Thornton Fractional North High School Students Credited With Spearheading New Law Giving Students 2 Hours To Vote
CALUMET CITY, Ill. (CBS) -- One of the biggest challenges in any election is getting young voters to the polls.
CBS 2 Political Investigator Dana Kozlov took a deeper look Thursday at a possible solution – spearheaded by students themselves.
Inside the walls of Thornton Fractional North High School in Calumet City, it was a typical day.
But some students are anything but typical – after winning their fight to pass a state law that gives students age 18 or over two hours during the school day to vote.
"I thought it was a good opportunity to be a part and change history," said Emmanuel Hayes, a senior at the school.
Hayes and another senior, Kahari Gardner, were part of a student group that went to Springfield last spring and lobbied for the new law.
"I just felt all their eyes just looking at me," Gardner said.
It worked, and they were there when Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed the bill earlier this month.
"Remember the idealism you are feeling right now," Pritzker said as he signed the bill.
But it all began with an idea by District 215 board member Leann Revis, and a field trip to the polls.
"Wouldn't it be cool if we could just march our kids right down the street to go vote?" Revis said.
Teacher Emily Biegel took the reins and marched to the polls. In 2018, the effort took off, with 30 students and first-time voters casting their ballots at their local library.
"When I asked them, how many of you would have voted had we not done this, half of them said no," Revis said.
"A lot of people don't vote because they don't know how to vote," Gardner said.
And there are other reasons.
"Kids are expected to clean up around the house, do dishes, help with little siblings, after-school activities, they have jobs," Biegel said. "So there are a lot of barriers that are getting in the way."
Statistics back that up. Young voters often have the lowest voter turnout.
For example, in 2018, 28 percent of 18- to 34-year-olds voted, compared to 38 percent of 25- to 34-year-oollds, and 43 percent of 35- to 44-year-olds.
"So my goal was to increase voter participation in the 18- to 24-year-old group," Revis said.
And it came with a side of empowerment.
"I learned to speak out because if you speak out, you can get things changed," Gardner said.
The next field trip to the Calumet City Public Library is less than two months away – the Illinois primary is March 17.
School districts will have until then to decide how they want to implement the law.
State Sen. Elgie Sims Jr. (D-Chicago) sponsored the bill.