PEORIA (25News Now) – The new CEO of Girl Scouts of Central Illinois wants to create all-female spaces, but she says more ladies are needed to make that possible.

Jennifer Sedbrook recently began her new role as CEO of Girl Scouts of Central Illinois.

Though she never was a Girl Scout, she’s always been a “champion” of girls.

The group serves around 1,000 girls in the Peoria area ages 5-17.

Sedbrook said the program is currently putting troops together to plan for a year full of activities.

“They’ll be doing a lot of outdoor camping, skill-building, field trips, and then you’ll see those cookies and us out in front of those grocery stores this spring,” she said.

Sedbrook added that they need more volunteer troop leaders such as college students, young professionals, retirees, and even former Girl Scouts to assist with special skills such as archery, clay-making, and even coding.

Troop leaders are not required to have scouting experience.

The Director of Program, Sara Tate was once a Girl Scout and encouraged those locally to get involved even if they don’t have a kid enrolled.

“One of the biggest things they can take away is that they can do it,” said Tate. “A lot of girls will come in nervous to try new experiences but once they do, they can’t stop. They realize soon enough they have the courage and confidence to do those things.”

Sedbrook said being a Girl Scout means feeling confident, and knowing you can do anything.

Enrollment is still open, and the scouts will have a Big Tap Campout event in Metamora on Sep. 28-29. To learn more about this event and membership, click here.

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Heighten your safety awareness and hear from experts in school safety and crisis prevention at the 2024 Illinois School Safety Conference. The October 2 event will assist district and school administrators, police and fire departments, transportation directors, safety managers, and emergency managers enhance the safety and security of their K-12 campuses.

The information provided at the conference will be practical and easy to apply and there will be time for questions. Ample parking and Wi-fi will be available.

The 2024 Illinois School Safety Conference is FREE for school personnel, police, emergency preparedness personnel, and public safety officers. It will include a free continental breakfast and lunch and exceptional vendors onsite. Professional development paperwork will also be provided to attendees.

You must bring your school or agency ID to enter.

Conference Information:

School Safety Panel Speakers:

• Randy Braverman, School Safety and Threat Assessment Specialist, West 40
• Rich Wistocki, President, Be Sure Consulting
• Officer Kevin Regal, School Resource Officer, Niles Police Department
• Jeremy Duffy, Deputy Executive Director, Illinois Association of School Boards
• Cordelia Coppleson, Illinois Attorney General’s Office, Law Enforcement Training Project Coordinator
• Michael Kindhart, Safety Education Unit Manager, Illinois State Police
• Cathy Stashak, Section Chief Technical Services Division, Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal
• James Ford, Protective Security Advisor, U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
• Cassandra Carnright, FBI, Threat Assessment Coordinator
• Katie Harris Lord, U.S. Secret Service, Domestic Security Strategist
• David Saitta, NIMS/ICS Program Manager, Illinois Fire Service Institute
• Kimberly Lohse, Assistant Superintendent for Administrative Services, Addison District 4
• Danielle Stevens, Director of Safety and Security, Lake Zurich Community Unit School District 95
• Bridget Heroff, President of the Illinois Association of School Nurses

Related Article: Campus Safety Conference at EDspaces Agenda Is Now LIVE!

Featured Speakers:

• Paul Timm, PSP, Director of Education Safety, Allegion, “Perspectives on Security.” This presentation will explore school safety efforts at three levels – Superintendent, Director of Security, and Director of Facilities.
• Missy Dodds, Former Teacher & Survivor, “Choosing to Survive: Lessons learned from Red Lake School Shooting.”
• Richard Santana Ed.M., “Homeboy goes to Harvard.”
• Ken Cook, Director of National School Safety and Advocacy, Allegion, “Door Failures and Lessons Learned from Robb Elementary, Marjory Stoneman Douglas, and other School Shootings.” This presentation will help you avoid pitfalls by taking simple actionable steps towards improving school safety.
• Willie Spears Ed.M., Educator and Coach, “Safety Matters.” This presentation will focus on fostering safe and secure campus environments while reminding staff members of their value. Mr. Spears provides proven strategies on Student Behavioral Analysis/Prevention, Threat Assessment, Reducing Risk with Strategic Planning and Active Defender.
• Eric Arnold, Illinois School and Campus Safety Program Director, This presentation will explore the Illinois School mapping program and other Illinois School Safety initiatives.
• Jeremy Flood, Board President, ISROA and SRO for NCHS, “The SRO: A Vital Component of School Safety.” This presentation will explore how an SRO works effectively in a school setting.

Click HERE to register.

A partisan United Center crowd delivered its booming adoration to former six-term Illinois Republican congressman Adam Kinzinger for delivering a rousing, never-Trump message tonight.

The former member congressman who once represented Will County and a large segment of northern Illinois carried an important symbolic role for Democrats, who positioned him a few speakers ahead of presidential nominee Kamala Harris.

Kinzinger voted to impeach Trump, served on the House January 6th select committee and is now backing Harris’ candidacy – resume entries Democrats were all too eager to highlight in a bid to draw independents and displaced Republicans away from Trump.

“The Republican Party is no longer conservative. It has switched its allegiance — from the principles that gave it purpose to a man whose only purpose is himself,” Kinzinger said.

“Donald Trump is a weak man pretending to be strong,” Kinzinger said, unleashing a huge roar from the crowd.

“He is a small man pretending to be big,” Kinzinger said to another roar. “ He is a faithless man pretending to be righteous. He is a perpetrator who can’t stop playing the victim. He…puts on quite a show. But there’s no real strength there.

Kinzinger was one of several Republican never-Trumpers to take the stage at the convention this week. They included Georgia’s former lieutenant governor, an Arizona mayor and a one-time White House press secretary for Trump.

Even though they once were on opposite ends of the political spectrum, members of Illinois’ congressional delegation are praising Kinzinger for speaking his conscience even if it’s meant becoming a pariah in a big swath of the GOP.

“I can’t thank him enough for his courage, for his steadfastness, his support for democracy and his principles. I’m so grateful to him,” U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky told WBEZ.

Democratic Congressman Sean Casten respects that courage, too, and said the Trump-led GOP’s response to Kinzinger is truly grievous.

“To my mind, the tragedy of Adam Kinzinger is that by voting to defend democracy, he was excommunicated from his own party,” Casten said.

Dave McKinney covers Illinois politics for WBEZ and was the longtime Springfield bureau chief for the Chicago Sun-Times.