Lakes Community High School hosts first political forum

Lake County Clerk Willard Helander had two questions for the students.

"How many of you are old enough to vote this year?" she asked. She smiled seeing dozens of raised hands. "Now, how many of you are registered to vote?" This time, she frowned noticing just a few hands go up. "Well, we can take care of that this morning," Helander said.

Hoping to educate and involve students in the political process, Lakes Community High School in Lake Villa, hosted its first-ever candidate forum Monday morning featuring Helander and a host of hopeful politicians.

Eight candidates for national, state and county offices touted their positions and answered questions posed by students from the school's AP Government class. Attendance by the entire student body wasn't mandatory, but principal Jim McKay was pleased with the number of voting-age students who turned out to watch.

"There was a nice exchange of ideas," McKay said. "We're really hoping to get the students more engaged in the whole process."

Candidates Cynthia Pruim Haran, Richard Keller, Peter Grant, Jim Parks, Michael Jacobs, Steve Greenberg, Sandy Cole and Linda Pedersen attended, along with Lake County Republican Party Chairman Dan Venturi and Lake Villa Township Democratic Chairman Gail Spencer.

Lakes High School social studies teacher Jaclyn Shapiro, one of the event organizers, said it's common for high school students to feel disconnected from what goes on in Washington, D.C. and even at the local level.

"We're trying to get them to see that what goes on in government has a direct effect on their lives," Shapiro said. "We also want them to know that their vote really matters."