2026 Member Convention Bulletin

Issue #2 - Tuesday, April 21st, 2026

Convention Updates 

Convention is a little over 6 weeks away! We are excited to share the proposal submission form for the convention linked here. All Chicago DSA members in good standing are eligible to submit proposals for consideration at the convention.

Proposals, both resolutions and bylaw amendments, require at least 10 co-signers who are all Chicago DSA members in good standing. Co-signers can be inclusive of the proposal author(s). 

Bylaw amendments must be submitted by 11:59PM Central Time on Saturday, May 16th. This deadline is based on the requirements set out in the Chicago DSA constitution and bylaws.

Resolutions must be submitted by 11:59PM Central Time on Friday, May 22nd. This deadline is set so that members will be able to review a draft agenda with all submitted proposals two weeks ahead of the Convention on Saturday, May 23rd. 

Review proposals submitted to previous General Chapter Meetings and Member Conventions for reference here. Please send any proposal related questions to the co-chairs Lyra S. (co-chair-1@chicagodsa.org) and Sean D (co-chair-2@chicagodsa.org). 

Member Submissions 

Last week’s discussion prompt: With the victory of Zohran Mamdani and DSA recently achieving 100,000 members nationwide, how can our chapter build on the current momentum behind democratic socialism over the next year? What opportunities and potential threats lay ahead?”

Violet J, Northside Blue Line Branch, Revolution! Caucus

In previous membership booms, the chapter has experienced serious growing pains that left it more bitter and disorganized than before. To meet the moment our increasing membership has created, we need to take the opportunity to build chapter infrastructure. Things like specifying the roles of chapter bodies, establishing offices in more branches, planning for how we develop new leadership, and coordinating consistent fundraising methods can be done as we ride the wave of new members, many of whom are excited to get to work building the party. The goal should be to exit that wave more stable and powerful than before.

Emma Caterine, Northside Red Line Branch, Labor Branch

Socialism is back! We can say farewell to the days where it was treated as antiquated and unspeakable. But there is much more work to be done. Many people are interested in socialism. Many people are sympathetic to unions. Many people have attended protests against Donald Trump and ICE. But few are organizing in their local elections and workplaces. And too many see politics as a type of consumption, as listening to Chapo Trap House or posting lefty memes, rather than a process of building power. Zohran won because NYC DSA turned its socialist-curious into an army of socialist-organizers. We need to make those in every election and every workplace that we can, focusing our energy on building power instead of liberal activism around disparate identities begging the ruling class for fair treatment.

Leonard P, Northside Blue Line Branch

CDSA needs to be steadfast in its commitment to socialism and not fall into the trap of settling for progressive electoralism. Our socialist values are what make us special and we need to foreground them always. We need to continue our work in political education and leadership development to ensure that the big influx of new members stay active and engaged, especially if the Democrats clean up in the midterms – always a big disorganizing risk. Our biggest challenges will be reaching out past activist circles and building deeper ties with working-class communities.

Deana C, Northside Blue Line Branch, Revolution! Caucus

The victory of our comrades in NYC DSA has been a boon to chapters all across the country. In Chicago–as elsewhere–we have seen a major surge in membership. Attendance has been high and new members are getting to work on our chapter’s priorities. This presents an opportunity for our chapter to build and prepare ourselves for and agitate towards a future break with the capitalist system, but as many veterans of our chapter know a surge does not always last. We must take active steps to solidify our gains. 

There are many things that must be done to steer these people into the work to permanently integrate them into the democratic life of our party, but one stands out to me. We must work to identify leaders among these people and actively move to support their development and move them towards formal leadership at a measured pace. We are at risk of putting too much on these members too quickly. This risk emerges in part due to our chapter’s structures and because of ongoing burn out among the present leadership. It is imperative that we do not take these newer members and “rocket ship” them to the top of our leadership before they have experience or training. 

