In the News

TribLocal, September 2, 2011

Sen. Holmes answers a student question at the EnACT panel with Sen. Garrett, Sen. Collins, and Rep. Berrios (l-to-r)

State Representative Thaddeus Jones began by asking the class of 30 sophomore students to close their eyes. They had gathered in a break-out session on August 31 to discuss the “Cycle of Poverty,” just one of the topics being addressed during EnACT – an innovative new program which equips sophomores with the ability to create and potentially pass a bill on the topic of their choice.

What followed Representative Jones’ request was the regaling story of a young man growing up amidst familial, social and personal turmoil. Imagine the surprise of the students gathered when Representative Jones revealed that the man in the story was himself, now a successful family man with three sons and a career serving the 29th District.

If the class hadn’t already been impressed with the legislators, the story only seemed to solidify their status as men and women with connections and the ability to implement positive change. To open the very first session of EnACT, 11 legislators from across Illinois and Dr. Toni Irving, deputy chief of staff for Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, honored IMSA at a panel by passionately introducing the topics of gambling expansion, the cycle of poverty, tax reform and governance, food deserts, taxpayer money and state budget appropriations for STEM education and higher education.

Sophomore students welcomed their visit. As sophomore Vignesh Ravi put it “I’m looking forward to working with real legislators, people who are actually in a position that connects them to opportunities we might not have yet.”

IMSA President Dr. Glenn W. “Max” McGee said this event is particularly innovative because it provides a unique learning opportunity for students.

“The students all know that our mission statement is about advancing the human condition and EnACT has connected them with legislators who share that mission and are in a position to make an immediate difference," Dr. McGee said. "I expect that this yearlong, problem-centered, inquiry-based project will have a lasting impact, both in legislation and more importantly in the minds of our students–whom we expect to use their many talents long after they leave IMSA to make people’s lives better.”

The distinguished panelists subsequently led concurrent classroom sessions of 25 sophomores each on their topics. The impressive list includes:

State Senator Linda Holmes (Plainfield)
State Senator Ed Maloney (Chicago)
State Senator Kimberly Lightford (Westchester)
State Senator Mike Jacobs (Moline)
State Senator Susan Garrett (Highwood)
State Senator Jacqueline Collins (Chicago)
State Representative Maria Berrios (Chicago)
State Representative Kelly Burke (Oak Lawn)
State Representative Thaddeus Jones (Calumet City)
State Representative Joe Sosnowski (Belvidere)
State Representative Marlow Colvin (Chicago)
Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff to Gov. Quinn Toni Irving, Ph.D

In their classroom sessions, each group of 25 students engaged with one legislator to discuss their topic, and what can be done to affect change on it. Student leaders in IMSA’s LEAD (Leadership and Development) program facilitated the sessions. After the day’s event, the students in each of the breakout sessions will continue working together throughout the year on their topic, and will craft a legislative bill that they hope will effect change on that topic. A total of nine bills will be created and forwarded to the legislators in spring, 2012.

Senator Garrett stated, "I was extremely impressed that the IMSA students were so engaged in an issue as complex as tax reform and governance. At the end of our session, I felt that, not only did the students benefit, but so did I."

And while the students have help from their session’s legislator, the weight of the process will rest upon their own shoulders. By the end of yearlong EnACT project, students are expected to have produced a clear, finely-tuned bill that will be sponsored by the respective legislator, and, ideally, passed as law.

Sophomore Ryan Chiu points out the benefits of sharing this responsibility with other members of the sophomore class: “I’m excited about making a difference in the state legislature. Because there were so many of us in the session, we were able to analyze perspectives from different points of view, and to learn much about the issue.”

Similarly, sophomore Kristine Yoon liked “how we could hear different points of view. We all worked together to brainstorm ideas and solutions. If our bill passes, it could affect our futures and our lives. This is a good experience that isn’t always available, and people were excited about participating.”

Even if the bills are not sponsored, sophomores like Kieran Groble are thankful for the knowledge gained: “I think that the learning experience is the most important thing in this process. Our bill might not be passed, but understanding the process is vital for us as citizens and has an application for our futures.”

As for the EnACT facilitators, or the IMSA juniors and seniors who exhibited much professionalism and poise in guiding the legislators throughout the day, all agreed that the proceedings went beautifully. They were impressed with the openness and insight of the legislators, and incredibly pleased with the maturity and interest exhibited by the students.

Facilitator and IMSA senior Ashima Gupta expressed her pride: “I commend several of them for doing a lot of research beforehand regarding the issue. I'm incredibly proud of how much the sophomores challenged themselves this morning, and I look forward to seeing some amazing ideas being put out of the EnACT classroom in the next few months.”

Finally, Rep. Sosnowski was impressed by IMSA's approach to real world learning.

“The students and staff were very welcoming, and I really enjoyed seeing the dedication they have to excellence in learning. IMSA is an excellent example of what good, quality education looks like, and we need to dedicate more of our state resources towards creating additional educational models like this.”

With such a wonderful start, EnACT 2011-2012 is destined to leave a lasting mark- on the hearts of legislators, on the minds of the sophomore participants, and hopefully, on the Illinois General Assembly.

Story contribution by IMSA Senior Lucy Filipac and Director of Legislative Relations and Strategic Planning Dr. Purva J. Rushi