Citizens Information Service of Illinois records, 1953-1978

Processed with funding provided by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission.

This collection is open for research use. For listening purposes, it is necessary to use a copy, not the original (and to have a listening copy made if one is not available).

Copyright may be retained by the creators of items, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law, unless otherwise noted.

Materials were a gift of the Citizens Information Service of Illinois (accession #: M1980.0026).

Citizens Information Service of Illinois records (Chicago History Museum) plus a detailed description, date, and box/folder number of a specific item.

Newsletters, correspondence, reports, clippings, pamphlets, brochures, commencement programs, and other records of the Citizens Information Service of Illinois (CIS), a nonpartisan organization established by the League of Women Voters of Chicago to provide information on political issues and educate the public about community involvement in politics and government. The collection includes materials on CIS's work with various Illinois community organizations, some pamphlets and brochures distributed by CIS, and summaries and reports on activities sponsored by CIS. Also present are graduation materials from CIS's Institute for Community Leaders, where local leaders could find classes taught in English or Spanish.

The Citizens Information Service of Illinois (CIS) was a nonpartisan organization established in 1953 by the League of Women Voters of Chicago to provide information on political issues and to educate the public about community involvement. Originally called the Metropolitan Civic Information Service, the organization changed its name in 1954 to Citizens Information Service of Metropolitan Chicago, and again in 1970 to the Citizens Information Service of Illinois. CIS ran an information center, published and distributed booklets and pamphlets, and organized the Institute for Community Leaders, which offered classes on community leadership in both English and Spanish.

Related materials at Chicago History Museum, Research Center, include publications of the organization, cataloged separately.

• Names
  • Citizens Information Service of Illinois--Archives
  • Citizen Information Service of Metropolitan Chicago
  • Institute for Community Leaders (Chicago, Ill.)
  • League of Women Voters of Chicago
  • League of Women Voters of Cook County (Cook County, Ill.)
• Subject
  • Community leadership--Illinois--Chicago Metropolitan Area--20th century
  • Hispanic Americans--Illinois--Chicago--20th century
  • Politics, Practical--Illinois--Chicago Metropolitan Area--20th century
• Geographic Coverage
  • Chicago Metropolitan Area (Ill.)--Politics and government--1951
  • Lower West Side (Chicago, Ill.)

The collection is arranged in four series.

Series 1. General files, 1953-1976 (box 1)

Series 1 contains newsletters, correspondence, clippings, pamphlets, brochures, by-laws, reports, meeting minutes, and other general files of the CIS. The series includes materials pertaining to CIS's work with other organizations, including the Chicago Urban League, the Cairo Community Development Project, the Chicago Public Library, and the League of Women Voters. Also present is correspondence with students of CIS's Institute for Community Leaders.

Series 2. Graduation files, 1960-1978 (box 2)

Series 2 contains commencement programs, correspondence with speakers, correspondence about graduation venues, and other materials related to graduation ceremonies for students of the Institute for Community Leaders.

Series 3. Annual reports, 1954-1978 (box 2)

Series 3 contains annual reports and other summaries of CIS's work, including work with organizations such as Reading is Fundamental, the Latin American Forum, Pilsen Neighbors Community Council, and the Community of United People. Also present are student evaluations of community leadership classes.

Series 4. Audio materials, 1966-1977 (box 3-5)

Series 4 consists of audio cassette recordings of CIS annual meetings, Park Manor Advisory Council Meetings, a WBEZ radio program known as "Interchange", and discussions of criminal justice among other topics.