We are set to elect a 30 person Executive Committee. Doing so would contribute to the ongoing rocket shipping, burning out, and the high rate of resignations occurring at the top of our chapter. If we do nothing to intervene to slow the burnout and to give leaders space to develop in the middle levels of the chapter, we will find ourselves in the midst of a leadership crisis sooner than later. These interventions should include structural reform, formalized leadership development training, and a culture of respect for the time and capacity of the leadership. 

Sean Duffy, Northside Blue Line Branch, Bread & Roses Caucus

More and more people are mad about capitalism and energized by socialism. Some of them are joining DSA. Our biggest opportunity is the potential to transform those members into lifelong socialists with the education and confidence to organize and lead in the class struggle. Our biggest threat is if the number of members that go through that transformation is far too small, leaving our capacity for action far too limited for us to win meaningful change and to continue to grow long-term and to a true “mass” scale.

As a “Class of 2017” DSA member, I’ve seen many comrades come and go. What is the common denominator among those who became “cadre” and have stayed for the long haul? I think it’s primarily two things. One, they made real personal connections with other members. Two, they went through that aforementioned transformation. That is, through DSA they gained a new level of education, experience, and confidence that made it possible for them to do things like lead campaigns, unionize their workplace, and organize in their communities in a way they wouldn’t have been able to otherwise. Those two things together resulted in a commitment to DSA not just as a vehicle for a specific issue or area of work, but as an institution that needs to be built up and preserved so it will be there for generations of new members to come. 

How do we replicate and scale those experiences? First, we need to get members together, in-person, and on a regular basis (more). That will drive relationship building in a way chats and zoom meetings will never replicate. Second, we need a clearer road for members to follow to grow and develop as socialist organizers, and to make that transformative process much more intentional and much more likely. 

Bijan T, Northside Red Line Branch, Democracy Working Group Co-Chair

Zohran’s victory was, in part, made possible by laws. With one of the most generous public campaign finance programs in the country, the campaign received over $13 million dollars in government funding. The campaign used that money to spread socialist politics and organize the working-class. 

With the visibility of the campaign’s success in hand, there is a huge opportunity to pass a similar matching program in Chicago: the Fair Elections Program. In CDSA’s Democracy Working Group, we are actively working towards that goal and look forward to the year ahead.

Jamie W, Northside Red Line Branch, Groundwork Caucus

"With the recent membership surge, DSA has reached a new level of political relevance. However, to assume this is the height of DSA’s power undercuts the purpose of the organization. To truly be a workers’ party, workers must be familiar with DSA. This means building on that relevance by acting with them in their communities. So many are frustrated and desperate for an outlet under the current administration. While some label recent protests, such as the No Kings marches, as liberal or overly corporate, that extra step into class consciousness does not happen overnight. By meeting workers where they’re at, you’ve already found a pool of people willing to break one of the hardest ceilings in leftist organizing: actually showing up.

It shouldn’t be controversial to say that DSA doesn’t currently have every potential organizer in our ranks. It’s our responsibility to find those organizers (or future organizers) and bring them into our fold. If we don’t meet people where they already are–at marches, polling stations, picket lines, and their community organizations–we lose access to potential organizers and fail to reach millions of workers whose voices are not yet heard.

Internally, we must ensure that the bump in membership isn’t just numbers. If we want growth to translate into action, we must ask how to move people into participation. When members aren’t showing up, there’s likely something they’re seeking that we aren’t providing. Growth and development must be offered and prioritized.  People are desperate to do work that feels relevant, and do it where they feel needed. Building the middle layer through creating structure for 1-on-1 organizing conversations, trainings, and chapter-wide events ensures new members find the right place to contribute as effectively as possible (for both the member and the organization overall) rather than hitting a wall early.

Jazmin J. Robinson, Northside Blue Line Branch

I believe Mamdani is showing what democratic socialism actually delivers in office like taxing the rich, going after bad landlords, universal affordable childcare. These aren’t abstract values, they’re material wins for the working class, and people are paying attention. I believe DSA awareness has never been higher.

