More than a law needed to increase civic engagement

The passage of House Bill 4025, which mandates a one-semester civics class for high school students, just needs the signature of Gov. Bruce Rauner to become law.  That, and along with HB 800 which sets the start-up date for the  2016-2017 school year, will do more than give students a way to meet the state’s social science requirement; it will hopefully light a fire on the need for civic engagement.

            Not just for students, but for everyone.

            I’ve addressed civic engagement several times, most recently after the spring election which saw pitifully low voter turnout on both sides of Lake-Cook Road.  Part of that is due to the fact that many people are content with their local politics as long as the streets get plowed, the water works and Police and Fire Departments are good.

            Having attended more Village Board meetings than I can recall, it’s amazing, if not disappointing, that the only time people attend meetings is to chime in on a conflict, complain, or watch their child get a certificate from the village.

            Budget planning? No interest.  Economic development? Mild interest, but if it’s not a proposed edifice in their backyard, most residents could care less.

            So what’s a way to spur civic engagement?  In its May 2014 report, the Illinois State Board of Education’s task force on civic education touted the need for news literacy.  This was music to my ears because of my association with the Center for News Literacy at New York’s Stony Brook University and as an educator who incorporates the fundamentals of news literacy into my curriculum.

            It’s not a journalism class.  Instead news literacy instruction addresses critical thinking skills needed by news consumers, who used to be called readers or viewers, to judge the reliability and credibility of news reports, whether they come via print, television or the Internet.

            Makes sense, right?  And if you tune into the local news, you can find out what generally is going on the Chicago area.  Maybe you get the Tribune or Sun-Times and get an idea what’s happening in metro Chicago.

            But what about Buffalo Grove?  There was, at one point four newspapers covered the village on a regular basis.  Now, news coverage is limited to meeting coverage by the Daily Herald, sporadic coverage by the Des Plaines Journal-Topics and an occasional article in Trib Local.

            And then there’s the Buffalo Grove Countryside.  Now owned by the Tribune Company, the Countryside runs news of Buffalo Grove in Trib Local and just for fun, runs it in the Countryside.  Aside from that, it’s limited to an occasional letter and columns by soccer moms.  And it’s not getting any better.  In fact, two weeks ago the cover of the ‘Buffalo Grove’ Countryside was about businesses – in Mt. Prospect.

            Web editions don’t provide much more as there’s only so much one reporter can do. The lead story on the Countryside’s web site is about a Vernon Hills crime.  The crossing guard is between School District 21 and the village is posted, but has not been updated.

            So what lies ahead?  Apparently not much.

            In the long run, the losers are citizens who may want to be interested their village, but lack an independent media to offer them a forum for news and information.  The Herald, despite being covered by a part-time reporter, provides additional support as needed.  The Herald also maintains an active social media presence through its Buffalo Grove page on Facebook, which may not be a news delivery site, but at least it’s a forum where residents can get an idea as to what may be happening in the village.

            When it comes to citizen engagement, residents need know what’s going on.  The ball is clearly in their court.

            Social media?  The reality is getting reliable information from social media is a challenge because you don’t know how reliable the information is and who or what is behind it.

            And while hyper local media outlets are making inroads in the city, specifically DNAInfo, they have not done so in the suburbs.   AOL’s Patch made a valiant effort, but poor management and the desire by AOL to leave hyperlocal journalism led to the demise of that initiative.

           So what’s left? Not much.

            Which is really too bad.

Especially when it comes to civic engagement.