SE Illinois News

Illinois State Rep. Dave Severin (R-Benton) discussed the purpose and importance of a 2023 working group in an interview with SE Illinois News.

"This working group will be called 'Literacy Improves Future Endeavors,'" Severin said. "In the General Assembly, I'll serve as a member of the House Elementary and Secondary Appropriation Committee and the House Higher Education Committee. COVID-19 changed everything for our kids, as you well know. We learned that tragically. The government-imposed shutdowns have badly harmed our students' reading, math and science development. I love kids, I love our teachers and school administrators. Our schools stand as pillars in our communities, especially in the area that I represent. They are places where we teach, we learn, we gather, and we participate in music, sports activities and art. I'm saddened that we're falling behind other states. Our kids deserve better. Our children are our future."

"These are some of the alarming statistics that we need to address," Severin said. "In 2022, a report from the Illinois State Board of Education revealed that less than 30% of eighth-graders in Illinois are passing algebra. The same report showed Illinois students meeting English and language arts 'performs at the level' at just 26%, with 74% of students not meeting partially meeting or just approaching grade-school level on the Illinois assessment of readiness test. In that same data set, only 21% of Illinois students met the performance level in math, which means 74% of the students are not meeting grade-school expectations in mathematics on the state's readiness assessment test. Restoring Illinois public education to a place where our students are able to read and do math at a basic grade level is at least something that we can do if we work collectively and work together. This is why I'm excited to serve as the House GOP to lead on the 'Literacy Improves Future Endeavors' working group – the group to bring our students back to reading levels, to math levels, to levels of science."

"It's going to be tough," Severin said. "Let's be realistic, it's going to take a comprehensive approach with the focus being on restoring our students to a place where they're competitive with the rest of our country and the rest of the world. In my role as the head of this working group, I'm committed to bringing together legislators with our state's highest-ranking education officials and advocates dedicated to improving public schools and curriculum so that we can understand where we are, which we've got to admit to, and where we need to go to, to put our students back on the right track."

Severin is a Benton resident who was first elected to the Illinois House in 2017, representing all or parts of the following counties: Edwards, Franklin, Hamilton, Jefferson, Marion, Wabash, Washington, Wayne and White. His legislative experience includes serving on the Judiciary - Criminal and Mental Health & Addiction Committees. Severin is also married and has a son who resides in Benton, as well.

Alongside the "Literacy Improves Future Endeavors" working group, the other four groups announced on Tuesday by Illinois House Minority Leader Tony McCombie are: Sustaining & Protecting At-Risk Kids; Supporting Women and Families; Reigniting Illinois’ Strong Economy; and Improving Public Safety.