State Sen. Sue Rezin hosts youth council

MORRIS – Several students from throughout the 38th Senate District participated in a hands-on Youth Advisory Council hosted by State Sen. Sue Rezin, R-Morris, on Thursday, Oct. 27.

The event was the second held by Rezin to give youth the opportunity to see how state and local government works as well as to learn leadership skills.

“The first time was last spring, when I invited the high schools to invite students to join the leadership council,” Rezin said. “They came down to Springfield in the spring and got to see how it works firsthand.”

The second meeting was held in Morris at the Morris City Hall Community Room, where students were able to meet with and hear from business leaders, politicians, and former University of St. Francis head basketball coach Pat Sullivan.

“It’s incredibly uplifting to see so many young people engaged in public policy and enthusiastic about potentially dedicating their careers to it,” Rezin said. “Whether it’s on the local, state, or national level, we need good leaders. I hope this Youth Advisory Council reinforced their interest in this field, taught them about the importance of public policy, or demonstrated how to be an effective leader in any career they end up in.”

Students were selected by their principals and teachers and represented LaSalle-Peru Township High School, Morris Community High School, St. Bede Academy, Streator Township High School, Wilmington High School, Woodland High School, Putnam County High School, Reed-Custer High School, Newark High School, Hall High School and Serena High School.

“I want to learn how the legislative brand works and what work goes into the job,” said Ryleigh Christensen from Coal City Community High School. “I learned a lot from Coach Sullivan about attitude that is shared in sports as well as in leadership.”

Students also spent time in small groups discussing and debating policy issues important to them and how any new proposal could face challenges or become successful legislation.

During the discussions, Sen. Rezin spent time with each small group, asking students questions about their proposed policy change and how they would advocate for their issue.

“Last January, I wanted to delve deeper into legislation, I don’t know a lot about it,” said Chris Duffy from Morris Community High School. “I wanted to know more and what I learned is at the end of the day everyone is human, not all decisions are easy.”

Students also heard from state. Rep. David Welter, R-Morris, Tyler Diers, director of advocacy for the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, and Cody Grandadam, president of Promier Products in Peru. The panel shared stories of their experiences in the workforce and provided firsthand knowledge about public policy, leadership and how to be successful.

“I was always kind of interested in politics,” Ben Horvat of Newark High School said. “I’ve never taken a local interest, but I’ve learned there is a lot more going on than I thought.”