, 2011 Alison Stewart

There are now 6.8 billion people on the planet. And about 5 billion cell phones.
This extraordinary ability to connect has turned a modern convenience into a lifeline through a system called crisis mapping. It first gained prominence after the earthquake in Haiti, when people used their cell phones to send text messages to a centralized response team. Since then, crisis mapping has been used to help victims in emergency zones following the tornadoes in the Midwest, the earthquake in Japan and the unrest in the Middle East.

Today, there are world-wide network of volunteers in more than 50 countries creating maps of crises around the world, using a system that incorporates the lessons learned in Haiti.

Neighbors gathered on Arbor day to clean up Surrey Woods in Streamwood

This Arbor Day, April 30, HanDI members Maureen and Rick (plus kids) joined other Streamwood residents to clean up Surrey Woods park, off Route 59.  (Although the event was not sponsored by HanDI, it did align with our group’s commitment to environmental issues, so M. & R. embraced the opportunity to volunteer!) The work was harder than they had expected. In addition to the usual minor debris (candy wrappers, pop cans, and that tumbleweed of the urbanized world, the plastic grocery bag) there was also a shocking amount of material that had been intentionally dumped, including a roll of wire cable, plastic garden edging strips, and even some lumber with nails sticking out. There was also a conspicuous amount of organic waste (lawn clippings, etc.) apparently left by nearby homeowners.

The organizer of the cleanup, Miegan W., had thoughtfully brought a wheelbarrow to carry the heavier refuse, as well as garbage bags, gloves, and extension grabbers borrowed from the Streamwood Park District. Miegan and other returning park cleaners told the newcomers that the woods had been far worse last year, when they had to cart out abandoned furniture. Apparently many Streamwood residents don’t know (or don’t care) that the garbage service contracted by the village will take almost anything that you leave out on the curb. Really, they will.

HanDI learned about this event via Miegan’s announcement on earthday.org. Many thanks to this great community volunteer for her inspiring work right here in our township!