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Council of Illinois

 2004 Youth Summit

Illinois Youth with Disabilities Leadership Summit:  "The Power of YOUth"

Final Report: August 18, 2004

The sixth annual Illinois Youth with Disabilities Leadership Summit: "The Power of YOUth" was held July 26th through the 28th, 2004 in Springfield, Illinois. Forty young leaders from all over Illinois met with their mentors at the opening luncheon. Following lunch the Statewide Independent Living Council of Illinois’ Executive Director Gerard Broeker introduced keynote speaker Greg Smith. Greg Smith’s motivational message pulls from his many stories of life experiences growing up with a disability, reveals the lessons learned from each one, and translates that applicable message into the lives of every member of the audience.

Next on Monday’s agenda came Allison Lourash with an ice breaker exercise so that the youth participants could get to know one another as well as their mentors who act as the team leaders. Allison also conducted a disability awareness presentation with the group before everyone walked to the Springfield ADA Celebration.

Springfield’s disability community hosted the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Celebration on Monday evening at the Hoogland Center for the Arts. This year’s theme "Access Art" focused on artists with disabilities whether it be painting, sculpting, singing or acting. Summit participants enjoyed performances by Auvenshine’s Tae-Kwon-Do who demonstrated self defense for people with disabilities. Tekki Lomnicki’s storytelling about growing up with a disability made everyone laugh and think about how our lives are similar even though we don’t all share the same type of disability. Finishing off the show was the Land of Lincoln Barbershop Chorus. Vendors were on hand to share information about the services they provide and local artists showed off their talents. Youth participants enjoyed dinner at the Center before heading back to the hotel for the Talent Show.

For the second year in a row the Summit held a Talent Show. Approximately 15 youth participated by exhibiting their singing, dancing and joke telling abilities. Judges awarded first, second and third prizes. The audience awarded the People’s Choice Grand Prize of $50.00 given to Heather Poppleton who sang a song by Avril Lavigne. Following the Talent Show some participants enjoyed the swimming pool while others played board games and got to know one another.

Tuesday began with a nice breakfast which was needed to get through the very heavy schedule of workshops. We began the day with a workshop designed to assist the participants in solving problems and making good decision. This exercise led perfectly into the Personal Advocacy Plan where youth identified goals for themselves and resources available to them to achieve the goals. A nice lunch was provided and words of encouragement were given by Division of Rehabilitation Services’ Director Robert Kilbury and Assistant Secretary of the Department of Human Services, Grace Hou.

Following lunch youth participants attended several workshops such as College Life, Benefits Planning for Work and College, The World of Work, Who’s Running Your IEP Meeting and Managing Your Own Healthcare. Fun interactive workshops such as "Who Wants to Learn About Their Government?" which is a spin-off of the Who Wants to be a Millionaire? game show was very well received.

We finished the day with a Legislative Process workshop in which presenters explained how a bill becomes a law. Participants were divided into the House of Representative and the Senate and were asked to lobby for a bill to be passed. As a full General Assembly, they had to agree on terms of the law and present it before the Governor. This was a two part workshop which continued on Wednesday morning. Finally Tuesday came to an end with dinner and dancing provided by a local DJ service.

Wednesday started off with a bang with Part 2 of the Legislative Process. The General Assembly further debated laws to pass. While the House of Representative focused on extending fun activities such as swimming and the dance, the Senate was concerned about workshop ideas for the 2005 Summit. After some discussion and a friendly amendment by the Governor laws were passed to have an extensive assistive technology display at next year’s Summit.

Following this enthusiastic workshop groups gathered for tours of the Capitol Building and the State Museum. Lunch soon followed with closing remarks and prizes for everyone.

Sponsors of the Summit include:

Additional financial support was provided by:

Submitted by Tara D. Dunning, Summit Project Manager

 

 

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