The Illinois Green Party 2010 State Convention will take place at Loyola University’s Lake Shore Campus in Chicago, on July 30 and 31, and August 1. The convention will feature several workshops to help candidates and volunteers prepare for the final three months of campaign season. Numerous candidates will speak, including main addresses by Rich Whitey and LeAlan Jones. On Saturday night a fundraising dinner will be held at the legendary Heartland Café.

All members are strongly encouraged to come and be part of this historic occasion! Rich and LeAlan are already polling well and major commentators feel both can win their races!

Registration & Food

REGISTER ONLINE NOW!

Convention registration is $25 per person, or $10 for students and low-income members. Waivers are also available upon request; ILGP never turns people away for inability to pay.

Loyola offers on-campus dining options – $16/day for breakfast and lunch. Vegetarian and vegan options are available. There are also some dining options available around campus.

Saturday night’s fundraiser is $40 per person, or $20 for students and low-income members.

Registration costs can be paid at the door, in advance by check, or online using our web registration form. See www.ilgp.org for a link to the form. Please register as soon as possible, even if you intend to pay at the door, so we can provide numbers to Loyola and Heartland Café.

Housing

We have made arrangements with Loyola for limited on-campus housing. Single rooms are $60 per night and double rooms are $45 per person per night. If you are seeking on-campus housing, please be sure to let us know immediately, as the rooms can only be guaranteed for a short time.

A limited number of home stays may also be available. If you are interested in a home stay, contact Walter Pituc at walter.pituc@ilgp.org or 217-819-1591.

Contact Information

For most convention-related questions, contact AJ Segneri at 815-499-2765 or aj.segneri@ilgp.org. For questions about the fundraiser, contact Rita Maniotis at 708-955-6964 or rita.maniotis@ilgp.org.

Transportation and Parking

The main campus facility is the Amoroso Auditorium in the Life Sciences Building on Sheridan Road between Kenmore and Winthrop, a short walk from the Granville or Loyola stops on the El Red Line. The CTA 151 bus goes from Union Station (Amtrak) to Loyola.

If driving from the south, take Lake Shore Drive to Sheridan Road. There are numerous east-west arteries for attendees arriving from the west. On-campus parking at Loyola is $7 per day; some attendees might wish to arrange parking and carpooling with people in Chicago.

Tentative Schedule and Agenda

Most rooms have not been assigned yet. Look to www.ilgp.org for updates in room assignments and schedule changes. Amoroso Auditorium is the Main Room.

Friday, July 30
3:00 – 7:00 Check-In / Registration – Amoroso Auditorium
3:00 – 6:00 Platform Committee Meeting – Mundelein 303
4:00 – 5:00 What is the General Assembly? – Patrick Kelly – Mundelein 418
4:00 – 5:00 Seminar: The Green Relocalization Movement – George Oschenfeld – Amoroso Auditorium

5:00 – 6:00 Dinner – Dining Hall or off campus
6:00 – 7:00 The Move to Amend: Anti-Corporate Personhood Strategies – Ben Manski – Amoroso Auditorium
7:00 – ILGP Social – The Waterfront Café, East Patio, 6219 N. Sheridan

Saturday, July 31
8:30 – 11:00 Check-In / Registration – Amoroso Auditorium
9:00 – 10:00 Political Communication – A.J. Segneri – Mundelein 418
9:00 – 10:00 Grassroots Fundraising – Rebecca Reynolds – Mundelein 506
9:00 – 10:00 Dr. David Christensen – Environmental and Governmental Breakdown – Mundelein 514
9:00 – 10:00 Privatizing Public Assets – Tom Tresser – Amoroso Auditorium
10:00 – 11:00 Nuclear Illinois: An update on legislation to end the moratorium – Dave Kraft – Mundelein 520
10:00 – 11:00 What is an election judge? – John Festa – Mundelein 506
10:00 – 11:00 Voter Data, Maps, Walk Lists – Dave Sacks – Mundelein 418
10:00 – 11:00 Platform Revisions introduction, discussion & vote – Amoroso Auditorium
11:00 – 12:00 Candidates on the Issues – Amoroso Auditorium
11:00 Scott Summers (Illinois Treasurer) – Green Party and the American Way
11:10 David Black (Illinois Attorney General) – Human Rights, Social Justice, and Civil Liberties
11:20 Erika Schafer (Illinois Comptroller) – Taxing Speculative Trades
11:30 Gerry Woods (68th State Rep) – Budget Realities
11:40 Kenneth Williams (29th State Rep) – TBA
12:00 – 1:00 Lunch – Dining Hall
1:00 – 2:00 Legal Issues When Campaigning – Andy Finko – Mundelein 418
1:00 – 2:00 TBA – Mundelein 506
1:00 – 2:00 Health Care For All in IL - Dr. Diljeet Singh, Co-chair of the IL chapter of PNHP (Physicians for a National Health Program), Introduction by Dr. Anne Scheetz - Amoroso Auditorium
2:00 – 3:00 Keynote Speaker – Rich Whitney – Amoroso Auditorium (Press Conf. follows in Mundelein 406)
3:00 – 4:00 Public Speaking – Ali Thebert – Mundelein 418
3:00 – 4:00 Urban Agriculture – Julie Samuels – Mundelein 506
3:00 – 4:00 Why Canvass? An overview of canvassing – Rebecca Reynolds – Mundelein 520
3:00 – 5:00 Candidates on the Issues – Amoroso Auditorium
3:00 Thomas Tresser (Cook County Board President) – The Cost of Corruption vs. The Desire to Serve: Why We Need Greens in Government
3:10 Jack Ailey (Metropolitan Water Reclamation District) – Improving the Health of Our Waterways
3:20 Nadine Bopp (Metropolitan Water Reclamation District) – TBA
3:30 Gus Philpott (McHenry County Sheriff) – Why would a 71-year-old man want to be sheriff?
3:40 Michael Smith (2nd Cook Commissioner) – Juvenile Justice
3:50 Bob Mueller (43rd State Rep) – Racial Profiling, Police Abuse, and the FOP (Fraternal Order of Police)
4:00 Paloma Andrade (7th Cook Commissioner) – Latinas in Politics
4:10 Vince LaMie (105th State Rep) – How We Win
4:20 Bill Scheurer (8th Congress) – America's Failed Experiment with Trickle-Down Economics
4:30 Simon Ribeiro (9th Congress) – Nationalizing the Federal Reserve Bank and Reforming our Fiat Monetary System
4:40 Rodger Jennings (12th Congress) – TBA
5:00 Robert Grota (Cook County Assessor) – Something New for Cook County: Competence and Ethics in an Office of Great Importance
4:00 – 5:00 Canvassing outside the porch – Brandon Waldon – Mundelein 520
4:00 – 5:00 Collecting and Using Voter Data – Patrick Kelly – Mundelein 616
4:00 – 5:00 Demilitarize Youth – Joshua "Skippy" Noehrenberg – Mundelein 418
6:00 – Fundraiser / Dinner – Heartland Café 7000 N. Glenwood (at Morse Red Line Stop)

