Box 2

The Joliet Region League of Women Voters Records provide documentation on governmental and social concerns for the Joliet and Will County areas as well as information on League activities from 1950 to 1981. The only major gap in the materials occurs between 1955 and 1961. The collection is arranged in the following manner: l) histories-local, state, and national, 2) meeting minutes, 3) yearbooks and membership handbooks, 4) topical files, 5) publications, 6) newspaper clippings, photographs, and scrapbooks. The topical files provide detailed information on research projects undertaken by League members. Material on education in Joliet is the most comprehensive and includes historical documentation of the development of unit districts. Other topics include civil rights, the Illinois constitutional convention, intergovernmental relations in Will County, permanent voters registration, and the sanitary district. Information on government and political candidates can be found in the publications and newspaper clippings. District maps for particular townships and Will County also are available. Of special note is a final report written about the League’s Will County Court Monitoring Project in 1977 which contains observations and recommendations for change in the judicial system. Researchers studying government and politics in northern Illinois are advised to check the other League of Women Voters collections held by the Center as well as the politicians’ papers. Information on education also is available in the local government records collection. Please see the Center guide for more information.