As part of our focus on advocacy, Chicago Foundation for Women supports a wide range of coalitions, campaigns and legislation that are aligned with our priorities. What we support is listed below by our three focus areas:
freedom from violence,
health and
economic security, with multi-issue-area projects listed at top.
Learn more about our campaign with women's funds across the country to spotlight the needs of female-headed households:
Women's Economic Security Campaign.
MULTI-ISSUE ADVOCACY
NEW: Fair and Accountable: Partnership Principles for a Sustainable Human Services System. Read the
full report by the Donors Forum (PDF).
NEW: Illinois Partners for Human Services. Read the
fact sheet (PDF).
Prostitution Alternatives Round Table (PART): Founded in August 2001 by the
Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, PART is a network of city, state and county organizations, private non-profit organizations, and survivors of
prostitution dedicated to addressing the many issues of prostitution and homelessness in Chicago.
Read the PART Fact Sheet.
Domestic Violence Advocacy Coordinating Council (DVACC): A project of the
Chicago Mayor’s Office on Domestic Violence, DVACC's mission is to ensure a coordinated and comprehensive community response to domestic violence in Chicago. DVACC assists the Mayor’s Office on Domestic Violence by evaluating and monitoring the adequacy and effectiveness of current public policies and the scope, availability and capacity of intervention services; identifying systemic obstacles; and making recommendations to reduce domestic violence.
Read an overview of the 2007 Assessment of the Current Response to Domestic Violence in Chicago.
Intersystems Assessment on Prostitution in Chicago (ISA): A community collaboration led by the Chicago Mayor’s Office on Domestic Violence, the ISA convened a multi-disciplinary work group comprised of government departments, non-profit organizations and survivors of prostitution in May of 2003. ISA hosted focus groups with individuals who have been involved in Chicago's sex trade to determine which systems they had come in contact with and what their experiences with those systems had been. The work group also gathered information about current response strategies from over 20 different first responders in Chicago.
Read ISA’s key findings and recommendations. For more information about ISA and its ongoing work to implement the recommendations, contact Emily Muskovitz-Sweet at
Muskovitz_Emily@cdph.org.
DePaul College of Law Schiller Du Canto & Fleck Law Center's Sexual Assault Advisory Panel: A group of community rape crisis service providers and advocates who are informing the direction and scope of research into the Cook County criminal justice system’s response to sexual assault and abuse. Senior Fellow Jody Raphael’s work will culminate in two research reports. Read the first research report:
2005 HARD FACTS: An Analysis of Intimate Partner Violence and Sexual Assault Data from the Cook County Legal System and the
newly released report, "Taking Rape Seriously: Sexual Assault in Cook County." NEW: Illinois Safe and Civil Schools Act Coalition (link to PDF fact sheet)
Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) PDF from American Immigrant Lawyer Association 
Chicago Women and Girls HIV Prevention Coalition: Led by the
AIDS Foundation of Chicago, the coalition generated significant community knowledge and interest in the development of
microbicides. The coalition advocates for the development and expansion of new and existing HIV prevention strategies for women and girls through community education, policy initiatives, and members’ ongoing work. For more information, contact Jessica Terlikowski at
jterlikowski@aidschicago.org.
Illinois Campaign for Reproductive Health and Access: A statewide group of community members and organizations that seeks to protect access to the full range of reproductive health care for Illinois citizens, and to organize around the advancement of a broad pro-active, pro-choice agenda. The campaign is working to expand community and legislative support for the Reproductive Health and Access Act. For more information about the campaign, visit
www.illinoisreproductivehealth.org.
Illinois Coalition for School Health Centers: Led by the Illinois Maternal and Child Health Coalition, it seeks to improve the physical and mental health status of children and adolescents of Illinois by advocating for the development, stabilization and expansion of school based and linked health centers. Download a
fact sheet about school health centers, read the new
"Why Care?" booklet or visit the coalition's
website.
NEW: Ending Forced Sterilization of People with Disabilities (Illinois HB 2290)
NEW: Expedited Partner Therapy (Illinois SB 212)Prevention Now! (HIV/AIDS)
From Poverty to Opportunity Campaign: Led by Heartland Alliance’s Mid-America Institute on Poverty (MAIP), this human rights campaign seeks to develop a substantive measurable plan that addresses poverty and creates the political will to act. The campaign advocates for the creation of a Commission on Poverty Eradication in Illinois that will propose a plan to reduce by half the number of people living in extreme poverty by 2015. Visit the
campaign’s webpage to learn more.
Budget and Tax Policy Initiative Advisory Committee: Led by Voices for Illinois Children, this committee provides information and analysis on spending and revenue topics that directly impact the lives of children and families.
Read the latest on Voices for Illinois Children Budget and Tax Initiatives, and learn more about how Illinois’ FY2008 budget impacts women and girls from the Foundation’s
commissioned report from Voices for Illinois Children.
Paid Leave Campaign: Led by Women Employed, the campaign is promoting passage of the Healthy Workplace Act which would guarantee Illinois workers seven annual paid sick days to use in case of personal or family member illness. Visit
www.womenemployed.org to learn more about the campaign and ways to get involved.
Make Work Pay Campaign: A collaboration of more than 30 organizations, the campaign is advocating for an increase of Illinois’ Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Currently, Illinois’s EITC is set at only 5% of the federal EITC—among the nation’s smallest credits. The goal of this campaign is to see the EITC increased gradually over the next two years to a rate of 10% of the federal credit limit, which will increase the state EITC credit to around $470 per qualifying family. Visit the
Make Work Pay Campaign’s web page to learn more.
NEW: Illinois TANF Grant Increase (HB 5950)
Easier Applications for Public Aid (HB 0745)Global Resources and Opportunities for Women to Thrive Act/GROWTH Act (HR 2965/S 2069)Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 (S 181)