Bannockburn School District 106 now boasts the youngest school board member in Illinois history after 18-year-old Jake Leahy received 27.99 percent of the vote on Tuesday.
Leahy said he plans to work toward improving communication in the district during his four-year term. He is prioritizing dialogue between the board of education and students, alumni and community members.
During his campaign, he also promoted transparency in government. He pointed out on his website that posting videos and live-streaming meetings allows taxpayers to virtually attend meetings and see what their elected officials are doing.
He also said the school district has reined in its spending but needs to continue to look for cost-saving measures and ways to run the district more efficiently.
Leahy attended Bannockburn School for nine years and went on to Deerfield High School, where he is now a senior. He plans to study public policy and law at the University of Illinois.
Despite his youth, Leahy is no stranger to the political world. He worked with Bob Dold's congressional campaign and Rod Drobinski's campaign for state representative. He also has served on the American Youth in Politics board, but resigned in September so he could focus on the November election.
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