Local League of Women Voters chapters joining together

Monday night will mark the end of an era for Batavia area voters, but next month will mark the return of an old political linchpin.

Both the Batavia and the Geneva/St. Charles chapters of the League of Women Voters will no longer exist after a couple of final meetings in coming weeks. Batavia's final regular meeting, complete with a nostalgic remembrance of its last 60 years will come Monday. Then on May 17, the two chapters will merge into one body called the League of Women Voters of Central Kane County. The merger should roughly double the size of the two chapters into a stronger body with broader appeal, said Barbara King, a member of the Batavia Chapter for 29 years.

"There's been talk about this between the chapters for quite a few years," King said. "There are parts of the county that are underserved. The idea is to open it up to Elburn and Sugar Grove and the western parts of the county which have grown so much."

King said local voters won't lose anything. The candidate forums the Batavia and Geneva/St. Charles chapters hosted featuring people running for the school board and other local offices will remain. But the merger will make running those forums that much more smoothly with more members to facilitate them. Really, the merger is just a return to the way things used to be.

Batavia was part of the original League of Women Voters chapter created in 1947. Batavia split off on its own a few years after that because some members thought their specific interests weren't being served.

"Now, cooperation is needed for survival," King said. "Women have more on their plate, so to speak, today. They are working. They don't have the time to devote to the details of the organizations like they once did."

King believes the value of an individual's vote is as great as ever.

"If you don't vote, you can't complain about what's going on," King said. "Certainly doing nothing isn't going to change anything."

The final meeting of the Batavia chapter is at 7 p.m. inside the Batavia Depot Museum, 155 Houston St. The public is invited.