Office of Cook County Clerk David Orr - High School Student Involvement

03/16/2016

Niles West High classmates recall Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland

President Obama's nominee to the Supreme Court, Merrick B. Garland, is a Niles West High School graduate!

Check out how his Niles West classmates are reacting to his nomination -
http://goo.gl/Y6s7zT

#SCOTUS #Niles

When Merrick Garland attended Niles West High School in the late 1960s, he was the sort of young man who seemed destined for big things. He was valedictorian and head of the student council, the possessor of a long list of academic honors.

03/15/2016

Kevin Cruz (right), a Junior at Morton East High School, is one of over 1000 Student Election Judges serving in Suburban Cook County today. #CookVotes #Youth #Vote

02/15/2016

Home Page

You can now register to vote online at https://ova.elections.il.gov/

The deadline is tomorrow, Tuesday, February 16, 2016.

Students who turn 18-years old by the General Election - November 8th - can vote as 17-year olds in the IL Primary on March 15th!

Illinois online voter registration.

02/13/2016

Karen A. Yarbrough

It may be bitterly cold outside, but our high school voter registration efforts are heating up. On Tuesday, staff helped 130 students at Oak Forest High School register to vote.
Remember, 17-year-olds who will be 18 by the General Election - Nov. 8, 2016 - can register and vote in the primary. You can register in person, like these students did, or online through cookcountyclerk.com/rtv.

02/12/2016

Cook County Clerk Orr Encourages Youth Voter Registration Before Tuesday's Deadline | Progress...

Cook County Clerk David Orr spoke with Evanston Township High School students on Thursday about the importance of registering to #vote, voting and being civically engaged. http://ow.ly/YeKPK #youthvote

With next Tuesday's voter registration deadline quickly approaching for the March 15 Illinois primary election, Cook County Clerk David Orr is reaching out to young people about the importance of voting and how they can register. Orr spoke to Evanston Township High School students Thursday morning,…

01/25/2016

What Does a Latino Electorate That's Half Millennial Mean for the 2016...

Identities.Mic examines the question - What Does a #Latino Electorate That's Half #Millennial Mean for the 2016 #Election? http://ow.ly/XtQoS

Half of eligible Latino voters are millennials. So what?

01/25/2016

Tri-state residents prepare for grass-roots democracy

On Feb. 1, Iowans will kick off the 2016 Presidential #Election. Check out this primer on how Iowa prepares for grass-roots #democracy!

On Feb. 1, the eyes of the nation will look to see how Iowans kick off the most-watched presidential election in America's history.

01/23/2016

Meet The Candidates In 100 Words And 60 Seconds

Meet The Republican & Democratic Presidential Candidates In 100 Words And 60 Seconds.

NPR spent months on the trail with the candidates, but you don't have to. Catch up here, just before voting starts in Iowa.

01/15/2016

Making of The King Holiday | The Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change

On Monday, we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

Learn more about the journey to make #MLK Day a Federal Holiday.

Share your dream now and visit the King Center Digital Archive to see more than 10,000 documents from Martin Luther King's personal collection and from the civil rights movement!

12/29/2015

Calling all high school juniors: Tips to maximize the college app process

High School Juniors - "With the new year on the horizon, how do you make the most of the final 12 months before you apply to college?"

The best ever month-by-month guide to applying to college.

12/24/2015

N.B.A. Lends Its Name and Its Stars to Campaign Against Gun Violence

"In a move with little precedent in professional sports, the N.B.A. is putting the weight of its multibillion-dollar brand and the prestige of its star athletes behind a series of television commercials calling for an end to gun violence."

The league is teaming up with Everytown for Gun Safety, an organization that advocates gun control, and 30-second ads will air during a series of marquee games on Dec. 25.

12/23/2015

New Fafsa Rules to Eliminate Frustrating Financial Aid Problem

Changes are coming to the FAFSA process.

“The form for the 2016-17 school year becomes available online on Jan. 1, and filling it out as soon as possible helps families maximize the odds of qualifying for grants, scholarships and federal loans.” #highered #college

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid for the 2017-18 school year can now be filed as early as Oct. 1, 2016 using 2015 tax data.

12/22/2015

Illinois Will Now Require Students To Take The SAT Instead Of The ACT

Changes are coming to the college prep process.

“Illinois high school juniors will no longer have to take the notorious ACT college entrance exam. But they're not off the standardized testing hook—the SAT exam will now be required for 11th graders in the state.” - http://goo.gl/oh9iV9
#highered #college #twill

The ACT has been overwhelmingly popular in Illinois and the Midwest. In Illinois, 157,047 students from the class of 2015 took the exam and fewer than 6,000 took the SAT.

