Lurie Children's Hospital Rally
Plus, a Contest!

Neighbors,

We regret to share that Lurie Children’s Hospital has made the decision to stop providing gender-affirming care for some of their patients. The IPO’s Steering Committee has unanimously voted to endorse a rally to demand a reversal of this policy change along with several other Chicago-based organizations.

We won’t sugar-coat it: this decision to stop providing life-affirming care is unacceptable. Not only does it arguably violate state law, we need our local institutions to be as willing to fight for our trans neighbors as we know all of you are. We urge all of our neighbors and friends to attend the rally this Saturday at 1PM in Seneca Park near Lurie Children’s and show that our city won’t be held hostage by Donald Trump or any of his fellow Republicans.

Even if you can’t make the rally, we have several events related to our current campaigns that are open to both members and non-members! We have them listed off in chronological order below. All official IPO activity related to our current priorities is coordinated on Signal; if you haven’t joined yet, you can do so at that link once you’ve downloaded the app! Troubleshooting questions can also be directed to admin@48thneighbors.org.

• Abortion Fundathon Team: The Steering Committee has approved a proposal to participate in the Chicago Abortion Fund’s annual fundathon! Individuals that are interested in helping to meet our IPO’s fundraising goal are invited to attend a meeting tomorrow, February 12th, at 8PM on Zoom. The agenda and Zoom link for the meeting can be accessed here.
• Deportation Defense Canvassing: Concerned members met last week to talk about the ways we can protect our neighbors from ICE and have resolved to host some know your rights canvasses in the ward! We’ll be equipping volunteers with materials to post around the neighborhood at 1PM on Saturday, February 15th, at Sip & Savor (1070 W Bryn Mawr) and at 3PM on Sunday, February 16th, at Understudy Coffee and Books (5531 N Clark). Come out to either and help keep our neighbors safe!
• IPO Social: We’ll be going on a field trip for our social this month! Join us for a night out at Whiskey Girl Tavern (6318 N Clark) on Thursday, February 20th, at 6:30PM for laughs, beverages, and a good time with neighbors. Look for the table with the 48th Ward neighbors sign, and come in before 7PM to catch the start of “A Mic of their Own”!
• Book Club: Our book club is still in full swing! Since these meetings typically take place at the residence of a volunteer, interested individuals can be looped in by joining our Signal and asking for meeting information.

We’ve also had some new members ask about IPO merch. Well good news: our organization is officially the owner of a brand new button-making machine, and we need your help breaking it in! We are looking for creative individuals to send us button designs that represent our IPO and the causes that are important to our neighborhood. We’ll put the designs to our members for a vote, and the designers that get the most votes will receive a gift card to one of our favorite neighborhood spots. Send your ideas to admin@48thneighbors.org by February 26th to participate in the contest!

Looking for inspiration? If you need ideas, you can look at our social media (Facebook | Twitter | Bluesky | Instagram) for previous campaigns, or our democratically decided platform. IPO visual assets like our logo and color codes can be provided on request.

Finally, we are happy to share that IPO member Adam Schwartz has officially joined our Steering Committee! Adam is a long-time Edgewater resident who was one of our first members, and we’re excited to be serving with him.

As per our bylaws, we can seat as many as seven IPO members on the Steering Committee, the central decision-making body for our organization. Membership on Steering is an option for all IPO members who are current on their dues, are in good standing, and are interested in making our organization both powerful and welcoming to all of our neighbors. Anyone interested in filling those vacancies can connect with Steering on Signal or at admin@48thneighbors.org.

Solidarity, and see you soon!

Steering Committee

48WN4J Steering Committee: Mary Difino, Michelle O'Connell, Adam Schwartz, Joel Thorson, Bill Walker