On April 1st, local election results in Illinois were announced to the public in order to release the new local politicians for the year. Candidates ran voluntarily for positions to have control over different aspects of communities, like public services and widespread concerns.
Local elections in Illinois are typically held in early April, where members of the community can visit polling stations, verify their identities and vote for their desired candidate. Members of the community who choose to vote, such as Gayatri Kalyanam, choose their candidates based on different types of marketing they have seen in the community.
“I found out about local elections and candidates mostly through yard signs and I’d also occasionally catch some newspaper or online articles,” Kalyanam said.
Running candidates campaign ideas that relate to their position and role in the community. Rachel Jacoby, a 28 year old who just became a Marine Township trustee, earned a role where she looks out for equality and protects diversity in the community.
“I wanted to run because I think the social safety net is really important with the way that the federal government is defunding important programs, ripping away rights, and attacking out immigrant communities,” Jacoby said.
A main goal of Jacobys’ is to ensure that the members of the community feel safe and heard. Kalyanam feels that citizens have a duty to their country to share how they feel about matters of concern that the government is responsible for, ensuring they are heard.
“As taxpayers we have a right to services, we have a right to be served, and we have the right to decide how we want to be governed,” Kalyanam said.
Citizens’ taxes are the main source of funding for local governments, so a main reason people vote is because they want to make sure the money they’re spending goes towards their own beliefs. Caleb Song, a student interested in local government, spent time volunteering at local election polling stations to get an insight into the process of elections and what goes on behind the scenes. According to Song, the experience inspired him to take on his own beliefs in political topics.
“When you’re growing up, typically, your views come from what your parents say, or what the people close to you say,” said Song. “I think that being more civic involved means being more informed about issues that you find importance in.”
Song believes that helping out with elections opened his eyes to what political issues he values as a young person who previously did not have much experience in politics. Jacoby supports the idea of having your own political ideas and encourages younger generations to share their ideas.
“As young people, we’re often told to wait our turn until we get more experience, or until the older people kind of have their chance,” said Jacoby. “But I think it’s important to know that if you have a goal and an idea that makes you qualified to serve your community, you don’t need to have fancy degrees or dozens of years of experience.”
According to Jacoby, anyone with a passion for change should run for a position in local elections. Kalyanam believes that local elections are just as important as national elections and encourages members of the community to vote.
“People always think it’s more glamorous to vote for, like the presidential election and things like that, but it’s these little things like local posts where you can actually make yourself heard,” Kalyanam said.
Song believes that the experience was educational and was a positive learning experience Overall, he was happy to help and believes the time he spent helping his community was valuable.
“The best part was hearing ‘Thank you for making the election process good,’ or something like that, it’s what made it more worth it,” Song said.