State Rep. Ron Sandack Chosen as 2014 Edgar Fellow

State Representative Ron Sandack (R-Downers Grove), is one of 40 emerging Illinois leaders who has been chosen as a 2014 Edgar Fellow.

Like those who preceded him in the Edgar Fellows program, Sandack was chosen from a highly competitive pool of nominees- nearly 160 of them this year alone. This year’s class includes elected and appointed public officials from across the state, and each was nominated by a peer or mentor.  Together, the 40 Fellows will participate this August in an intense, four-day executive leadership training program hosted by former Governor Jim Edgar and the University of Illinois Institute of Government and Public Affairs (IGPA).  In addition to Edgar, an impressive list of practitioners, researchers and scholars from the public arena will serve as instructors at the training academy.

The program focuses on developing leadership and governing capacity in Illinois while emphasizing the need to forthrightly address major policy issues without permitting partisan, ethnic and regional rivalries to trump statesmanship.

“Any time elected officials have an opportunity to engage in a collaborative learning environment that improves our ability to lead and problem-solve is time well-spent,” said Sandack. “It is truly an honor to have been selected, and I look forward gaining new knowledge that can be applied in my role as a State Representative in the Illinois General Assembly.”

According to IGPA Director Christopher Z. Mooney, those who participate in the Edgar Fellows program were chosen specifically because they have emerged as Illinois’ future leaders.  “If we are to solve the multitude of thorny, long-term problems facing Illinois, we must develop our leaders from an early point in their careers to be ethical, thoughtful, empathetic, and with an eye to the entire state, not just their own piece of it,” Mooney said.

Edgar, who as Governor turned a record-high deficit into a $1.5 billion budget surplus for his successor, helped create the Edgar Fellows program in 2012 as a way to share lessons he learned during his distinguished career in public service.  He said participants in the program will learn vital skills to help lead Illinois in the crucial decades ahead.

“In the first two years of our effort, we have seen emerging leaders reflecting the state’s political, regional and ethnic diversity form friendships and bonds that will serve Illinois well when it comes to addressing major challenges,” Edgar said. “I fully expect the 2014 Fellows also will realize they have much more in common than they might have thought while they gain a greater understanding of different perspectives.”

At the Institute, the 2014 class of Edgar Fellows will learn about leadership skills, strategies and expectations in a state facing major challenges. Participants will also have opportunities to continue their education through social networking and other forms of high-tech communication and participate in sessions designed to brief them on crucial policy issues. Subsequently, they will join 2012 and 2013 Fellows in periodic gatherings designed to further their education and build their professional networks.