Twenty-three years ago, Loretta Durbin gathered a group of Illinois women attending the 2000 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles with an idea. From her decades spent around politics and lawmakers in Springfield, Loretta saw a tremendous need for more Democratic women in elected offices. She knew the policy impact that women could have. So she pitched an idea: Illinois needed an organization that prepared Democratic, pro-choice women to run for elected office, serve as public policymakers and govern effectively in Illinois.
Since that moment, Illinois’ history of women in politics has been part and parcel of the legacy of the Illinois Women’s Institute for Leadership (IWIL) Training Academy.
