Palos Heights eighth-graders join Mayor Bob Straz before conducting a “mock” city council meeting as part of Mayor for a Day activities. (Photo by Nuha Abdessalam)
Students take over Palos Heights City Hall
By Nuha Abdessalam
Palos Heights eighth-graders took over city hall last week but it was a lesson in civics rather than a student uprising.
The Palos Heights students who took the reins had entered an essay contest for the chance to swap roles with the city’s aldermen and Mayor Robert Straz.
The Woman’s Club of Palos Heights sponsored the annual Mayor for a Day event on Oct. 17 at the Lake Katherine Nature Center & Botanic Gardens.
The annual event has been a tradition in Palos Heights since the 1970s and has been a tradition for over 44 years.
There are only four rules for students:
The student must be a resident of Palos Heights.
The student must be in the eighth-grade.
The student must submit a 200-300 word essay.
The student must include four ideas they would like to see implemented in the city for improvement.
The event serves as an opportunity to hear from the community youth about improvements they feel would make Palos Heights a better place to live.
“The event helps better prepare the youth of Palos Heights to understand the role of local government. The Mayor for a Day program benefits our city and our students,” said Ann DeVries, representative of the Palos Heights Woman’s Club, which is an organization dedicated to community improvements by enhancing the lives of others through volunteer service.
Students recited their essays, received certificates for participation, and dined with family/friends, community members, city council members, and Mayor Straz to highlight their efforts and further interest in local government.
“Palos Heights Community is something special, and until you are a part of it, you might not understand how Palos Heights is really about its citizens,” said student Brynn Gonsur.
Views and ideas ranged from improvement ideas like more sidewalks and equipment for local parks to establishing a youth advisory board for the city.
Selected acting mayor was student Ethan Bernsee. “Teens like me are very informed on caring events and need a voice,” he said. “The youth advisory board would significantly benefit Palos Heights and prepare the youth of today for tomorrow. I believe Palos Heights will change for the better.”
“We’ve been doing this since 1979. Many young men and women who have served as roles in the program have turned out to be great citizens of our town,” said Straz.
Other students selected included Gabriela Espinoza, Evelyn Pizer, Alexander Rivera, Zak Bowen, Moira MacLeod, Brynn Gonsur, Omar Yousef, Isla Roditis and Lukas Yerkes.
Students and family members later joined Palos Heights aldermen and Straz for a “mock” city council meeting. The students received a plaque for their participation.
“Keep this in mind,” said Straz. “Stay involved. It’s one thing to write an essay and say something, do more, make an effort, and volunteer to help your community; we need our young leaders to step up and fill our roles.”
1 Comment
Local News
Four Mount Carmel wrestlers win titles; Sandburg’s Zimmer, Shepard’s Reed settle for 2nd
Spread the loveBy Steve Millar Correspondent CHAMPAIGN — Heavyweight wrestling matches are often slow, defensive battles, but Mount Carmel senior Ryan Boersma decided early this season he did not want to compete that way anymore. “When I was young, a freshman and sophomore, I survived off defense,” Boersma said. “That doesn’t work in college so…
We’re being distracted from the real scandal
Spread the loveBy Ray Hanania The warnings that Russia will attack Ukraine have been much like forecasts of the TV meteorologists. They can predict snow, but how intense or light they often get wrong. Schools close. Some parents stay home from work, but the snowfall is light. We live in Chicagoland, folks. It snows! It…
Pandemic exposed glaring inequality
Spread the loveBy Dr. Robert Grant Deaths related to COVID-19 were more than twice as high among black, Latino and Native American people as among whites in 2020, according to new research out from the National Cancer Institute. It’s only the latest reminder of the glaring inequity that plagues the U.S. healthcare system. Addressing that…
Mask mess may muddy Pritzker’s legacy
Spread the loveBy Rich Miller This entire controversy over Sangamon County Judge Raylene Grischow’s odd ruling earlier this month that statewide mask/vaccine/testing mandates at schools are a “type of quarantine” and therefore fall under the state’s quarantine laws (which include individual due process protections) could have all been prevented with a simple bill last year.…
Oak Lawn girls take on Kenwood tonight for Regional title
Spread the loveBy Brian Frangella Trying to win a conference championship in any sport requires the ability to overcome obstacles that may get in the way. Last year, it was the uncertainty and oddity of dealing with a global pandemic that presented challenges for the Oak Lawn Community High School girls basketball team. However, the…
Love your dogs, protect your dogs
Spread the loveBy Mary Stanek Your correspondent in Archer Heights and West Elsdon 3808 W. 57th Place • (773) 284-7394 A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself. –Josh Billings Let us love them back as well. Belonging to community groups on Facebook, I see so many…
Boys swim avenges early losses for second in SSC Red
Spread the loveBy Brian Frangella After losing to both Shepard and Evergreen Park during the regular season, the Oak Lawn Community High School boys swim team knew it had its work cut out for it at the South Suburban Conference Red meet last weekend. And the Spartans were well prepared for the challenge as they…