I believe our biggest opportunity is building a local electoral bench. In my opinion, we need more democratic socialists in seats of real power like alderperson, Illinois General Assembly, etc. because that’s where laws get written that actually advance the causes our working groups care about. Electing our people is the multiplier that makes every committee’s mission achievable. We can lean on our previously-endorsed electeds to help recruit and mentor the next wave.

Three threats I see:

1. The Democratic machine will fight us. Mamdani’s win doesn’t mean Chicago’s machine rolls over, if anything, they’re more alert now. We need to be ready.

2. Bandwidth. Bryan’s congressional race is the right call, but it’s going to absorb of our electoral capacity this cycle. That’s not a bad thing, it just means we need realistic goals about which other local races we can meaningfully support alongside it, and which we can’t.

3. Scope creep. I believe we have 10+ working groups and committees right now. Do our current goals have the strongest Return on Investment for the chapter, or are we spread across too many fronts? I’d love for us to land on 3-5 SMART goals for the next year, anchored to a 5-year vision for the chapter, and pressure-test every project, committee, and endorsement against them.

Please note, this is just my perspective. However I believe if we start canvassing to get more folks civically engaged and registered to vote using Mamdani as our example along other DSA elected officials we could really push more DSA members into office.

Wally, Northside Red Line Branch, Groundwork Caucus

Zohran's election is the “proof of concept” that DSA has been waiting for electorally. That a political campaign laser focused on the needs of the working class can win. The excitement over that is borne out in increased membership across the country including Chicago.

We have in Chicago currently a unique opportunity in Byron’s campaign to build off that momentum locally. As a member of the DSA for Byron SC I have seen newer members show up for a canvass in early March that now lead canvasses in Mid-April. I have seen the enthusiasm of comrades coming back from an afternoon talking about socialism and Byron. Electoral organizing presents a unique opportunity to engage with other working-class people about politics where they already are.

In any kind of organizing, it is being able to show that your concept of how the world can be changed works that provides the key to both attracting people to your line of thinking and keeping those already doing the work engaged. So what can we do as a chapter to build off the current momentum? I think the single biggest thing we can do is not be passive. Rather than wait for something to happen that provides a proof of concept, let us organize here in Chicago to do so. 

The EWG 2027 plan for municipal elections is that kind of opportunity. By organizing not just internally, but having members engage working class people in their own neighborhoods, by organizing where we have not traditionally organized in, by breaking down the silos that exist between working groups, branches, and committees, by engaging the whole chapter in working towards the goal fighting back against the Billionaire inspired backlash in this city, we will build power for our class and our party across Chicago.

Mel Tully, Northside Red Line Branch, Groundwork Caucus

The growth of our organization in the wake of Zohran’s election both nationally and locally has been incredibly inspiring and broadens the horizons of what we can achieve as DSA. Locally, it has allowed CDSA to finally overcome its post-2023-election slump. We are once again bringing in new socialists and growing our ranks. 

While our situation can shift with little notice, we are poised for a term with heavy focus on electoral politics for our chapter. It is crucial that we spend this moment developing our membership by directing them to canvassing operations in the 4th Congressional district and across Chicago. 

Our all-out effort for Byron’s congressional run is proving the power of electoral politics. These months spent gathering signatures are preparing us well for the 2027 Chicago municipal election by helping us rebuild our electoral apparatus. 

CDSA should use this electoral cycle to grow its presence across the city. Come August, we will begin voting on who to endorse this cycle. These candidates, as they defend their offices and contest new races, will present opportunities where class struggle can move the conversation instead of a wave of anti-Brandon Johnson backlash. 

Chicagoans are struggling with rising housing costs, underfunded services and public schools, and a fascist government breathing down their necks. We need more strong voices to advocate against the majority-conservative city hall that will seek to grow its ranks and elect an aligned mayor in 2027. We will need to be out on the streets in force, talking to our neighbors about socialist candidates who will fight for the working class every day. To do anything less would mean our organization failing to meet the moment.

