State Rep. Adam Niemerg (R-Dieterich) accepted an invitation from 4th Grade Teacher, Sarah Schabbing to speak to all of the 4th Grade students at Central School in Effingham on Monday. Two groups of 70-90 students assembled in the cafeteria/gym area to learn about the legislative branch from the first-term legislator.
“These fourth graders were very enthusiastic and curious to ask a lot of questions,” commented Rep. Adam Niemerg, a member of the Appropriations-General Services Committee, the Minority Impact Analysis Subcommittee, and the Labor & Commerce Committee, as well as the Insurance, the Housing, the Cybersecurity, Data Analytics, & Internet Technology, and the Health Care Availability & Access Committees. “I really enjoy talking with students who are eager to learn about their government, democracy, and how important it is for them to get involved and vote when they are old enough.”
Rep. Niemerg talked about his responsibilities as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives, sponsoring legislation, debating issues, and working with everyone to try to get good bills passed and signed into law to protect people and help those who need some kind of assistance. For the lessons about voting in the Illinois House of Representatives, Rep. Niemerg asked the students to pretend that they were all state representatives and the cafeteria was the House Chamber. He then asked them to raise their hands and vote as if they were passing a law to have pizza or broccoli for lunch. Pizza won that vote but some students brought up issues to consider like food allergies and how to amend laws to allow exceptions for people who don’t like pizza.
One of the opportunities for students who are very interested in learning more about the General Assembly is the ‘Page-for-a-Day’ program where students come to the State Capitol and can shadow the representative around to committee hearings and help on the House Floor for a day. This program will become available again once the restrictions on visitors to the Capitol in Springfield are lifted.
For more information about the legislature or to schedule Representative Niemerg to speak to your class or civic organization, please contact the district office at 217-813-6036.
