Lawlor to join leadership program

Lake County Board member Aaron Lawlor was recently selected as one of 40 emerging Illinois leaders to participate in the inaugural Edgar Fellow program.

The initiative was designed by former Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar to promote responsible and responsive leadership.

“It’s an honor to be selected,” said Lawlor, a Vernon Hills Republican. “Gov. Edgar’s initiative to bring emerging leaders together from all corners of the state and both sides of the aisle is exactly what Illinois needs right now. I look forward to the program and working with other Edgar fellows in the years to come.”

Lawlor, the only Lake County Board member selected for the program, will join state legislators, legislative candidates, appointed government officials and nonprofit leaders in the effort.

They will gather in August at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and participate in an executive training program and then remain involved with periodic briefings on major policy issues, such as health care and government finance.

The program, which is offered by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign’s Institute of Government and Public Affairs Office of Public Leadership, aims to enhance leadership skills and promote understanding, networking and cooperation across regional, partisan and ethnic lines.

Lawlor was nominated by Mark Peterson, a Lincolnshire resident, vice president at Bridgeview Bank and member of the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority Board. There were nearly 200 nominees.