12/21/2015

Obama To College Students: Keep Protesting, But 'Don't Shut People Up'

Excerpt - Obama said that it's a "healthy thing for young people to be engaged and to question authority," in an interview with NPR's Steve Inskeep, and added that it's important to "ask tough questions about social justice."

He worries, though, that protesters sometimes quash healthy discussions involving several viewpoints.

He wants students to accept and respect all points of view.

12/20/2015

This past week, the Cook County Clerk's Office & League of Women Voters of the Palatine Area registered hundreds of HS Juniors/Seniors at Township High School District 211 (Palatine HS & Hoffman Estates HS).

Congratulations to this group of first-time registered voters!! #Vote #Elections #students

12/19/2015

Students help save the job of popular school librarian

"The protesting students won. They have their beloved librarian back.

A Chicago school librarian who had been told her job was ending because of budget troubles will now be staying through the end of the academic year with funds from an anonymous donor who came forward after students organized and staged a “read in” protest at school."

How their protest worked.

12/18/2015

Social Media Lifts Saudi Women in Vote

The The Wall Street Journal examines the impact social media had on Saudi Arabia's elections.

"Because of Saudi Arabia’s strict policy of gender segregation, online platforms proved valuable tools for candidates wanting to appeal to potential voters of the opposite s*x.

Ahead of the vote, Ms. al-Sulaiman invited residents to reach out to her on social media with their list of grievances.

One candidate in Riyadh, architect Haifa al-Hababi, used Snapchat and Twitter to share videos documenting her neighborhood’s poor infrastructure—such as the lack of sidewalks and waste management. “Recycling is a right,” she tweeted."

Saudi women used social media to reach voters and win seats in Saturday’s historic election—the first in which women were allowed to participate as voters as well as candidates.

12/17/2015

Rock the Vote

Excerpt - "Born roughly between 1980 and 2000, we’re a difficult generation to define. No amount of polling data and research can fully capture who we are or what we want.

Millennials have the potential to be the largest voting bloc in the nation, as we’ve now surpassed Baby Boomers in size."

Do you agree?

12/13/2015

Bernie Sanders joins Snapchat: Will the app shape the election?

Will 2016 really be the Snapchat Election?

"There are an estimated 50 million Snapchat users, and presidential candidates have been quick to take advantage of reaching the young audience."

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/USA-Update/2015/1116/Bernie-Sanders-joins-Snapchat-Will-the-app-shape-the-election

There are an estimated 50 million Snapchat users, and presidential candidates have been quick to take advantage of reaching the young audience. But will 2016 really be the Snapchat Election?

12/11/2015

Hundreds From DuSable Campus Stage Sit-In To Keep Library Open

Students stage a sit-in at DuSable Campus.

"At least 200 students from the DuSable Campus walked out of class Friday as part of a demonstration to bring back their librarian and stop the library from closing."

Some 240 people have signed a petition saying "we implore CPS to save the library."

The students walked out of class Friday: "We implore CPS to save the library."

12/11/2015

On Thursday, during our visit to Elmwood Park High School, over 60 students registered to vote and dozens applied to serve as student judges!

Make sure you're register to vote in the Illinois Presidential Primary Election - March 15, 2016. https://ova.elections.il.gov/

12/08/2015

Supreme Court to Hear Arguments on ‘One Person, One Vote’

Make sure to follow this important voting rights case before the Supreme Court today.

"The case, Evenwel v. Abbott, No. 14-940, will address a question many thought had been settled long ago: What is the meaning of the principle of “one person, one vote”?

But the Supreme Court has never definitively ruled on who must be counted: all residents or just eligible voters?"

http://goo.gl/gwSztr

In the voting rights case Evenwel v. Abbott, the justices will address the question of who must be counted: all residents or just eligible voters.

12/07/2015

8 Reasons Why Youth Should Vote

Check out this The Huffington Post teen blog post highlighting reasons why youth should vote.

The U.S. was founded on the principles of democratic participation that guaranteed the right of all citizens to have a roll in shaping government and the rule of law. It took almost two centuries to d

12/05/2015

Education Week

Education Week highlights Gettysburg College's efforts and practices in recruiting top students from nontraditional backgrounds.

Many students—particularly those from low-income families and those who are the first in their families to attend college—choose colleges that are too easy for them. High schools and colleges both have a central role to play in changing that pattern at various points in students’ transition.

12/02/2015

All Access Pass - Presidential Primary Election

Share - High School Juniors & Seniors can serve as Student Judges in Suburban Cook County & earn $175!

Deadline to apply is Wednesday, December 16, 2015!!
https://goo.gl/xjXbkL

http://cookcountyclerk.com Become a Election Judge for the March 15, 2016 Presidential Primary Election. (Official Clerk's Office Video Edited by Cody Davis)...

