Tuesday, March 28, 2006
Why the District 300 Referendum Brought to Mind the Awarding Legislative Scholarships
Reflecting upon the recent District 300 referendums, I thought how the young people who led the student end of the tax hike operation would have been naturals for my Public Affairs Scholarships, were I still in office.
I love passion in politics. To encourage such passion is one of the reasons I started the blog.
When I was state representative for a district that included northern Kane and DeKalb Counties, McHenry County and southern Boone County in the 1970's, I could not figure out how to award the 8 scholarships state law let me give away every year. I discovered that most legislators gave them to children of supporters and/or contributors. (One gave one to his own child!)
One summer I was at a McHenry Grade School (can't figure out why they were in school) and the grade school kids were asking questions.
One girl in front asked a question. Then, her hand popped up again. I called on all of the others and then went back to her. She asked a second question:
"Would you like to be president?"
I was 32. I answered,
"Sure. It's the top of my profession. Wouldn't you?"
I was greeted with a chorus of "NO's."
It shocked me.
Maybe it should not have. It was 1974 and the Watergate hearings were everywhere in the media.
At that point, I had awarded no legislative scholarships because I had not figured out how to do it.
I wanted to encourage young people who participated in public affairs.
After that I decided to award my legislative scholarships to students who--themselves--had demonstrated activity and interest in public affairs. I called them "Public Affairs Scholarships."
The roles played by Jacobs High School student leaders in this referendum would have really impressed my scholarship selection committee. (All I did was sign the form after the committee picked the winners.) My guess is that they would have been awarded scholarships. (Now, sometimes I didn’t agree with my committee’s recommendations, but providing rubber-stamp approval was part of the deal.)
The first year, my committee awarded scholarships to two young men who had run for precinct committeeman—one in Crystal Lake and one in Carpentersville. (This was the first election after the voting age had been lowered to 18.) One was a Democrat and the other a Republican.
When I returned to the Illinois House after 12 years of “remission,” I couldn’t find my old application blank. I went down to the Legislative Printing Unit and asked if I could see application forms from other legislators.
Know what I discovered?
It was the form I developed in 1974 after that troubling interaction with the McHenry grade school kids.
I love passion in politics. To encourage such passion is one of the reasons I started the blog.
When I was state representative for a district that included northern Kane and DeKalb Counties, McHenry County and southern Boone County in the 1970's, I could not figure out how to award the 8 scholarships state law let me give away every year. I discovered that most legislators gave them to children of supporters and/or contributors. (One gave one to his own child!)
One summer I was at a McHenry Grade School (can't figure out why they were in school) and the grade school kids were asking questions.
One girl in front asked a question. Then, her hand popped up again. I called on all of the others and then went back to her. She asked a second question:
"Would you like to be president?"
I was 32. I answered,
"Sure. It's the top of my profession. Wouldn't you?"
I was greeted with a chorus of "NO's."
It shocked me.
Maybe it should not have. It was 1974 and the Watergate hearings were everywhere in the media.
At that point, I had awarded no legislative scholarships because I had not figured out how to do it.
I wanted to encourage young people who participated in public affairs.
After that I decided to award my legislative scholarships to students who--themselves--had demonstrated activity and interest in public affairs. I called them "Public Affairs Scholarships."
The roles played by Jacobs High School student leaders in this referendum would have really impressed my scholarship selection committee. (All I did was sign the form after the committee picked the winners.) My guess is that they would have been awarded scholarships. (Now, sometimes I didn’t agree with my committee’s recommendations, but providing rubber-stamp approval was part of the deal.)
The first year, my committee awarded scholarships to two young men who had run for precinct committeeman—one in Crystal Lake and one in Carpentersville. (This was the first election after the voting age had been lowered to 18.) One was a Democrat and the other a Republican.
When I returned to the Illinois House after 12 years of “remission,” I couldn’t find my old application blank. I went down to the Legislative Printing Unit and asked if I could see application forms from other legislators.
Know what I discovered?
It was the form I developed in 1974 after that troubling interaction with the McHenry grade school kids.
Comments:
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Good for you Cal! For acknowledging the efforts of students who get involved. It would be nice to give some of the average Joe citizens of our communties a small recognition for their efforts...ie, the Tony Quigliano's, who give unselfishly of their time and expertise to explain to the community at large the craziness of school funding and taxation....without his efforts, we would all be paying the max amount...and without Larry behind him, our d158 school board would have asked for the full amount, and actually did, despite their promise not to...
Isn't Matt Bishop one of the kids that you and your cronies like the Peskys said were being maniputaled and used by D300? Now you want to give him an award? You are something else.
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