Chicagoland for Kerry: June 2004

Extraordinary Reception for Kerry Volunteers at Gay Pride Parade

"Fired up" hardly does justice to describe crowd reaction as scores of Kerry Volunteers marched through the streets at Chicago's Gay Pride Parade on Sunday, July 27.

Preparation for the big event came from the ChicagolandforKerry Advisory Board (AB), from the DNC and from local organizers like Andy Szekeres.

The procession itself was led by Elizabeth Birch, formerly of Human Rights Campaign (HRC), driven in a yellow sports car by AB Chair, Victor Barry.

Participants included local volunteers from Chicago, the Northern Suburbs and points further a field. Participants either carried signs or distributed stickers. Everyone chanted, hooped and hollered.

The crowd was estastic. At every intersection, rows of spectators, often 4 deep, eagarly repeated calls such as "Two, Four, Six, Eight, Vote for Kerry, End the Hate" or the far more simple (though equally heartfelt), "Kerry, Kerry, Kerry!"

Signs and stickers were in abondance. Once the Kerry Volunteers swept through, every other person was wearing the familiar blue John Kerry lapel sticker.

See Photo Gallery.

Large Turn-Outs Expected at Chicago Gay Pride & Evanston July 4

A large turn-out of Kerry volunteers is expected both at Chicago's Gay Pride Parade on Sunday, June 27th and at the Evanston Independence Day Parade on Sunday, July 4.

The two events mark high-points of the summer season and are sure to draw hundreds of people marching in support of the democrat candidate.

Kerry supporters who are taking part in the Gay Pride Parade should meet at 11am in the parking lot of Ann Sather's (929 W. Belmont). The Parade officially begins at 12noon.

Kerry supporters who are taking part in the Evanston Independence Day should keep an eye on the Events Page of Chicagolandforkerry.com as well as look out for updates here on the Group Blog.

Note, we also have a Special Evanston 4th of July page.

The Meet-up at Ann Sather's

Report from Dan Pawlus:

An enthusiastic group of about 25 gathered at Ann Sather's on Thursday June 24 to show their support for John Kerry for President. The group was polled and strongly voiced their attendance as a desire to back Kerry for his policies as well as do anything necessary to remove the current administration.

Kerry Meet-up information was shared with all - opportunities to volunteer, house parties, upcoming events, visibility, outreach and open discussion. Many joined in the conversation to voice their experiences of already volunteering in various capacities from finance office work to voter registration to visibility events.

The group broke into discussion groups with lively conversation around Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11, current administration policy issues and various ways to help drive voter registration and put our candidate in office.

The evening concluded with a rallying cry to raise funds until the July 26 convention, to host house parties and to continue to educate friends and family on pertinent Kerry policy and stances in an honest attempt to build passionate support and understanding for our candidate that will be the next President of the United States!!

[Dan Pawlus and Joey Hampton hosted Thursday's Meet-up at Ann Sather's.]

Hyde Park Meet-Up by the book

Our first Hyde Park meet-up was a great success!

23 people gathered in a lecture hall at the University of Chicago & yummy Oreos were munched while introductions were made. The majority were U of C affiliated, but 30% were not! Some were eager to find out more about Kerry, some were Kerry diehards from before the primaries, but all agreed that our Hyde Park community was ready to work together to kick Bush out of the White House!

Hosts John Moore and Tanya Baker filled everyone in on the Kerry campaign and the Chicagoland grassroots efforts and reviewed upcoming local events. One attendant, Megan Wachspress, took a leadership role in voter registration efforts, while Maria Krisch chose to head up distribution of Kerry materials around campus.

We decided to support some visibility events at the Hyde Park July 4th parade and festival, to be led by John Moore, as well as at some of the free movies and music events on the midway throughout the summer. Enough money was raised to purchase a roll of stickers for these upcoming visibility events as well! Hyde Park & the U of C are on track to make an impact in this campaign!

Volunteer Dance Instructors Show Off Dance Skills at House Music Fest in Grant Park

"No Dance Instruction". That's how the listing read for the Inaugural DJ session in Grant Park this Wednesday. Rushing in to fill the void, the ChicagolandforKerry Volunteer Dance Instructors (Tanya, Magali and Leo) swung into action, showing the crowd how to dance and hand out John Kerry stickers at the same time.

Recognition came swiftly in the form of television cameras pointing our way and promises that our efforts would be featured on television the next day.

The music was mixed by renowned DJ Derrick Carter and marks the first of ten such events, all featuring noted House Music DJ's and all taking place on Wednesday evenings (see Full Schedule).

Next Wednesday, DJ Ralphi Rosario will ply the vinyl and the world-famous ChicagolandforKerry Volunteer Dance Instructors can be expected once again to display their awe-inspiring mix of dance finesse and political savvy.

Meetups This Week Thursday June 24, 7pm

Kerry MeetUp at 7pm
Find out what other Kerry supporters like yourself are doing in the Chicagoland area and how you can get more involved.

