Why no state vegetable? Question spurs Illinois class to act

CHATHAM, Ill. (AP) - A class of fourth-graders in central Illinois was learning about state symbols when students stumbled upon a puzzling question: Why does Illinois have a state fruit but no state vegetable?

The students at Chatham Elementary School, south of Springfield, could not abide the oversight.

"Vegetables are just as important as fruit," was how one of the students, Halena Stuart, put it.

So, the 9-year-olds turned to technology. They had a video chat with eighth-graders at Taylorville Junior High who taught them how a bill becomes a law. Then they used online surveys to poll students about which vegetable ought to be accorded the honor.

And lo and behold, they got a state senator, Plainview Republican Sam McCann, to introduce a bill this month to designate sweet corn Illinois' vegetable of choice. (The state fruit is the Goldrush apple).

"They were completely concerned," said their teacher, Jodi Acree. "It's ingrained in them that fruits and vegetables go together, so they just wanted to learn more. That's when our research really started."

The project has taken on a life of its own, and along the way the students saw it was about more than a vegetable, Acree told The (Springfield) State Journal-Register (http://bit.ly/1LmBUWN ).

"They're really into politics right now, which is neat because they're only 9," she said.

The students aren't leaving anything to chance. They're now busy drafting letters urging lawmakers to pass the bill.

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Information from: The State Journal-Register, http://www.sj-r.com