By Meghan Streit
THE ERICKSON TRIBUNE

With the Presidential election right around the corner, politics—and how they impact our lives—are at the top of many people’s minds.

That’s why a group of Monarch Landing residents took the opportunity to raise their political IQs by enrolling in an on-site course called “Good Government Is Good Politics.”

The class, sponsored by Monarch Landing’s Center for Continuous Learning, covered topics like public policy development, how a bill becomes a law, and how an individual citizen can impact the political process.

The course focused primarily on local politics and elected officials. Class sessions featured a variety of guest speakers, lively group discussions, and a field trip to Springfield.

Become an informed voter
Resident Mary Lou Nagel, who moved to Monarch Landing from Cook County, says she enrolled in the course to learn more about politics in DuPage County. An avid lifelong learner, she has taken a number of courses in the past but says, to her, the quality and content of this course stood out above the rest.

“It was a new subject for me, and I thought it was absolutely wonderful,” Nagel says. “The speakers were extremely interesting, and all discussed very new topics.” Nagel says she found the information about lobbying the most informative.

 “Most of us have heard about [lobbying] all of our lives, but really didn’t know much about it,” she says.

Keeping momentum going
The class was such a hit among residents that the politically active group  decided to create an ongoing forum to stay involved with the issues that matter  most to them. The newly formed Political Awareness Committee plans to host panel discussions with candidates for elected office, put on programs to educate residents about issues that impact them, and organize shuttles to polling places.

Nagel says she’s eager to learn more about politics as a member of the new committee.