Tomorrow’s Leaders: Understanding Illinois Local Government Curriculum

Three (3) CPDUs available to Illinois teachers who complete the certification!

Provided to teachers throughout Illinois at no cost through the Partnership for Local Government Education (PLGE), the Tomorrow's Leaders curriculum, for grades 6 through 12 and use in introductory collegiate-level political science courses, is designed to educate and develop citizens who care about and contribute to their communities. By helping students discover how Illinois local governments solve the problems close to us (such as good roads, strong schools, effective first and police protection, and safe water supplies) we will build an informed citizenry ready to assume leadership roles in their communities.

Why Study Local Government?

Local government affects our daily life profoundly. We expect local governments to solve the problems closest to us, such as a safe and plentiful water supply, recreation programs, or police protection. Local officials may be our neighbors, friends, or relatives. These are the people we can influence when we need new services or feel that current services need to be changed or improved. Most of us take local services for granted as long as everything is working and we have the services we need and want. But what happens when they quit working, or we want a new service, or a different service–say, a new pool at the city park or a youth center?

In order to participate in community decisionmaking, we need to know how local governments operate— and what services each kind of government provides us. For example, is the road or street in front of your home private property or is it part of a municipality, a township, or a county? If the street in front of your house has a big pothole that you want to get fixed, what do you do? Whom do you call? These civic operations are even more important to understand in our area, for Illinois has more local governments than does any other state in the United States. In the constitution and statutes of the State of Illinois, the law sets out the functions and limits of these local governments, which are sometimes referred to as "children of the State," meaning that they exist and provide services at the pleasure of the State.

Tomorrow’s Leaders examines the world we live in everyday—and how local governments provide support service that allow communities and citizens to thrive. Although national and state policies generate more headlines, we live at the local level. It is the services provided by local governments—counties, cities, townships and special purpose governments—that affect our daily lives.