Major voter registration drive kicks off in 24th Ward

In an unprecedented effort to increase poll turnout throughout the state, the Illinois Voter Registration and Verification Campaign began on Saturday in the historic North Lawndale community on the city's West Side.

The 24th Ward is the first stop designated by the IVRVC, which started planning its campaign in the spring. The goal of the coalition is to register thousands of unregistered voters throughout the state, including the approximately 1.1 million unregistered voters in Cook County. Over half of these unregistered county voters reside in Chicago.

"We're wasting no one's time in this voter registration drive," Congressman Jesse L. Jackson Jr. (D-2nd) told the Chicago …