The power of your voice
It’s easy to be apathetic when it comes to effecting change in Illinois. Rampant corruption, legislators voting on bills they don’t read and the oversized influence of lobbyists all make trying to change public policy for the better a seemingly impossible task. But this doesn’t have to be the case – there are plenty of...
It’s easy to be apathetic when it comes to effecting change in Illinois.
Rampant corruption, legislators voting on bills they don’t read and the oversized influence of lobbyists all make trying to change public policy for the better a seemingly impossible task.
But this doesn’t have to be the case – there are plenty of examples here in Illinois where everyday citizens were able to make a difference:
- Because of the involvement of parents from Chicago’s south and west sides, an opportunity scholarship program for students in Chicago’s lowest-performing public schools passed the Democrat-controlled Senate and almost made it to the governor’s desk in 2010.
- In early April of this year, more than 2,000 charter school activists, including students and their parents, traveled down to Springfield to protest more than a dozen anti-charter school bills. As a result, only two of the bills made it to the governor’s desk.
It doesn’t take multi-thousand person rallies to make a difference – the Illinois Policy Institute’s anti-progressive and temporary tax extension campaign showed that a petition signature or phone call can turn a “yes” vote into a “no” vote, or vice versa.
The fact of the matter is that most representatives don’t hear a peep from their constituents about most bills.
The Illinois Policy Institute created givemechoiceil.com to help you make your voice heard. Here’s how you can participate:
- You can share your story about how you benefited from school choice or why you want school choice in your community.
- You can sign our petition, which will send a clear signal to Springfield that you support school choice and think they should too.
- You can connect with people like you to begin advocating for school choice in your community.
Remember – every little bit helps.
You might only be one person, but collectively your voices can cause massive change in Springfield.