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| 1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, According to the Center for Creative Leadership, | ||||||
| 3 | young people who volunteer in their
communities are more likely | ||||||
| 4 | to vote, stay actively involved in service, and feel empowered | ||||||
| 5 | as
citizens; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, A study in promoting student engagement by the | ||||||
| 7 | American Psychological Association
found that volunteers | ||||||
| 8 | become emotionally connected to the communities in which they | ||||||
| 9 | serve and
sustain community involvement after volunteering - a | ||||||
| 10 | strong positive indicator for future
economic growth; and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, Participation in civic engagement activities can | ||||||
| 12 | help youth become better informed
about current events; and
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| 13 | WHEREAS, Other than student government, there are limited | ||||||
| 14 | opportunities for high school
students between the ages of 14 | ||||||
| 15 | and 18 to partake in civic engagement and receive
governmental | ||||||
| 16 | experience; and
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| 17 | WHEREAS, Illinois currently has more units of local | ||||||
| 18 | government than any other state in the
country; these units may | ||||||
| 19 | be suited to provide valuable civic learning experiences for | ||||||
| 20 | the
youth of the State; therefore, be it
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| 1 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDREDTH GENERAL | ||||||
| 2 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we encourage all units | ||||||
| 3 | of local government with elected boards to allow one non-voting | ||||||
| 4 | student
member to serve on their governing boards; and be it | ||||||
| 5 | further | ||||||
| 6 | RESOLVED, That notwithstanding current provisions of | ||||||
| 7 | Illinois statutes, units of local government
with elected | ||||||
| 8 | members may decide the manner in which nonvoting student | ||||||
| 9 | members may be
selected to serve as a member of the unit's | ||||||
| 10 | governing body, whether it be through application,
selection by | ||||||
| 11 | the board, or nomination through a local school district, | ||||||
| 12 | educational program, club,
or youth group; and be it further | ||||||
| 13 | RESOLVED, That the unit of local government may determine | ||||||
| 14 | the length of terms for the nonvoting
student member, whether | ||||||
| 15 | it be for one meeting or an academic school year; and be it
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| 16 | further
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| 17 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution shall be | ||||||
| 18 | presented to the Illinois State Board of
Education as well as | ||||||
| 19 | organizations representing municipalities, counties, | ||||||
| 20 | townships.
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