By World BEYOND War – Illinois, November 4, 2026
Baby Boomers, Gen Xers, Gen Z, and Millennials exchanged ideas about issues mattering the most to them in the November elections.
Featured speakers included:
- Kayla Pilgrim, Communications Lead for Sunrise Movement Chicago
- Tree Palmeras, Director of Black Lives Matter Chicago
- Henna Ayesh, Media Liaison during DePaul University’s spring 2024 student encampment for Palestine
- CODEPINK National Co-Director Danaka Katovich
- Kathy Kelly, Board President of World BEYOND War
- 3-time Emmy-nominated poet Trey Baker
The Young Voters’ Congress aimed to amplify the voices of young people whose concerns about genocide, ecological collapse, racism, nuclear weapons, and affordability are overlooked while powerful institutions instead pay heed to billionaires and the executives of corporations that provision war-makers with weapons, exacerbate the potential for ecological collapse, endanger the lives of migrants, and expand the prison-industrial complex.
“Many young people whose voices have been stifled and censured look forward to the upcoming elections,” said Annie James, a lead organizer for the event who decided to intern with the Illinois World BEYOND War chapter after nearing completion of her studies as a peace and justice major at DePaul U. “The Young Voters’ Congress welcomed people to declare which issues will most influence them at the polls and in formation of future alliances.”
Kayla Pilgrim, Communications Lead for Sunrise Movement Chicago, was the keynote speaker. Profound concern for two younger sisters affected by asthma had motivated Kayla to tackle issues related to poisoned environments. At age 20, she has learned to connect the dots and called on the assembled group to join her in overcoming fears by forming community and becoming active.
“We are here to first crush fascism,” Kayla noted. She decried abuses of the military-industrial-media-congressional complex and urged the DNC to stop funding genocide and instead fund efforts to avoid ecological collapse. Kayla noted that the Sunrise Movement in Chicago had recently occupied AIPAC offices in Chicago to protest support for candidates tolerating Israel’s genocide against Palestinians. She also issued a call for Illinois residents to oust ICE for good.
A panel entitled “Militarism, Racism, Inequality and Climate Collapse: The Tentacles of the War Machine,” moderated by CODEPINK’s Danaka Katovich, featured Tree Palmeras, Director of Black Lives Matter, Chicago, and Henna Ayesh from the DePaul University 2024 encampment for Palestine. They covered issues ranging from motivation for activism to the repugnance of paying taxes to kill children at home and abroad.
Henna Ayesh noted the irony of the United States, on land stolen from Indigenous peoples, provisioning weapons and surveillance capacities to Israel for use in perpetrating Israeli genocide against Palestinians.
Panelist Tree Palmeras said Haitian family members encouraged her, as a child, to resist militarism. She decried the violence that decimates communities whether perpetrated by U.S. wars abroad, or though heavily militarized policing and incarceration in U.S. cities.
Danaka Katovich (CODEPINK), the panel moderator, called on participants to resist the NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act) 1033 program, which donates surplus U.S. Department of War weapons to U.S. police departments. She also noted that the U.S. Department of War funds Quantum Computing in Chicago.
DePaul professor Jerica Arents facilitated a concluding discussion in which participants divided into two groups, representing those who were forty years old and above and those who were under forty. Salient comments from the discussion included:
- Older people expressing an apology to young generations for the current state of the world.
- Young people asking the older generation to respect their determination to achieve essential changes.
An informal poll conducted through the event registration process signaled that genocide was the most important issue for attendees.
The Young Voters’ Congress was endorsed by: Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Chicago, Black Lives Matter Chicago, Chicago Area Peace Action, CODEPINK, Justice for All, Mennonite Action Chicago, Nonviolent Cities Project-Joliet, Nuclear Energy Information Service, Pax Christi Illinois, Sunrise Movement Chicago, and Youth Healing Chi.
Organizers of the Young Voters’ Congress pledged to send documentation of the event to local elected officials, electoral campaigns, community leaders, and media outlets. They look forward to ongoing collaboration with all participants.
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