Lyra Spencer, Northside Blue Line Branch, Chapter Co-Chair, Groundwork Caucus

Zohran’s election was both inspiring and transformative for DSA. New York City DSA showed us that our horizons are limitless, when we commit ourselves to running bold, inspiring, external campaigns. 

Our tasks ahead are two fold. The first is to keep growing, so our strength and capacity to intervene in the struggle between workers and the ruling class also grows. The second, is to plug new members into exciting external work, develop them into worker leaders, and to flatten as many barriers to participation within DSA as possible. 

Regarding the first task, there’s a danger that CDSA relies on only passive recruitment. If that dries up, our chapter capacity will follow like previously. We must combat this with running engaging campaigns, doing effective list work, conducting regular phonebanks, and training our membership on having organizing conversations.  

Regarding the second task, if our structures are inaccessible, we will not retain the new members we do get. We should explore having shorter, but more frequent meetings, spreading out chapter-wide events to more parts of CDSA’s territory, and explore different avenues for asynchronous voting.

During Zohran’s election, I asked myself how can CDSA build towards our own Zohran moment? Since 2019, NYC DSA diligently built an electoral machine, running credible electoral campaigns year after year. The next three years give us a perfect opportunity to do the same. This year we are re-building our electoral capacity with Byron and developing many new leaders. In 2027, we likely will be running an aldermanic race in 3 out of 4 of our territorial branches. In 2028, the chapter could run our very first IL Assembly slate, anchored by a potential democratic socialist presidential run (likely AOC). 

CDSA’s best days are ahead of it, and we will get there through engaging the masses today.

Ramsin C, Northside Blue Line Branch

Our chapter has seen significant growth over the last year. So far, we have done a good job of reinvigorating our branches and political education events--in the last ten days, for example, more than 150 people attended poli ed events. A member's first year is critical to keeping them for the long term. Poli Ed and social connectivity are two important parts of that. Connecting members to the Byron campaign will be critical to helping those new members see CDSA as their political home. Organizing supporters groups for Byrons campaign--through labor branch ("teamsters for Byron"; "teachers for Byron") and through other affinity groups ("parents for Byron"; Queer Socialists for Byron") would be welcome as well: cut through siloes and get different parts of the membership working towards a common goal. I think we also need to build towards a signature, and independent campaign around the 2026-2027 election season: organize GOTV around the Workers Deserve More platform. Given the state of the economy, I think events like the Labor Branch's jobs fair (very well attended!) would be excellent regular events as well. The key is to keep up the activity in this critical year after the bump(s).

Alec H, Northside Blue Line Branch

Chicago has had a socialist electoral presence on the city council since 2019, but the broader progressive city coalition faces stagnation and defeat. While there is much enthusiasm for electoral campaigns in the aftermath of Zohran, the political context in Chicago is seeing the unraveling of the Johnson Administration as well as the UWF alliance, as former union allies split from the UWF project to potentially align themselves with mainstream Cook County Democrats.

An electoral resurgence for CDSA cannot succeed without embedding ourselves in organized labor, and to do so Chicago DSA has to continue developing our Labor Branch to mobilize for strike support and help get interested members union jobs and become labor militants. Specifically, we have opportunities to help get members into existing union salting campaigns in Amazon, as well as into rank-and-file jobs in strategic public sector jobs. Robust unions with socialist militants and democratic cultures have the potential to be an engine of mass working-class politics, including recruitment of working-class electoral candidates committed to a more robust socialist electoral project like that of NYC as opposed to the more general progressivism of UWF.

