By Kathy Groob, Publisher ElectWomen Magazine

While working in the Illinois state government, Democrat Loretta Durbin, the wife of Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL), formed a friendship with Republican Alice Phillips.  Phillips was involved in the Lincoln Series, a Republican women’s leadership and candidate training program and urged her friend, Loretta Durbin to begin a similar program for Democratic women.  Even though she was working full-time in state government and had a husband serving in Washington, D.C. in the Senate, Durbin found the encouragement she needed to pull some other women together to form what is now known as the Illinois Women’s Institute for Leadership.

Durbin and her group of women together started talking, making plans and reviewing a possible curriculum for the first class borrowing the template set forth by the Lincoln Series.  They announced the formation of the program at the 2000 Democratic National Convention to the Illinois delegation.  The first class was selected and launched in 2002.

“We expect women to ultimately be a candidate for office – not necessarily immediate but someday,” said Loretta Durbin.  “We want women involved in high level Democratic politics with some impact on policy and inside the party.” Since 2002, 87 women have gone through the program, of those 33 have run for office and 27 have won seats ranging from county board, alderman, village trustee, commissioner and auditor.  The Leadership Institute includes 12 women in the class each year.

The organization is centered on its alumni members and groups that work in committees, along with the active board members, so they can become the future leaders of the program.  “Alumni in Chicago are becoming head of their Democratic local organizations—we’re helping build a groundswell of support,” said another founding board member, Bonnie Ettinger.

“We admit that Chicago city politics is different and tougher and we are focusing on helping women break into that arena,” added Ettinger.

“Party leaders are looking for women to run for political office,” said Loretta Durbin.  “Party leaders are now looking to us to help find good candidates.”

The highlight of the training program is the speech coaching/messaging portion of the institute conducted by Chris Jahnke.  The program also includes a daylong session with Emily’s List about raising money; a day is spent with media experts where a press conference is simulated. The class members are video taped so that they can self-critique their performance.

“One of the favorites among the participates is when we take the class to Washington, D.C. where they spend the day with Senator Durbin and his female colleagues,” said Bonnie Ettinger.  “They also meet with top people from organized labor, the top women’s pollster, Celinda Lake along with representatives from Emily’s List.  In the past David Axelrod conducted the media session.”

The Institute is now accepting applications for the 2010 class. “We are building a pipeline of qualified women ready to run for higher offices,” said Loretta Durbin.  “Our participants never forget the experience and it is life changing.”

For more information or to apply for the 2010 class, visit: http://www.iwilinfo.org/