Sunday, August 1
9:00 – 11:00 Check-In – Amoroso Auditorium
9:00 – 10:00 Committee Meetings – Mundelein 506, 514, 520
9:30 – 10:00 A Report on the Murder of Andre Kagwa Rwisereka, Rwandan Green Party Vice President – Brian Endless – Amoroso Auditorium
10:00 – 11:00 What is Membership? – AJ Segneri & John Festa – Mundelein 418
10:00 – 11:00 Abolishing IL's Death Penalty – Jeremy Schroede – Mundelein 616
10:00 Thor Soderberg Memorial – Amoroso Auditorium
10:10 – 10:45 Strategy Session: Green Party 2011 Chicago Municipal Elections – Amoroso Auditorium
10:45 – 11:15 Strategy Session: Green Party 2011 "Downstate" Elections – Amoroso Auditorium
11:15 – Noon Strategy Session: Green Party 2012 Elections – Amoroso Auditorium
11:00 – Noon Using the Internet to Campaign – Tom Tresser – Mundelein 506
11:00 – Noon Phone-banking Primer – Troy Pasulka – Mundelein 514
Noon – 1:00 Lunch
1:00 – 2:00 Tabling & Other Outreach for the ILGP & Your Local – Steve Alesch & Bob Mueller – Mundelein 418
1:00 – 2:30 Committee Meetings – Mundelein 506, 514, 520
1:00 – 2:30 Candidates on the Issues – Amoroso Auditorium
1:00 George Ochsenfeld (79th State Rep) – Spiritual Revolution: The 10 Key Values 1:10 Roger Davis (17th Congress) – Tools for Engaging Voters
1:20 Robert J. Burns (4th Congress) – The Stark Contrast Between Neo-Liberal / Neo-Conservative Values and Green Party values
1:30 Laurel Lambert Schmidt (3rd Congress) – Countering the Right Wing Rhetoric with Focus on Women's Issues & War
1:40 Ron Lawless (1st Cook Commissioner) – Participation
1:50 Sheldon Schafer (18th Congress) – Cap and Trade vs. Fee and Dividend
2:00 Daniel J. Kairis (14th Congress) – 2020 National Green Energy Plan
2:10 Frank Wedig (McHenry County Board) – Economic and Environmental Sustainability
2:20 Matt Reichel (5th Congress) – The U.S. and Israel: An Abusive Relationship
2:30 Charlie Howe (115th State Rep) – Growing & Marketing of Foods for Sustainable, Resilient Transition Town Communities
3:00 – 4:00 Keynote Speaker LeAlan Jones, ILGP Candidate for U.S. Senate – Amoroso Auditorium
After Party The Shrine – 2109 S. Wabash (South Loop, take Red Line to Chinatown)

Session times are subject to change.

Platform

ILGP will be adopting several new platform planks and changes to existing planks at this year’s State Convention. Friday afternoon hearings with the Platform Committee are expected to put finishing touches on proposals which will be presented for the consideration of the Membership on Saturday morning. If necessary, additional time is reserved on Sunday for finishing platform deliberations.

For more information on the platform deliberation process, contact Phil Huckelberry, 309-268-9974 or phil.huckelberry@ilgp.org.

Fundraiser

Saturday night's fundraiser at Heartland Café will feature entertainment and a silent auction in addition to dinner. The Get, a Chicago rock band, and Noah Samuels will be performing. Silent auction items can be donated through early Saturday afternoon.

Contact Rita Maniotis at 708-955-6964 or rita.maniotis@ilgp.org to donate items to the silent auction or for any other questions about the fundraiser.