100 Years of Women's Suffrage: What Does it Mean to You?

By Jennifer Fisher

One hundred years ago this summer, women around Illinois had a special reason to celebrate independence. 

On June 26, 1913, Illinois Gov. Edward F. Dunne signed the Women’s Suffrage Bill into law, granting women the right to vote in presidential and municipal elections, and making Illinois the first state east of the Mississippi to grant suffrage to women, according to the Illinois League of Women Voters.

Evanston lawyer Catherine Gouger Waugh McCulloch drafted the initial text of the bill, which passed thanks to the hard work of members of people like Oak Park advocate Grace Wilbur Trout, who traveled the state to encourage grassroots support.

Trout was present when the bill was signed, and told the governor he had “won the everlasting gratitude of the women of Illinois,”according to a newspaper report from the time. 

“We feel confident that they will prove worth of the great responsibility which has been granted them,” she said.

One century later, what does women’s suffrage mean to you? What issues are you fighting for today? Tell us in the comments.