Proviso West Students Testify at Cook County Board Meeting

Left to right: Karen Sassetti (teacher at Proviso West High School and SADD Club Sponsor), Cecilia Salas, Commissioner Richard Boykin, Arely Roa, Lesli Vaughan, and Joann Wong

PP4H's Tobacco-free Living Hub continues to work at the state and local levels to educate legislators about the importance of Tobacco 21 policies. Most recently, the Hub partnered with Proviso students in an effort to build support for Tobacco 21 in Cook County. On November 14th, students from Proviso West High School’s Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) club, testified at the Cook County board meeting about Tobacco 21. Cecelia Salas and Arely Roa traveled to Chicago to share their experiences as high school students who have seen firsthand the effects of e-cigarette and tobacco use among their peers and to encourage the Board to consider adopting a Tobacco 21 policy in the future. Prior to the meeting, Cecelia and Arely met with Commissioner Boykin, the bill’s sponsor, to discuss Tobacco 21 and learn more about the legislative process. The students were accompanied by Karen Sassetti, Proviso West’s SADD club sponsor, and Robyn Block, the Illinois SADD State Coordinator.
 
After their testimony, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Commissioner Larry Suffredin each thanked the students for speaking and recognized the importance of including the teens’ perspective. Unfortunately, the Tobacco 21 legislation did not pass out of committee prior to the full board meeting, so the legislation was not presented for a vote before the full board. However, Commissioner Suffredin shared that he is committed to reintroducing the bill after the new board begins its term in December.