Ann Finkel, Northside Blue Line Branch, Labor Branch

I think one lesson learned from past membership bumps is that we need to bring people into the democratic life of the chapter, and allow for experimentation while also making sure people feel connected all across the org. That means using branches to encourage political discussion to connect members to the vision for the chapter's big priorities--like Byron Sigcho Lopez's congressional campaign, strike support and the rank-and-file jobs pipeline, and planning for the 2026-27 election season. At the same time, members need social and low-stakes places to meet and get to know each other. I think things like our DSA Run Club, or the upcoming Capital reading group, are two good (and very different!) examples. Our political education programs like Socialist Night Schools have been big and steadily growing and give members a sense of confidence to participate in discussion. The important thing is to resist siloes and keep the membership connected within and across branches and areas of work, and to do so in places of democratic deliberation and political discussion--even if it doesn't involve votes, deliberation and discussion themselves are key for a healthy democratic life and building member confidence. People want to feel connected to one another politically, and to a big organization with a big vision. The branches can be especially good for that.

Will B, Northside Blue Line Branch, Labor Branch

The three biggest political stories in Chicago over the next year are likely to be an increase in federal incursions into the city, heightened class conflict (both in the workplace and in city and state budgets) over fewer resources spurred by a declining economy, and a municipal election that the ruling class will try to make about an unpopular mayor who is seen as a leftist and who is synecdochic with the city’s most prominent union. If we approach those first two in a way that builds working class consciousness and class organization, and deepens and interweaves DSA into the organized working class, we will be best suited to combat the ruling class’s desired frame for the election and prevent the demobilization and demoralization of Chicago’s working class.

Derek M, Northside Red Line Branch

While previous DSA wins, most notably AOC, has given us national attention in the past, the victory of Zohran Mamdani has given DSA an unprecedented opportunity to grow. Unlike previous congressional wins, securing the executive role of mayor gives us not just the opportunity to voice our platform but enact it. No longer will we be recruiting people with the dream of a government that provides free childcare, enforces tenant rights, and builds public grocery stores. DSA is proving that can be the reality for the people of New York. It's up to us to show them we can make it a reality in Chicago as well.

However, we are not the only ones looking at New York. As the “Zoh-mentum” grows we are going to see politicians across the country - both in the democratic center and the far right - co-opt populist leftist messaging. As Democrats like Cory Booker adopt “anti-ICE” framing for modest reformation and Tucker Carlson uses calls of “ending Israel’s genocide” to launder white nationalism, its more important than ever to distinguish our candidates and our movement. Many movements are going to try to take advantage of this unique moment. We cannot let them dilute our vision or slow our momentum. The working class writ large is desperate for a better future. We must seize this potential of this moment, or someone much worse will.  

Have thoughts on one of this week’s Member Submissions? 

Submit a reply using the form here. 

Prompt for discussion, week 2

The first year of the second Trump Administration has seen no shortage of attacks on the working class in Chicago. Despite these assaults, our chapter, DSA, and left-wing forces generally have been able to fight back and even win major victories, such as Avelo Airlines dropping its contract with ICE. What should our chapter celebrate from this past year? What are you most proud to have worked on as a member? And where and how has that work been able to bring in new members and develop members as organizers and leaders?

Submit a response using the Bulletin Submission Form linked here. Member Responses for this Prompt will be published in next week’s Convention Bulletin. Please try to submit responses no later than Sunday evening every week.

This Week in Midwest Socialist

“Lessons from the 2026 Primary Elections” by Anthony Walraven 

Midwest Socialist welcomes submissions from members of DSA. Midwest Socialists prefers that authors submit a pitch summarizing their idea for a piece before sending their full draft. Please include your full name in your submission so the Editors can verify that you are a member; if Midwest Socialists publishes your piece, you can ask for your byline to use a last initial or pseudonym if preferred. Send your pitches through this submission form. Expect an initial response within a week from submission. See Midwest Socialist’s Editorial Policy for more details.

Be sure to read “Why You Should Write For Midwest Socialist” by Midwest Socialist Editorial Board member Matt Wehmeier.