Lake County Gazette

The recently formed Wide Awake: Socialism – Not Now, Not Ever coalition has planned its inaugural event aimed at educating young people across Northern Illinois about what the group sees as the perils of a radical-left society.

Organizers are already touting the Nov. 6 event as potentially “the largest youth political gathering in Illinois history.” In a press release, the group said it is just over 100 ticket sales short of reaching its goal of 500 tickets sold.

“'Wide Awake'” is a satire of the word 'woke,' a common term used by self-described leftists,” organizers said in the release. “This is not a war between Republicans and Democrats, or even conservatives and liberals. This is a war between the far left progressives and all everyday Americans.”

Morgan Zegers, CEO of Young Americans Against Socialism | Facebook

Wide Awake is further described as “a coalition of multiple organizations, both young and old, working together to keep corruption out of our governments, balance in our communities, and ensure a bright future for our children.”

The forum will feature elected officials and candidates from all over the state, available to interact with and answer questions from attendees. There will be a cocktail hour with free food, and onsite child care will also be available for those with young children.

The candidates will take the stage for brief introductions at 6 p.m., followed by keynote speaker Morgan Zegers, CEO of Young Americans Against Socialism.

“We owe it to our kids to leave them with a world in a better state than we inherited it,” the press release said. “Wide Awake’s mission is to tell the true story of how free markets lift people out of poverty, while closed-market socialism creates an entire class of poverty."