Longtime Springfield Activist to be Honored at Planned Parenthood Benefit

Springfield, IL – Planned Parenthood of Illinois (PPIL), Senate President John Cullerton and House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Curie will honor longtime Springfield resident and activist, Judith Barringer, with Planned Parenthood’s prestigious Voice for Choice Award tonight at Choice, Politics & Cocktails, a benefit for PPIL.

Barringer, the former CEO of Planned Parenthood Springfield Area, is receiving this award for her lifelong leadership and commitment to advance reproductive justice and women’s health care.

“We are deeply grateful to Judith for her unwavering commitment to Planned Parenthood,” said Steve Trombley, PPIL President and CEO. “Judith has dedicated herself to our mission and has worked hard to bring justice and access to reproductive health care to the Springfield area. I am honored to present her with this award today.”

Previous to her work with Planned Parenthood, Barringer worked for the Commission on the Status of Women, where she was active in the push for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, an amendment aimed at affirming the equal application of the U.S. Constitution to both men and women.

Barringer has also served many elected positions in Springfield, include serving on the Springfield Park Board for over a decade after being reelected twice. She has also been elected as a Mondale delegate to the Democratic Convention (1984) and a Dukakis delegate to the Democratic Convention (1988).

Barringer is an active member of the Springfield Women’s Political Caucus and is a former recipient of the organization’s Elizabeth Cady Stanton Award for leadership in women’s issues.

PPIL’s Choice, Politics & Cocktails benefit event will be held tonight at The Inn at 835, 835 S. Second St., from 6 – 8:30pm. All proceeds directly benefit PPIL’s programs and services. For further information about the event, contact Andrea Cedusky at [email protected] or 312.592.6838.