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Citizen Training Corps
Citizen Training Corps is a free, hands-on course
that teaches basic civic skills and has been regionally and nationally
recognized as "civic boot camp" with "clout."
The course refreshes civic skills for those who have forgotten or
never learned how to use civic tools such as the Freedom of Information
Act, the Open Meetings Act, and the First Amendment. Participant
learn how to use their community as a "civics lab".
The next seminar will be held
in October 2004 - the date still to be announced. If you would like
to attend this free seminar, please send us an email at cac@citizenadvocacycenter.org
and we will contact you when the date has been set.
What do Participants learn?
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- Press Release Describing Citizen Training Corps
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- Sign- up sheet
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- Sample Civic Activity Log
- I. WHO REPRESENTS
YOU AT EVERY LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT
Participants learn who represents them at every level of government.
Individuals have approximately 60 public body representatives but
many people can only name two or three.
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- At the end of the class, participants will know:
- how and where to find all of their representatives;
- what is the overall government structure from the federal level
down to the local districts;
- what resources are available to discover representatives at the
federal, state, county, township, municipal, level as well as the
school board, park district, library council and many more public
bodies where officials are voted in by the public;
- how to write a letter to the editor of a newspaper or representatives
using different writing styles;
how to view district boundary maps and read the overlapping lines
of county, township, municipalities, school districts, and park districts.
Class Assignment: Participants have the choice of writing
a letter to the editor of a paper and a representatives or finding
who represents them at every level of government.
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- II. FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT. (FOIA)
The Freedom of Information Act is intended to open the doors of government
to all citizens by guaranteeing access to governmental records in
whatever form they are maintained.
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- At the end of the class, participants will know:
- What agencies are subject to the Act;
- What types of records are public records;
- What information is exempt under the FOIA;
- How does a person make a FOIA request.
Class Assignment: Make a FOIA request.
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- III. BASIC LEGAL
RESEARCH AND BILL TRACKING THROUGH THE ILLINOIS GENERAL ASSEMBLY.
Participants learn how a municipal ordinance is
created, how a bill passes through the Illinois General Assembly and
how to research Illinois State statutes.
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- At the end of the class, participants will know:
- How does a person find a city ordinance;
- How is a city ordinance created;
- How can a person find an Illinois State Statute;
- How does a bill move through the General Assembly;
- How to research a bill on-line and determine: who are the sponsors,
what is the house of origin, how many amendments were added to the
bill, what committee is the bill in and what is the final resting
place of the bill.
Class Assignment: Look up a particular bill on line and determine
who sponsored the bill, where did the bill originate, how many amendments
has the bill had, what committee is the bill in and what is the final
resting place of the bill.
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- IV. OPEN MEETINGS ACT
The purpose of the Open Meeting Act is to ensure that government
discussion, decision making and voting occurs in the open.
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- At the end of the class, participants will know:
- What is the purpose of the Open Meeting Act;
- When does the Open Meeting Act apply;
- When may a meeting be closed to the public;
- What may a person say during the public comment period;
- What happens if there is a violation of the Open Meetings Act;
- Can a person tape or film a public meeting.
Class Assignment: Attend a public meeting and make a public
comment.
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CITIZEN ADVOCACY CENTER TO REGISTER
INDIVIDUALS FOR CIVIC BOOT CAMP: THE CITIZEN TRAINING CORPS ELMHURST-
The Citizen Advocacy Center is registering individuals for a hands
- on, basic civic skills training course, the Citizen Training Corps.
This is a free training course teaching individuals how to utilize powerful
civic tools in order to effectively participate in local and state government.
The Citizen Training Corps is an active training course where participants
learn from community lawyers how to: find who represents them at every
level of government, write a letter to the editor, use the Freedom of
Information and Open Meeting Acts, track pending legislation through
the General Assembly and read a government budget. Sessions include
short hands-on assignments. Participants are also encouraged to complete
in a minimum number of civic engagement hours, such as reading the paper,
listening to news radio, or engaging in civic discussions.
A past participant stated, "What an exciting learning journey the training
program turned out to be and how good it felt completing the course.
I applaud the Center for the teaching program in basic civic skills
and hope that others may have the privilege to be your students in the
future." The Center has received significant regional and nationwide
praise for the Citizen Training Corps. Chicago's CityTalk and US 99's
Public Affairs radio program highlighted the Citizen Training Corps
and the importance of teaching citizenship.
Nationwide, news organizations such as Nation's Cities Weekly, and
radio stations in Washington and Massachusetts and municipalities from
Oregon, Maine, Florida and Colorado have contacted the Center for information
about how to implement a Citizen Training Corps program in their community.
The Citizen Training Course begins March 7, 2001, at 7:00 PM at the
Citizen Advocacy Center. To register call (630) 833-4080 or email tpastika@citizenadvocacycenter.org.
The Citizen Advocacy Center is a non-profit, non-partisan community
lawyering organization located in Elmhurst, Illinois. The Center is
dedicated to building democracy by strengthening the voice of citizens
and their civic skills and by making government more accountable to
the people. The Center was founded in 1994 and serves the western suburbs
of Chicago.
CITIZEN TRAINING CORPS SIGN-UP SHEET
If you are interested in signing up for the next Citizen
Training Corps class, call to register or print and fax this interview
sheet to the Center at 630-833-4083.
1. Name
2.Address
3. Contact Number
4. Email
5. How did you learn about the Citizen Training Corps?
6. Why are you interested in taking the Citizen Training Corps?
7. Survey of Civic Involvement.
a. Who represents you?
i. Do you know how to find who your representatives are at all government
levels?
ii. Do you know how your government representatives have voted on any
issue and when re-election is?
iii. Have you ever written a letter to the editor or a letter to a
representative?
b. Request for Public Information.
i. Do you know what the Freedom of Information Act is?
ii. Have you ever made a FOIA request?
c. Basic Research Tools.
i. Have you ever researched a city ordinance?
ii. Do you know how a city ordinance is passed?
iii. Have you ever researched a state statute?
iv. Have you ever followed a bill through the IL. General Assembly?
v. Do you know how a bill becomes a law in IL?
d. Open Meetings Act & Public Forum.
i. Do you know what the Open Meetings Act is?
ii. Have you ever attended a public meeting?
iii. Have you ever spoken during the public comment period of an open
meeting?
CITIZEN TRAINING CORPS CIVIC ACTIVISM LOG
TWENTY HOURS PER MONTH OF CIVIC ACTIVITY
Here are some ideas of how to fulfill the twenty hours.
· Attend CTC seminars, read 2-3 sources of news information a week, listening
to public/news radio, talk with others about current events, attend government
meetings, complete class assignment, volunteer.
Name_______________________________________________________________ Month______________________________________________________________
________________________________ Time ______________________ Activity
________________________________ Time ______________________ Activity
________________________________ Time ______________________ Activity
________________________________ Time ______________________ Activity
________________________________ Time ______________________ Activity
________________________________ Time ______________________ Activity
________________________________ Time ______________________ Activity
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