Fifteen eighth graders at Mokena Jr. High recently volunteered to partner with the Village of Mokena staff and Board to learn about local government during the Village’s annual Student Government Day.
Students were chosen to assume acting roles integral to village operations, from public works to development and spent most of Tuesday, April 15 learning the ins and outs of government, the history of the Village of Mokena, and hearing from Village staff about their day-to-day functions.
Students met Mayor Frank Fleischer, Village Administrator John Tomasoki, Assistant Village Administrator Greg Anderson, Finance Director Nathan Pasbrig, Chief of Police Brian Benton, Community Development Director Brent Cann, Assistant Community Development Director Krzystof Kociolek, Public Works Director Jim Kulesa, and Assistant Public Works Director Dan Peloquin.
After Mayor Fleischer went over a brief history of the Village, Anderson walked students through how officials are elected, the roles people play at the Village, and a few exciting upcoming projects and developments that Village is working on.
Attendees then heard an overview of the Village’s budgeting process from Pasbrig and learned about community development from Peloquin and Kulesa. Students learned that the Village was recently awarded a grant from the Morton Arboretum to conduct a survey of tree health, from which the Village created a master urban forestry management plan.
The morning was rounded off with a visit to Altorfer CAT in Mokena, where students were given a tour of the facility, had the opportunity to ask questions to the business owners, and were treated to a pizza party!
In the evening, students from Mokena Junior High and St. Mary returned to conduct mock village board meetings in the Village Hall board chambers. The Village Board meeting that evening was conducted with students filling the roles of regular village elected officials and staff. Josie Langton acted as Village President, Britney Nguyen was sworn in as Village Clerk, and Angelina Swaiss served as the Village Administrator. Brooklyn Carlson acted as the Assistant Village Administrator, Kyle Shirkman acted as the Development Director, Kennedy Alvarez-King served as the Finance Director, and Audrey Bilus served as Chief of Police. The Village Engineer role was filled by Ella Vinezeano and Carter Cullen was appointed the Public Works Director. Izzie Enright, Gabe Bademosi, Ava Spear, Russell Welch, Yousef Mohammad, and Gabby Jackson all served as Village Trustees.
The mock meeting will be telecast on Comcast Channel 6 this week. Community members can also access a video recording via the “Online Videos” page of the Village’s website ( www.mokena.org ) in the coming weeks.
Eighth grader Josie Langton was interested in attending student government day because she wants to be President one day- and learning about local government is a good start! Another student, Izzie Enright, was interested in student government day because she is unsure of what she wants to do for her career and learning about different roles in government is a great way to learn about different career paths.
Both Carter Cullen and Audrey Bilus said that they learned that the fire department is not part of the Village of Mokena, although they work closely together. Kennedy Alvarez-King said she was surprised to learn the role that money plays in local government and how long it may take to get projects approved. Students have a better understanding of how local government operates to advance the interests and needs of the Mokena community.
After their experience with the Village of Mokena, many of the participants said that they are interested in local government and running for student council or other elected positions in high school.