On Wednesday, August 13th, the Illinois Democratic County Chairs’ Association (IDCCA) hosted its annual County Chairs’ Brunch in Springfield from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Guests included all 102 Democratic county chairs from across Illinois, as well as prominent speakers from the state such as Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton and Senator Tammy Duckworth.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jefferies (D-NY-8) served as the keynote speaker, joining other Democratic leaders to outline their vision of the Democratic Party, which is still in a rebuilding phase after a defeat in the 2024 election. In the election, Democratic residential candidate Kamala Harris lost the popular vote by over 2 million votes as well as the electoral college, 226 to 312, to President Trump. Many speakers made speeches that contrasted Donald Trump’s presidency with their own policies and hoped to make their mark as they kicked off 2026 election campaigns.
As a former speaker of the House, Jefferies repeatedly urged his audience to “press on” and aimed to instill courage and energy to a strong Democratic political base that included supporters from all age demographics. Yet, a 2024 survey by Next100 shows that around 36% of Young Adults were dissatisfied with how American democracy is working today.
“We’re trying to move America forward,” Jefferies said. “ Republicans are trying to turn back the clock.”
Yet, on the other side of the aisle, Holly Kim, Lake County Treasurer and candidate for Illinois Comptroller, argues that young people are not having their concerns addressed or taken seriously. As an elected official who regularly posts on social media, Kim believes officials should be the bridge to younger constituents.
“I think over and over and over the Democratic Party has created this perception that our party doesn’t support young people,” Kelly.
While Kim explains that Democrats have been somewhat insufficient in their efforts to explain crucial policies to emerging voters, other leaders believe that Gen Zers should speak up as they become the newest generation in politics. For example, Congresswoman Robin Kelly (D-IL-2), a candidate in the 2026 Senate race to replace retiring Senator Dick Durbin, argues for young people to take charge of their political future and make their voices heard.
“If there’s a particular issue that [young people] care about, [such as] the environment, [or] gun violence prevention, [young people need to] find those groups too,” Kelly said. “Because we need young voices and we need young people to take over at some point.
Agreeing with Kim, Illinois House Speaker Emmanuel “Chris” Welch places the survival of American democracy as a whole behind the power of youth activism. In fact, according to a 2025 NPR poll, 76% of Americans feel that America’s democracy is under attack. Additionally, according to a 2025 poll from the Institute of Politics at Harvard University, just 15% of young adults say that the country is heading in the right direction.
“If we’re gonna have a country for them, for their grandkids and their grandkids, we gotta save democracy now,” Welch said. “And that’s gonna take all of us right now,”
Building on Welch’s point on collective responsibility, Kelly recognizes the role of older congresspeople to foster the newer generations of congresspeople. According to the Pew Research Center, the median age for a congressperson is 57.9 years in the House of Representatives, and 64.7 years in the Senate.
“When I came in, I learned from the John Lewises, Maxine Waterses, the Nancy Pelosis,” Kelly said. “We need to have a mixture [of generations in Congress],”
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker highlighted both the importance of youth civic responsibility and the role of elected officials in building bridges for younger generations. Pritzker believes this can be accomplished in part by listening to the needs of young people and incorporating their priorities, such as education, into government policies.
“We’ve made it more affordable to go to college and community college,” Pritzker said. “In fact, you can even go to community college in Illinois tuition free.”
Pritzker, rumored to be a potential presidential candidate in 2028, is o
ne of many Democratic elected officials that is pushing for youth to be vital change-makers in current and future politics. Expanding on this point, Duckworth, in her final words at IDCCA, leaves a message to all constituents, including younger ones: to fulfill their civic responsibility in democracy as those change-makers, despite the apparent imposing bureaucracy.
“The power of the people is always greater than the people in power,” Duckworth said.