After a semester of learning, selecting a bill, preparing speeches, and listening to others’ bills, the first-semester government classes at West Chicago faced a full session on Friday, Dec. 6.

Early in the semester, about half of WEGO’s seniors formed groups to select a bill they would later present in committee meetings. Each meeting consisted of a small group of students taking government. Certain bills advanced to the full session, a larger government simulation held in the auditorium.

This semester’s full session bills included proposals on cutting military spending to increase border security, reinstating the death penalty in Illinois, increasing the federal minimum wage, the inclusion of trans athletes in sports, increasing police training, and expanding domestic oil production. While not all bills were discussed, all were prepared for debate.

Speaker of the House Michaela Miller opened the 61st full session at the start of the school day. The combined government classes quickly split into caucuses to prepare for the debates. Throughout the meetings, Miller, along with Chief Executive Natan Przybylko and Majority Floor Team members Lauren Dusing and Jacob Voight, spent time preparing themselves and listening in on caucus discussions.

“The support I had for this role really helped ease a lot of the stress I felt with it,” Miller said.

The gavel used in government classes semester after semester has seen many debates over the last 60 sessions. Each new Speaker of the House earns a special plaque with their name, season, and year they held the position. This tradition dates back to the spring of 1994, when the first plaque was added for Speaker Mike Winterhalter, and it has continued through last school year’s additions for Jamie Sticha and Alex Bradley. Miller’s name will soon be added to the collection.

She considers the experience an eye-opening process.

“Honestly, my mind was changed on certain topics. People shared new perspectives I had never considered, which made me question what I had believed up until that point,” Miller said.

The Speaker, Majority Floor Leaders, and Chief Executive observed caucus meetings, listening to student speakers prepare their arguments for or against the bills being presented.

Government teacher John Chisholm observed student leadership throughout the day and expressed pride in both the students and their leadership team.

“The elected leadership—floor leaders, whips, and the speaker with her assistants—were excellent. They had quite a bit to manage with having two politicians speak at different times, a few caucuses thrown in, plus lunch. Everything ran smoothly, and many students were able to voice their opinions in a safe environment thanks to the leadership,” Chisholm said.

Caucus leader Brianna Carrasco listened as members read their prepared speeches, stating their opinions on the bills up for debate. Several students took turns reading their speeches, selecting the strongest arguments to present in the full session, as each caucus was allowed just three minutes to speak on each bill.

The session began with “HB6123: Cutting Military Spending to Increase Border Security.” Students representing their caucus divided the three-minute speaking time to ensure multiple voices were heard. The discussion sparked various opinions on border issues.

After each bill was presented and debated, caucus leaders tallied their group’s votes before announcing final counts of “yes,” “no,” or “present.”

One of the more surprising votes occurred with “HB6103: Death Penalty in Illinois,” a bill that ultimately failed.

“I actually had another speech prepared to veto the death penalty bill, but I never ended up needing it,” Przybylko said.

Another student, Isabella DeGuzman, contributed to the debate, using research gathered before the session to argue for or against the bill.

“I thought the speeches were really great. As expected, they could be redundant at times, but you have to anticipate that when you talk about the same issue for an hour,” Miller said.

Following multiple speeches from representatives, caucus leaders, and whips, the vote on increasing border security spending came to a close, and was counted.

Miller announced the results in the full session, confirming that the bill had failed.

“Up until this point, even in committee hearings, I was the one deliberating and giving my opinion on each bill. As Speaker, I hardly participated in giving my own opinions. Instead, my job was to facilitate others sharing their perspectives,” Miller said.

Representative Jessica Balmer shared her experience in women’s sports, specifically as a runner, to support the bill restricting transgender athletes in high school sports.

Miller, who led students through the simulation, felt proud of the work students put into their committees and speeches.

“I felt awful whenever I had to cut someone off with the gavel if they went over time. They handed me the gavel to keep order, and enforcing the time limit is part of that,” Miller said. Several students struggled to condense their arguments within the time constraints.

Representative August Gutierrez also spoke on the transgender athlete bill.

“Regardless of my own opinion on the topics debated, August Gutierrez’s confidence stood out, and we literally fact-checked everything she said, and it all checked out. The Minority Whip, Lukas, also had a powerful story that strongly conveyed his opinion,” Miller said.

Representative Dayan Zenteno argued against the bill and later commented on the tone of the debate.

“Overall, everyone did a great job. However, I was surprised by the way some participants behaved when discussing the bill regarding the trans community. It was very classless and disappointing,” Zenteno said.

Caucus Whip Adamary Vega examined the final count from her group for the bill “Trans Athletes in Sports.”

Chief Executive Przybylko later announced the final decision on each bill, causing a stir when he vetoed the transgender athlete bill. He explained his reasoning, stating that had the bill applied to collegiate or professional levels, he would have been in favor, but he could not support it as written for Illinois high schools.

“I went into the presentations pretty on the fence about the issue but ended up not being convinced by either side. The thing that got me was that the bill was specifically for high schoolers in Illinois, yet nobody presented any facts about that. Instead, they kept repeating the same idea that men are generally better than women at sports. The discussion also referenced Imane Kleif, who I researched during the presentations, and I found that she wasn’t actually transgender—she was born with a genetic disorder. That got me thinking about why they thought she was, at which point I started writing my speech,” Przybylko said.

Although Miller heard many speeches throughout the day, she singled out Przybylko’s as particularly striking.

“I would say the speech that left my jaw dropped was Natan Przybylko’s. The speech he gave to explain his reasoning was incredible,” Miller said.

In his speech, Przybylko addressed the influence of media and the emotional intensity surrounding political debates.

“I know that this bill will be motioned for another vote to override my veto, and I would like to urge all of you to reconsider your vote and not allow the media to influence you. I implore you to choose unity over division, compassion over misplaced rage, and facts over lies. Thank you,” Przybylko said.

As the school day came to an end, the override vote was taken as a standing vote due to limited time. The majority ultimately voted against the veto, passing the bill despite Przybylko’s speech.

“I think the lesson here is that students, regardless of their political affiliation, still have their own views and do not just vote based on party lines,” Chisholm said.