Good morning, 57th District!
Allow me to introduce myself: my name is Jack Knizhnik, and I’m one of the newest interns at the office of your State Representative, Jonathan Carroll. I took this internship not only because I have a passionate interest in politics and government, but also because this job has given me endless opportunities to practice one of my favorite hobbies: writing. I’ve only been on the job for a month and a half, and so far I’ve already co-authored press releases, edited mailers and brochures, and revised posts for the Representative’s main blog. And now, I’m starting my own blog right here on the Representative’s website to discuss Illinois issues, and to analyze the way they affect high school students like me. I’ve been learning a lot since I started at Representative Carroll’s Office, and I hope to share some of that with you.
I’m going to be starting my senior year at Vernon Hills High School this fall, and in my time as a student, I’ve been disappointed to see that my peers are relatively uninformed on governmental affairs. My generation will one day be entrusted with leading the Government of Illinois, yet many of my classmates don’t know what our Governor looks like or who their state senators are. In an age when the sum total of human knowledge can be delivered to our fingertips in an instant, it concerns me that so many of us are so unaware of the effect that state politics has on our lives, especially since it can be so incredibly interesting and confusing.
This state has serious problems—we can never seem to raise enough money to cover our debts or fund our social programs, gun crime has reached distressing proportions, and our state’s credit rating is near junk level. When our time comes, my peers and I won’t be able to effectively address these issues unless we understand how they came to be, why they are so important today, and how they can be resolved in the future. That’s why I’m starting this blog: to explore the ways in which Illinoisans my age are affected by state politics, and how we can break this apathetic streak and get involved in the day-to-day affairs of our state.
I plan on making a new post every couple of weeks, if all goes well. Since this year’s legislative session is over, there likely won’t be many new policy issues to discuss at first, but I’ll write about whatever I think needs coverage. I hope you’ll find this blog useful, and give me lenience if I don’t post quite as often as I hope. School will be starting up again before long, and I’ll have a lot less free time than I do now.
Till next time,
Jack
