SPRINGFIELD- Nearly 80 high school students from across the 10 counties of the 54th Senate District visited Springfield recently to meet with government officials and try their hands at passing laws. It was all part of Senator Steve McClure’s (R-Springfield) Youth Advisory Council (YAC), where he invited high school students to become immersed in state government for a day.
“This is a chance to develop the next generation of leaders and to encourage them to get involved in public service,” said Senator McClure. “These students get to experience what it’s like to be a legislator and they learn how they can have a positive impact in their communities and across the state.”
The Youth Advisory Council met at the Student Union at the University of Illinois Springfield, where the students learned about how state government really works and functions. They also heard from state leaders, including former Governor Jim Edgar and Illinois Supreme Court Justice Lisa Holder White.
“I’m so happy I came here, I learned a lot more about the judicial branch, about the legislative branch, and about the executive branch, and through these activities, I’m a lot more confident about pursuing a career in public service,” said Mt. Zion High School Junior Makaylah Adams. “I think this was a great experience and I’m glad I got to meet people of many different political views here.”
“I thought it was a great experience to learn about government and politics for young people and then learn how to get into that type of stuff and then learn the process of what they do and how they do it,” said Sacred Heart Griffin High School Senior Mac Stone.
During the afternoon, the students conducted a mock legislative committee hearing, taking on the roles of legislators, lobbyists, and even the Governor.
“It’s been pretty good, pretty informational, the whole process of the Legislative branch,” said Litchfield High School Junior Kale Texheimer. “You get to come up with new ideas and hear how people view different topics.”
“It was really interesting to learn the whole bill process and kind of do that myself. As someone who doesn’t think about this type of stuff on a day-to-day basis, it was really fun to think about coming up with my own bill and how the entire process goes,” said Effingham High School Senior Nicole Cruz. “It definitely provided more info into politics and will help me get more involved in the future.”
McClure’s YAC program typically meets once per year. He encourages interested high school students to ask their teachers and principals about taking part in the program.