12/02/2015

Who was Rosa Parks, and what did she do in the fight for racial equality?

This month marks 60-years since Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat. Long before refusing to give up her seat, she was involved in civil rights efforts.

"Parks, a seamstress at a downtown department store, had a history as a civil rights campaigner, having served as a youth organizer for the local branch of America’s oldest and most effective civil rights organization, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). She had also attended the controversial Highlander Folk School in Tennessee, where a number of African-Americans were trained in protest methods by labor radicals." - http://goo.gl/0YjqLn

Rosa Parks was a hero in the fight against segregation - but she was just one of many.

11/30/2015

Loyola extends hand to low-income students

Loyola University Chicago's Arrupe College looks to address graduation rates among low-income students.

Excerpt - "At Arrupe, students attend two classes four days a week for eight weeks, and they attend them at the same time each day. A fifth day is reserved for advising and review meetings, or for students to work outside of school.

The goal, says Rev. Steve Katsouros, dean and executive director of Arrupe, is that they then continue their education at a four-year school -- Loyola or one of the 100-plus four-year institutions in the state that have already agreed to accept Arrupe’s 61 credits." - http://goo.gl/9aONp9

Loyola University Chicago is seeking to answer a key question: How can private colleges better target and serve the growing number of poor students, who typically cannot afford Loyola and other schools like it? The school's answer is Arrupe College, a highly structured two-year program that aims to…

11/30/2015

Amid Application Season, Seniors Consider A New Criterion: Race Relations

NPR takes a look at the impact of race relations on student's college search.

Excerpt - "A few hundred students — mostly African-American — made their way into a vast hall on Chicago's southside, visiting tables adorned with bright banners and school brochures."

"Over at the table for Mizzou's St. Louis campus, admissions representative Jocelyn Deloney runs down information about the nursing program for Travis Morgan. Morgan advises high school students about their college choices and the challenges they may face as minorities on predominantly white campuses like Mizzou. - Even so, Morgan and some high schoolers at the fair say they're proud that the college activists pushed for change instead of leaving the schools where they felt threatened or ignored." - http://goo.gl/dqa205

For high school students looking to choose a college, grade point averages and test scores may weigh heavy on their minds. But campus atmosphere may not be

11/29/2015

How the Surge of Student Activism Is Spreading to High-School Campuses—Again

The Atlantic highlights protests being spearheaded by teens across the country.

"High-school youth are flexing their collective muscles for equity: fighting budget cuts and out-of-school suspensions as they take on racial issues and academic offerings."

“The student-voice movement is mobilizing around the sense that students are ignored as active agents of their own destiny,” says Brennen, adding that student input is “largely relegated to the margin when it comes to conversations about education policy creation, feedback, and reform.” - http://goo.gl/o1KWSc

Throughout history, teenage protests have helped facilitate change, too.

11/24/2015

Last Thursday, the County Clerk's Office visited Thornton Fractional North High School, and registered nearly 70 students to vote and over 40 students applied to serve as Student Judges!

11/23/2015

Lower Voting Age Gains Traction in Some Cities

Excerpt - "Generation Citizen estimates that across the world, just shy of 8% of all 17-year-olds can vote, and about 4% of all 16-year-olds.

A lower voting age, even if approved by local governments, faces hurdles on the path to becoming law."

Some cities and towns in the U.S. are moving to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in local elections, a move backed by youth advocates as a means of ingraining civic participation earlier.

11/21/2015

Candidates Long To Know What Young Voters Want. Why Not Just Ask?

What issues matter to young voters?

NPR's Michel Martin moderated a live panel with three politically active young people: Brandi Dye, a sophomore; Hector Salamanca Arroyo, a DREAMer whose family is from Mexico and who hopes one day to be eligible to vote; and Raymond Starks, a senior who supports the Republican party.

http://goo.gl/x9egmx

Candidates seem to find the question a conundrum — and a pressing one, with the presidential election a year away. So, NPR's Michel Martin asked students at Iowa's Drake University what they want.

11/19/2015

The Cook County Clerk's Office offered voter registration to Barrington High School students on Wednesday.

Steven, a Barrington Senior celebrating his 18th Birthday, made sure to register to vote!! You, too can register at https://ova.elections.il.gov/

11/18/2015

The Cook County Clerk's Office & @The League of Women Voters of the La Grange Area registered nearly 70 students today at Argo Community High School

Congratulations to this new group of future first-time voters!

11/17/2015

Serve as a Student Judge on Election Day & earn $175!

Apply by Wednesday, December 16, 2015! #elections #vote #civics #participation #twill