Minutes, Shawnee Green Party, January 24, 2012

Present:  Paula Bradshaw, Lee Hartman, Charlie Howe, Rich Whitney.  Charlie facilitated.

1.  Announcements
    a.  Margie Parker Teach-In for Peace: “Guantánamo at 10—Consequences and Broken Promises”.  Thursday, January 26th, 7:30 PM, SIU Law School Auditorium.   
    b.  People’s Preliminary Hearing on Monsanto.  Saturday, January 28, 11-12:30 and 2-3:30, SIU Law School Courtroom.   
    c.  Occupy Carbondale Social Forum:  “A two-day teach-in for the 99 percent”.  March 3-4.  E-mail <info@occupycarbondale.org>.
    d.  Occupy Midwest Regional Summit:  March 15-18.
    e.  G8 Summit, Chicago, May 19-20.
    f.  NATO Summit, Chicago, May 13-26.
    g.  Gallatin-Pope land swap:  Comments may be made through January 31.  See  Carmi Times for details.  Also Sierra Club and Southern Illinoisan.

2.  Treasurer’s Report:  Lee relayed the report from Treasurer E.G. Hughes:  no change since last month, balance = $363.50.  Dues for 2012 are now payable, $15, accepted by Treasurer E. G. Hughes. 

3.  Environmental Policy Workshop:  Lee reported on the January 22 event.  Brian Sauder, of Faith in Place, explained how a bill becomes a law in Springfield, and how citizens can influence and even write legislation.  His organization is backing Illinois House Bill 3897 to regulate the natural gas mining process called hydraulic fracturing, alias “fracking”, which may begin as early as June in Saline County.  (Regulate, not ban, he explained, given the nature of politics as the art of the possible.)

4.  Annual Township Meeting, April 10:  We discussed the process of putting an advisory referendum on the November ballot.  Possible issues:  single payer and corporate personhood.  Rich will draft some wording.

5.  Presidential preference and candidate approval caucus:  Rich explained the process whereby Greens (and possibly others) in the 12th congressional district can gather to discuss possible Green candidates for President, and ILGP members can vote their preference electronically.  The online ballot will list Kent Mesplay and Jill Stein, and will have space for a write-in.    At the same meeting we can act on approval of Green candidates for other offices.  We agreed on Saturday, February 18, 1:30-3:30 p.m. for this meeting.

(The GPUS website has replies to a candidate questionnaire from Mesplay and Stein.  A candidate forum was scheduled for December 3, but it‘s not clear that it took place.  A note on Mesplay’s site says he would not be able to attend because of illness.) 

6.  Meeting adjourned 7:55.

Minutes submitted by Lee Hartman