State of the society 2024-25

The Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois continues to provide a full calendar of programs, helpful resources, and opportunities for members to connect. As of June 2025, we have 359 active members. More than a quarter live outside Illinois, including some internationally. While our core remains in the Chicago area, hybrid and online programs have helped us reach a wider audience.

This year, JGSI offered both in-person hybrid meetings and virtual members-only Zoom sessions. Zoom attendance was consistently strong, with more than 100 people registering for most events. In-person turnout generally hovered near 20, with a few meetings drawing significantly more attendees. This trend is common across genealogy and other clubs in the post-pandemic era, when many members continue to favor online participation. We still believe meeting in person builds a stronger sense of community, so we keep testing ways to make them more appealing—such as live speakers, optional lunches, and time for conversation. That said, to simplify planning and avoid winter disruptions, we’ve decided that future January and February general meetings will be held online only.

Our Sunday programs covered a wide range of topics, such as genetic genealogy, family history storytelling, research methodology and resources for Illinois, Ukrainian and Polish research. Several events featured in-person speakers, including two highly attended talks on Jewish migration history co-sponsored with the Chicago Jewish Historical Society. We also grew our members-only Zoom sessions, offering smaller, focused meetings on topics like JewishGen tools, Chicago-area cemeteries, court archives, and how to uncover family stories. After seeing strong attendance at a weekday session during the middle of the day with 41 registrants, we’ve become more flexible about meeting times and now schedule based on presenter availability. This flexibility has allowed us to include presenters who can offer sessions during their regular work hours, expanding the variety of voices and perspectives we bring to members. We thank all the members who suggested topics, presented, showed up, or helped behind the scenes. 

We moved forward on several internal projects too. We redesigned and reprinted our tri-fold brochure. We kept improving our meeting logistics, eNews, and member tools. Our databases grew by more than 5,000 records, with new collections added. The Names database now has over 125,000 entries, and the Subject database has nearly 8,000. We continued reviewing our reference library, removing outdated materials and making space for those most useful. Our library space at Temple Beth-El remains a valuable resource for members.

We prioritized our ideas for future projects and decided to focus on digitizing Jewish newspapers. We are partnering with the University of Illinois, where staff have researched various options. We are now reaching out to potential funding partners and expect to begin digitizing later this year.

In early 2025, we sent out a member survey and received a terrific response - 137 members - which is an unheard of 42% response rate! Thank you so much to all who participated. It was very important for us to learn that the vast majority of members value in person presentations. The survey provided specific input on ways members might be more likely to attend. Popular ideas included having speakers in person, and holding interactive discussions and workshops before the presentations. The survey continues to inform our planning.

Much of JGSI’s work happens behind the scenes. We maintain systems like Zoom, the website, membership tools, eNews, and event registration. We also support communication with members and prospects, keep our records organized, and help researchers via email and the help desk. While not always visible, this work keeps everything running smoothly. We’re always looking for more people to help in these areas.

We held our annual election online this year, and the slate of candidates was approved without issue. Two new board members were elected, and we thank them—as well as all continuing board members—for their willingness to serve. Planning is also underway for the upcoming IAJGS Conference in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Many JGSI members will be presenting at the conference, a strong reflection of the expertise and engagement within our group. We’re also helping attendees connect and coordinate through online tools.

Thank you to everyone who participated, volunteered, or contributed ideas this year. Our society is powered by members, and your involvement—whether big or small—makes all the difference.

Doug Bank, JGSI President