In addition to the medley of policy reforms suggested in this report that would increase accessibility, transparency, and accountability of government entities, holistic civic education is necessary. Holistic civic education must be instituted to improve the civic health, and thereby our democracy, in Illinois, Holistic civic education is multifaceted. It is community–based and includes family structures that model civic participation and government institutions at all levels that value and nurture citizen engagement. Commitment by our leaders in education to implement hands–on civic education is crucial. In fact, the original purpose for the creation of public schools was to prepare youth for a lifetime of civic participation in their communities. Despite the fact that civic education skills are learned behaviors, just like reading, math, science, or the arts, and that civics is a subject in itself, civic education has been a low educational priority for decades: civics classes are not mandated, standardized testing of social studies is not required, and government classes focus primarily on the passive memorization of important dates and facts. Currently, Illinois' civics education attainment goals are grossly insufcient: All students are expected to learn about civics and patriotism and must take only two years of high school social studies, including one year focused on the United States government. 18 Illinois law merely states that “American patriotism and the principles of representative government, as enunciated in the American Declaration of Independence, the Constitution of the United States of America and the Constitution of the State of Illinois, and the proper use and display of the American ag shall be taught... . No student shall receive a certicate of graduation without passing a satisfactory examination upon such subjects.” 19 And while all school districts may offer a Voluntary Service Credit Program, which “enables secondary students to earn credit towards graduation through performance of community services,” this program is not mandatory. 20

With changing family structures and the systemic neglect of our government institutions to teach civic education, the responsibility for teaching civics falls largely on dynamic educators who are willing or able to go beyond the standard curriculum, school districts that place a priority on civic education, and civic organizations that focus on promoting civic engagement and/or supplement school efforts to impart civic knowledge. Considering that Illinois graduates nearly 85.6% of students from high school, and implicitly an even higher percentage from middle school, Illinois has a signicant opportunity with a captive audience to build healthy civic habits in formative years of development.

This is a pivotal time for enacting reforms to demonstrate Illinoisans' commitment to practical civic education in our schools. The Federal “No Child Left Behind” program is in the reauthorization review process, and this presents a crucial opportunity to reinstate an emphasis on civic education. Illinois is among the majority of states that have adopted the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects, which ultimately allow each state to craft the manner in which the core standards are achieved in the state, and students in the Illinois Public School currently have social studies requirements that focus partially on civic education.

Additional recommendations for reforms include:
• Begin planting the seeds of the principles of participatory democracy in elementary school. Knowing how to be civically engaged is a skill that must be taught. Being civically engaged is a value–based action that must be practiced and needs demonstrated commitment. Most habits are developed at a young age; just like we teach our youth to develop healthy eating and exercise habits, we must also teach them healthy civic habits.

• Restore the civic mission of schools by mandating civic education in middle school and high school to develop healthy civic habits.

• Expand Illinois' Democracy Schools program, which is rapidly gaining momentum. The Democracy Schools program is an accreditation program for secondary schools providing students with authentic experiences in the rights, responsibilities, and tensions inherent in living in a constitutional democracy. Democracy schools promote civic engagement by all students, have an intentional focus on fostering participatory citizenship, and place an emphasis on helping students understand how the fundamental ideals and principles of our democratic society relate to important current problems, opportunities, and controversies. 21

• Integrate into teacher–certication programs method courses on how to teach civics with an emphasis on cross–curricular strategies.

• Mandate that as part of youth service–learning programs, students partake in some kind of community–based political activity: organizing to address a community issue, attending a public meeting on an issue of concern, writing a letter to the editor, to name a few. While service–learning is very important, building the capacity of young people to identify an issue of concern, identify possible solutions to that issue, form an action plan to address the issue and execute an action plan develops problem solving and consensus building skills that are transferable to any arena in life.