Organizational discipline

IVI Bylaws included a provision that prohibited members from working their precincts against an endorsed candidate. The Independent folks in the 5th ward took that seriously..

When Carol Moseley Braun was endorsed for State Representative for one of two contested seats in the 1978 Democratic primary election, many IVI members instead supported one of her opponents, Barbara Flynn Currie.

They rearranged their traditional precinct operations so none of them would be canvassing precincts where voters would know them as the IVI campaign workers.

Few members in other areas abided by that rule. In fact, most made a point of working the same precincts they had canvassed before so voters would think the candidates they supported were the real Independents.

Braun and Currie both won They were both endorsed in the next election and both enjoyed IVI support after being redrawn into separate, single-member districts.