State Senator Jil Tracy welcomed more than 60 high school students from 14 schools across the 50th Legislative District to her annual Youth Advisory Council (YAC), held in Springfield.
“It is always inspiring to see so many young people take an active interest in how their state government works,” said Senator Tracy. “The Youth Advisory Council gives students a firsthand look at the legislative process and encourages them to become informed and engaged citizens.”
During the YAC, students began their day touring the Senate floor, where they heard from Assistant Secretary of the Senate Scott Kaiser, as well as Senator Tracy and other lawmakers.
“It sounded like a good opportunity to go somewhere, meet state representatives, and get a good glimpse into what they do,” said Parker White of Routt Catholic High School. “I just didn’t really understand much about the entirety of how the state government works. They directly make decisions that lead to the laws that are implemented that directly affect me.”
Students then toured the House floor, where they met with State Representatives Kyle Moore and C.D. Davidsmeyer.
“It’s a great opportunity just to get in and see what government is really like,” said Kasen Humke of Unity High School. “It’s very cool to look at numbers and see how our local and state governments run, and to have the chance to see other people and network with more kids our age who want to get into leadership roles.”
During the afternoon portion of the YAC, students were assigned various legislative roles, including citizen proponent/opponent, lobbyist proponent/opponent, Democrat and Republican lawmakers, and members of the press. They used these roles to debate proposed legislation in a mock committee hearing, focusing on whether a minor’s parent could employ a child outside of school hours at a business in which the parent or legal guardian owns at least 51% of the business.
“I feel like it’s a longer process than I expected it to be, and it’s even longer in the real thing,” said Royal Wolf of Brown County High School. “The amount of stuff that you have to look over and the different views on different things. I think it’s cool how there’s a national level, but also a local, state, and county level, and there are different people for different jobs that need to be done.”
Students also had the opportunity to hear from Miss Quincy Shelby Rose and media specialist Mark Hepsen, host of the Illinois Insider. In addition, they participated in a “Capture the Capitol” photo contest, which encouraged them to explore the Capitol and creatively document their experience.
“I like government as a whole because it’s the basis of our society, but law is my passion and seeing how it goes hand in hand with how our state is run is interesting,” said Maddie Bodenbach of Jerseyville High School. “I liked seeing the buildings, they are beautiful, but I also liked hearing where our Senators and House members are from and what they do on a day-to-day basis.”
Refreshments and lunch for the Youth Advisory Council were provided by Meridian Health Plan of Illinois.