McLean County’s women were the center of attention Saturday at the McLean County Museum of History.
About 50 people attended the afternoon event where a brief lesson was given on some notable women from McLean County’s history. From Eva Gaiter Jones, the first person of color ever elected to the Bloomington Board of Education and the city council, to Patricia Wannemacher; who broke barriers as a female entrepreneur and electrician, women have helped mold McLean County into what it is today.
The four modern-day history makers celebrated Saturday were Dr. Kyle Ciani, State Rep. Sharon Chung, Jan Lancaster and Kari Sandhaas. The program was sponsored by the League of Women Voters of McLean County.
Kyle Ciani
Ciani is a history professor at Illinois State University and also a faculty member in ISU’s Women’s, Gender & Sexuality Studies program. Her work in education focuses on social reform and wage comparisons between different genders.
Ciani also works with K-12 school districts in the state to better integrate women’s history into lessons and exhibits.
Kari Sandhaas
A graduate of ISU, Kari Sandhaas’ impact on McLean County takes multiple forms of activism.
“Activism, to me, implies that we connect with others,” Sandhaas said at the event.
The connections Sandhaas made originate from a book club she started, as well as taking lead in a women’s consciousness-raising group. Sandhaas also finds importance in advocacy for people with autism, starting the Autism Friendly Community and partnering with nonprofit organizations that help those with autism.
Sharon Chung
Sharon Chung represents Illinois' 91st House District as a state representative, and is a teacher and musician.
She became the first Asian-American elected to the McLean County Board in 2018, four years before becoming a state representative. Chung specializes musically in piano and violin, and performs across central Illinois.
Her political journey and work as a musician, teacher and mother continues to be one of a trailblazer.
Jan Lancaster
Jan Lancaster is the owner of The Bistro in Bloomington, an LGBTQ+ friendly bar downtown. Since its opening 31 years ago, Lancaster said it’s been a space for people to feel comfortable.
“We’ve created a safe haven, and I want it to continue, even, you know I’m 72, but I want to see it keep going,” said Lancaster.
It was so much of a safe haven in fact, that young people who didn’t feel safe going home to their families would stay there overnight.
“Early days, we had kids that couldn’t go home and we fed them, let them sleep in the bar — I had kids sleeping all over the place,” explained Lancaster. “And so, looking back, you did a lot of things you couldn’t imagine yourself ever doing back then.”
Lancaster started the local Pride Fest in 2018, but she wanted to start it sooner than that.
Lancaster said, in the '90s, efforts to get streets closed for a festival failed. But by 2018, things loosened up, and the downtown Bloomington Pride Fest came to be.
“I asked if we could just close this one block. They agreed, finally, and I thought maybe two or 300 people would show up. And we had, that year, between 1,000 and 2,000,” said Lancaster.
More than 8,000 people attended last year’s Pride Fest, she said.
Attendees of Saturday's event spanned all ages, from young kids to senior adults. And while the primary focus of the day was to celebrate women of past and present, it also delivered an additional message to those of present and future: you can do it, too.
WGLT provided light refreshments for attendees at a reception after the event, tied to the station's 21 Women Who Shaped Bloomington-Normal series.
