Local High School Students Participate In Youth Advisory Council

LEMONT, IL – High school students from the 41st Senate District recently had the chance to experience the lawmaking process as part of State Senator John Curran’s Youth Advisory Council program.

“There are very bright young minds throughout the district that are very interested in public policy and its effects on their communities, who want to learn more and get more involved,” Curran said in a release. “This program is an opportunity for them to see how it works from the inside and to explore the process and potentially learn about future careers in public service.”

According to a release, the students gathered at Lemont Village Hall to learn more about the process of crafting legislation, by hearing from local leaders involved in public policy. The students also had an opportunity to discuss and debate local, state, and national issues, and see how these issues affect their daily lives.

“I think it’s very important for students to get involved, because then they a very good mindset going into their adult life, so not only do they know what’s going on they know the background behind it and are able to make a lot better decisions in the future,” Lemont High School senior Caroline Bukowski said in a release.

The students spent the afternoon portion of the event in a mock legislative committee hearing, where students took on the roles of legislators and advocates on both sides of a mock legislative proposal to legalize fireworks, a release states.

After some testimony, debate on the issue, and a thorough discussion of the merits for and against the proposal, the student legislators eventually voted to advance their legislation.

“It’s been fascinating to see what they bring from their backgrounds and experiences to this debate and how they go about trying to advance or stop the legislation,” Curran said in a release. “They’re going to be making a lot of big decisions in their lifetime, and it’s important that they start thinking early about public policy and its role in their community, and why things should or shouldn’t be done. I hope that greater participation in the process now, like this, is going to lead to greater involvement and better results for them in their futures.”

Curran’s Youth Advisory Council program meets twice each year, once in the fall semester and once in the spring.