T.F. North Students Help Spearhead New School Voting Law

CALUMET CITY, IL — Nearly two years ago, educators at Thornton Fractional North High School in Calumet City started an election season tradition. The "March to the Polls" field trip began as a way to not only teach students about the voting process but also to allow those who are eligible actually vote.

"When we asked a group at our first parade to the polls how many of them would have been able to vote had we not had this field trip... about half said they would not have," said Emily Biegel, a T.F. North teacher who spearheaded the "March to the Polls" effort and one who has herself helped a number of students register to vote.

Now, thanks in part to that initiative, it's a state law for schools to allow all students who are registered to vote two hours away from school to do so.

State Bill 1970, signed into law just weeks ago by Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, states that "a student entitled to vote in a primary, general, or special election or at any election at which propositions are submitted to a popular vote in the State, with consent from his or her school, is entitled to absent himself or herself for 2 hours to vote and that the school may specify the hours in which the student may absent himself or herself."

Kahari Gardner, a T.F. North senior, said the new law is "going to help a lot of people who just didn't know about voting."

"This extra help I feel will make a difference," he said.

Biegel said Illinois District 17 State Senator Elgie Sims took part in one of the march to the polls and was impressed with "the impact it had on getting kids engaged in the process."

Soon after, the bill was introduced by Sims in the State Senate, picked up additional sponsors, passed through the Illinois General Assembly and will now go into effect on June 1.

"We teach students how to drive and how to take standardized tests, it seems like a natural extension to teach them about this," Biegel said. "A lot of decisions are being made that directly affect their future and they should be part of that process."