LOCATIONS:

DOWNTOWN:
Lou Malnati's, 439 N. Wells St.
Host: Victor Barry.

SOUTH SIDE
Cobb Hall (U of C), 5811 S. Ellis Ave.
Hosts: Tanya Baker, John Moore

BUCKTOWN/WICKER PARK
Charleston Bar, 2076 N. Hoyne
Hosts: Maria Mariottini, Barbara Coleman

NORTH SIDE
Goose Island Brew Pub, 1800 N. Clybourn
Hosts: Josh Lange, Brendan Goff.
Ann Sather,
929 W. Belmont
Hosts: Joey Hampton, Dan Pawlus.
Katerina's,
1920 W. Irving Park Rd.
Host: Kathy Karsten.

EDGEWATER/ROGERS PARK
Moody's Pub, 5910 N. Broadway St.
Hosts: Peter and Ashish

ROGERS PARK
Heartland Cafe, 7000 North Glenwood
Hosts: Barb and Araila

EVANSTON
Prairie Moon Restaurant, 5910 N. Broadway St.
Hosts: Mark and Robin

WILMETTE
Houlihan's, 125 Old Orchard Arcade
Hosts: Nels and Paul

SKOKIE
Edwardo's, 9300 Skokie Blvd.
Hosts: Jennifer and Richard

SCHAUMBURG
Schaumburg Township Public Library, 130 S. Roselle Road

PARK RIDGE
Starbucks Coffee, 100 S. NW Hwy
Hosts: Daniel and Benita

OAKBROOK / OAKBROOK TERRACE
Anyway's,
5 East Roosevelt

WHEATON
Arrowhead Golf Club, 26 W 151 Butterfiled Rd

WESTMONT
Bailey's Restaurant & Bar,
330 E. Ogden Ave.

We hope to see you at one of our meet-ups!

Kerry Volunteers Take Part in Healthcare Rally

Stirring messages from Gov. Howard Dean, Rev Jesse Jackson and Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky inspired hundreds of participants at the "Bridging the Gap" Healthcare Rally which took place on Saturday, June 19 in Lincoln Park.

The Kerry Squad was out in force handing out flyers and raising their blue Kerry placards along with friends and supporters from other campaigns. One of the biggest cheers came when Howard Dean told the audience that if they wanted true health care reform, they had better vote for John Kerry.

Perhaps the most moving part of the event was when Rev. Jackson called on all those above the age of 17 who were not currently registered to vote, to present themselves at the front of the stage. Several stepped forward and were quickly registered by the VR people.

Anatomy of A Kerry House Party Fundraiser

Excerpts from writer Susan M. Schell's account of a House Party at her home:

At 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 22nd, guests began arriving at our home to attend our Kerry House Party Fundraiser and listen to a conference call at 5 pm with Democratic Presidential Candidate Senator John Kerry.

This house Party was to be a grassroots fundraising event to connect people who share the belief that the US has lost its way and our reputation in the Global Community.

Decision to host a Host Party

My family agreed on very short notice to host this Kerry House Party for many reasons. How could we say we were unhappy with the direction of this country, if we weren't willing to work to change it? Dangerous times such as these call on all of us to step up our involvement. Forget about how much time you can afford, because none of us have extra time. We're all busy!

Phone Call from John Kerry

Our crowd of roughly one-hundred people consisted of a demographic range in ages (college students to retired folks) and races. Everyone began getting anxious, as I did, as we awaited the phone call.

Promptly at 5 pm, that now familiar voice from radio and television thanked us all for participating in this Grassroots effort to raise campaign funds for his 2004 election race....

To read more, continue to full story.

Meetup Committee Needs Your Help!

Appeal from Meetup Committee Chair, Josh Lange:

Hey everyone, this is Josh Lange, the Meetup Chairman for the Chicago area. This post is for two kinds of people:

1) those who can help Meetup with a small, but vital donation
2) those who want to help with Meetup with their time

In order to nominate a venue, a person must first buy a MeetupPlus membership. This costs about $3 per month and is very worth the cost. We are asking anyone who can donate $20 for MeetupPlus to email Josh at bottlroktt@yahoo.com. This will help us get more venues out there for people to attend.

For those who just want to help Meetup with their time, feel free to show up to Frankie Z's this Thursday (435 N. Clark) and we'll talk all things Meetup. Thanks!

Bike the Drive - A Success for Kerry

Report from Maureen:

Many thanks to the volunteers who donned buttons, T-Shirts, and bumper stickers as they made their way along 30 miles of car-free Lake Shore Drive. (See Bike the Drive Web site.]

We got beautiful weather for the ride and a little time to collect
information on new supporters before the rain appeared. There are many more events this summer, so keep an eye on the website for opportunities to
volunteer.

Thanks again - especially to Nora, Phil and his family, Carl, Brian, and Wendy.

-- Maureen