Get your ladybugs at Glen Ellyn market

The village of Glen Ellyn should brace itself for a beetle invasion - not the destructive or the singing kind - when volunteers from the Glen Ellyn League of Women Voters distribute ladybugs from 9 a.m. to noon June 27 at the Glen Ellyn Farmers Market on Main Street, North of Roosevelt Road between Duane Street and Hillside Avenue in downtown.

Co-president and league member Michelle Peterson, who has organized the annual Ladybug Giveaway for the last couple of years, was quick to point out the arrival of the little critters is a helpful thing for local gardeners.

"It is a natural pesticide. The ladybugs eat the bad bugs. It's a good thing for the garden and the environment," said Peterson. "There are some very good gardeners who anxiously await the annual ladybug giveaway."

The idea was initiated in the 1980s by the late Mary Lugenbill. According to Shawn Fasules, who serves as co-president with Peterson, the giveaway serves several purposes for the Glen Ellyn League of Women Voters.

"It gets people thinking about summer. But this also is a way to get people aware of the league," said Fasules. "And it's a way to creatively express our league position on the environment."

The exposure at the Glen Ellyn Farmers Market will sometimes draw in new members or activate someone's interest in local, state, or federal issues.

"They'll come to our table and get some information about the League of Women Voters," Fasules added. "They might come to a candidate forum. They might join."

The League of Women Voters is a political but non-partisan organization with local, state and national branches.

The group meets monthly and may get involved with local issues such as the proposed tree removal in Ackerman Park, holding a book discussion, or helping to clean the Prairie Path. But on a broader scale, league members may be encouraged to make phone calls and write to lobby state and federal lawmakers.

"People are interested in politics right now," said Fasules. "People look to the league for information."

This year, the Illinois League of Women Voters partnered with Secretary of State Jesse White to launch Illinois Student Vote, a voter education initiative in local high schools in addition to the normal business of registering voters.

The league sponsors a Web site, Vote411.org that provides details about voter registration as well as information about candidates. To learn about the League of Women Voters, visit the Web site at www.lwv.org. For information on the local chapter, visit www.lwvge.org.