As Ohio Civics Essential rounds out its third year, save the dates for a four-part virtual events series set to occur May 20th, June 10th, July 1st, and July 22nd at noon.
Each one-hour event will feature two panelists, in addition to moderator Lucia Walinchus, who serves as executive director of
Eye on Ohio, a nonpartisan and nonprofit news outlet focused on promoting public good and seeking solutions.
The series will help participants explore themes like “How Your Government Works,” “How Your Courts Work,” and “Your Power as a Citizen,” with specific panels looking at the topics of offender reentry, checks and balances, the opioid crisis, and marijuana laws.
“I thought this would be a great series to host because it touches on themes that have deeply impacted the life of Ohioans,” Walinchus says. “Our world is rapidly changing, and there are no easy answers. Thinking through how we can best design systems to work for ordinary Ohioans will take a long time and input from diverse perspectives.”
Trina Jackson, who serves as director of the
Hamilton County Office of Reentry, in addition to Angela Regan, founder of
Welcome Home SIS — a transitional home for women in Northeast Ohio — will add their voices to the conversation surrounding offender reentry on May 20th.
“When men leave prison, the women they leave behind often stay by them,” Regan says. “When women go to prison, the men are not as likely to wait around, and their families are destroyed. They don’t have anywhere to go.”
The final panel in the series will focus on checks and balances, featuring Senator Matt Dolan, who recently voted no on overriding Gov. Mike Dewine’s veto of Senate Bill 22, which establishes “legislative oversight of certain orders and rules issued by the executive branch, including by establishing the Ohio Health Oversight and Advisory Committee.”
The veto was ultimately overridden with Senate Bill 22 set to become law, so what better time to explore the ways checks and balances present in such a relevant and timely way?
Each event will invite questions from participants during the latter half of each panel, prompting conversation among Ohioans to explore issues in more depth. Each event is free to attend and hosted via digital platform Hopin.
Register to attend here:
Civics Essential: Offender Reentry on May 20, 2021
Civics Essential: Opioids on June 10, 2021
Civics Essential: Marijuana Laws on July 1, 2021
Civics Essential: Checks and Balances on July 22, 2021
The Ohio State Bar Foundation provides support to Issue Media Group (IMG), through fiscal agent Cincinnati Development Fund, with their first strategic grant to improve the civics knowledge of adult Ohioans, enhance their participation in and knowledge of government, enable their access to justice and improve their perceptions of the judicial system.
IMG created the Ohio Civics Essential series including feature stories published in Soapbox Cincinnati, Fresh Water Cleveland, and The Hub Springfield with corresponding quizzes plus live and virtual events.
The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of the Ohio State Bar Foundation.
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.