Two Morrison seniors attend Illinois Premier Boys State

MORRISON – Two Morrison High School students participated in Illinois Premier Boys State, which was June 8-14 at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston.

Gavin Streets Wood and Blaine Williams, who will be seniors this upcoming school year, were selected to attend and were sponsored by American Legion Post 328 in Morrison.

American Legion Illinois Premier Boys State was founded in Illinois in 1935 by three Illinois Legionnaires, Hayes Kennedy, Harold Card and Matthew Murphy, who organized the first Boys State at the Illinois State Fairgrounds in Springfield. It is a participatory program in which students become part of the operation of city, county and state governments, according to its website.

American Legion posts select high school juniors to attend the program in June right after their junior year. In most cases, individual expenses are paid by a sponsoring Legion post, a local business or another community-based organization, according to the website. At Boys State, participants learn the rights, privilege and responsibilities of citizenship. Fictional political parties are created and the citizens are randomly assigned to one.

Boys State activities include various levels of legislative sessions, political party caucuses, four election cycles, general assemblies, band concerts, law enforcement presentations and recreational programs, according to the website.

Streets Wood said he decided to go to Boys State for a chance to win scholarship money. His plan is to attend Sauk Valley Community College and work toward earning a degree in cybersecurity, possibly at the University of Illinois.

Williams said he is unsure as to what he wants to study after high school, but the Boys State experience has him thinking about politics.