Grace Wilbur Trout

Grace Wilbur Trout (1864-1955) was a leader in the women’s suffrage movement, first as President of the Chicago Political Equality League.  When she became President of the Illinois Equal Suffrage Association, she not only gained the support of Illinoisans across the state but she influenced state and national politicians. Thanks to Trout’s strong organizational and political skills, the Illinois Presidential and Municipal Voting Act of 1913 was passed making Illinois the first state east of the Mississippi River to allow women to vote in presidential elections. In her hometown of Oak Park, she was known as “The Woman Who Never Fails.”

Why this stop? The Ridgeland Avenue Green Line station is a comfortable walk from Trout’s Oak Park home.

Learn more about Grace Wilbur Trout in her biography The Woman Who Never Fails, available from the Oak Park River Forest Museum.

Get involved—After the 19th Amendment passed, Trout was a key founder of the League of Women Voters.  Get info about your local chapter and how you can get involved.

Discuss—Grace Wilbur Trout was known as “The Woman Who Never Fails.” Think about your aspirations. What would you like to be known as?