Orland Park arrests man as an armed habitual criminal
Spread the loveFrom staff reports A Chicago man was arrested in Orland Park last week after he was stopped and a handgun was found in his waistband. Police stopped a vehicle traveling northbound in the 16900 block of LaGrange Road about 10 p.m. on Monday, February 7. The vehicle was stopped for a traffic violation…
Orland Park police arrest federal parolee with weapon
Spread the loveFrom staff reports A Calumet City man was charged last week after he refused to leave a vehicle and a loaded handgun was found on the floorboard. Orland Park tactical officers were investigating a suspicious, unoccupied vehicle in the parking lot of 304 Orland Square Drive at 3:15 p.m. on Friday, February 11.…
More renovations planned for Worth golf course
Spread the loveBy Joe Boyle Upgrades continue at Water’s Edge Golf Course in Worth with plans for an electronic message board to be erected on the property this year. An ordinance was approved for a license agreement with BRT Outdoor LLC concerning Water’s Edge Golf Course signage during the Worth Village Board meeting on Tuesday…
Neighbors
After 9 months, state data begins to detail new pretrial detention system
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com Nine months after cash bail ended in Illinois, the state is taking its first steps in publishing the data that crafters of the bail reform law saw as essential to judging its effectiveness. The data shows that judges in the 75 counties served by the Illinois Supreme Court’s…
ILLINOIS LAWMAKERS: Pritzker keeps economic development at forefront in exclusive interview
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com With fiscal year 2025 slated to begin Monday, Gov. JB Pritzker continues to tout available state tax incentives and promote Illinois as a site for business development. On the season finale of “Illinois Lawmakers” this week, Pritzker pointed to a pair of developments in East Alton and Normal…
Pritzker calls SCOTUS emergency abortion ruling ‘small respite’ as state protections await his signature
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com Abortion remains legal as an emergency medical procedure in Idaho, for now, after a Thursday U.S. Supreme Court ruling, while a bill that would cement those protections in Illinois law awaits Gov. JB Pritzker’s signature. The 6-3 decision saw the three liberal justices concur with the order. Three…
‘We don’t really know what we’re voting on,’ top Dem says of Pritzker’s prison plan
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com LINCOLN – On the eve of a scheduled vote to advise Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration on plans to close and rebuild a pair of dilapidated state prisons, hundreds filed into a junior high school gymnasium Thursday evening clad in matching green T-shirts. Printed on the shirts was a…
SCOTUS ruling could upend federal corruption cases for Madigan, allies
By HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois hmeisel@capitolnewsillinois.com The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday narrowed the scope of a federal bribery law prosecutors have relied on in their cases against former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan and several of his allies convicted of bribing him. A jury last spring found those allies – former lobbyists and…
Quantum technology companies set for big tax incentives under new law
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – Gov. JB Pritzker on Wednesday gave final approval to a plan to bolster the state’s tech industry, including an incentives package – backed by $500 million in the state budget – aimed at making Illinois the nation’s leader in quantum computing. The package also expands tax…
Illinois child tax credit: who gets it, how much is it?
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com In the final hours of their spring legislative session, Illinois lawmakers approved a tax credit of up to about $300 for families with young children. The credit is available to Illinoisans with children under age 12 who qualify for the federal Earned Income Tax Credit, or EITC. Although…
Illinois’ ban on ‘bump stocks’ remains in place despite U.S. Supreme Court decision
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – An Illinois law banning the sale and use of “bump stocks” and other devices that increase the firing power of semiautomatic weapons remains in place, at least for now, despite a U.S. Supreme Court decision Friday striking down a federal ban on such items. “Illinois law…
Another Choate Mental Health Center employee indicted for abuse of resident
By BETH HUNDSDORFER Capitol News Illinois bhundsdorfer@capitolnewsillinois.com Another caregiver at Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center in Anna is facing charges for abusing a patient. A grand jury indicted Joseph A. Clark, 24, of Grand Chain, on a felony charge of aggravated battery and a misdemeanor charge of battery. Clark pinned a Choate resident to…
State highway shootings decline as critics sue over ‘dragnet surveillance’
By JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois jnowicki@capitolnewsillinois.com Illinois State Police say an automated license plate reader program has helped the agency identify witnesses or suspects in 82 percent of highway shooting cases this year, including all eight that resulted in a death. But as the state looks to further expand its network of more than…
[…] Story continues […]