Chicago NOW History & Victories

1966 -- NOW founded
1970 -- First attempt to add the ERA to the revised Illinois State Constitution
1970 -- Chicago NOW organized a Mother's Day press conference at the Cook County morgue to focus on the number of women dying of illegal abortions
1970 -- Successful boycott of United Airlines in response to their 'male-only' flights from New York to Chicago
1970 -- Chicago Employment Conference with keynote speaker Shirley Chisholm
1972 -- Chicago NOW instrumental in pressuring the Chicago Tribune to stop running gender-segregated help wanted ads
1974 -- Chicago NOW incorporated
1976 -- Filed class action suit against Standard Oil
1976 -- National NOW headquarters moved to Washington, DC
1980 -- 90,000+ march in rally to pass ERA in Grant Park
1982 -- Illinois General Assembly fails to ratify ERA
1982 -- Chicago NOW establishes Education Fund
1984 -- Chicago NOW helps to draft and pass tougher, comprehensive Illinois Criminal Sexual Assault Law
1987 -- Chicago NOW writes and helps pass the Chicago Residential Building Security Ordinance
1987 -- Under pressure from Chicago NOW and CSASN, the Cook County State's Attorney's Office creates a Sex Crimes Prosecution Unit
1987 -- Chicago NOW supports and helps get the Chicago Human Rights Ordinance passed
1989 -- 8000+ rally to support Abortion Rights
1990 -- Lesbian Rights Committee established
1990 -- Women of Color Committee established
1992 -- 25th Anniversary of NOW
1992 -- Chicago NOW PAC instrumental in helping elect Carol Moseley-Braun to the US Senate
1994 -- Chicago NOW forced to reorganize; full executive staff reduced to one part-time person
1995 -- Despite reorganization, Chapter participates in 102 activities
1996 -- Chapter goes to all-volunteer staff
1997 -- Chicago NOW works with female employees from three local FORD auto plants who have filed sexual harassment and discrimination law suits
1997 -- Chicago NOW meets with DOMINICK'S FINER FOODS to discuss discrimination in promotions and pay for women
1998 -- National NOW (and local attorney Faye Clayton) win case against pro-life extremist Joseph Schiedler in federal court
1998 -- Mitsubishi reaches settlement with the women from its Normal, IL plant, who had filed a class action suit in response to rampant sexual harassment and discrimination
1998 -- The nine women who originally filed against FORD reach a settlement with the company. More women continue to come forward
1998 -- Chicago NOW instrumental in getting NBC Dateline to do a feature story about the sexual harassment going on at FORD
1998 -- Chicago NOW hosts 'Women Who Dared' event to honor Renee Ferguson, of WMAQ-TV, for reporting the FORD story, and attorney and activist Faye Clayton for her work on the NOW v. Scheidler court victory
1999 -- Chicago NOW lobbied with a network of organizations to get CEDAW, the UN Convention to fight all forms of discrimination passed in the City Council
1999 -- Worked with plaintiffs filing a sex discrimination suit against Merrill Lynch