Lincoln-Way North High School junior Allison Gerk says Tinley Park’s Youth in Government program is a good experience, even if you have no interest in a public-service career.
“It doesn’t matter,” said Gerk, one of 21 teens who will conduct a mock village board meeting Tuesday. “Government is part of your everyday life. It’s always good to know about the background of the government in your community and what goes on behind the scenes.”
Gerk, who hopes to be a family physician one day, will attend the meeting as police chief, even though she’d never been inside a police station before participating in the program.
“In all honesty, I would have chosen it as the most interesting position,” she said, citing the wide range of assignments police tackle. “They never know what they’re going to have when the day begins.”
Reta Brud, Community Resources Commission chairman, said the citizen group started the Youth in Government program in 2000 with students from Tinley Park and Andrew high schools, adding Lincoln-Way North after it opened. But all qualifying Tinley Park teens can participate, even if they don’t attend a local school.
“This year, we also have a student from St. Rita High School and a home-school student,” she said.
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Participants tend to actively participate in class and demonstrate an interest in politics and social science. Grades also play a role — Gerk and fellow Lincoln-Way North student Thomas Marquez, who is taking Mayor Ed Zabrocki’s role during the meeting — were inducted into the school’s honor society in 2013.
The students prepared for their assigned roles by spending one hour in a one-on-one with the actual position-holder and later shadowing him or her.
Police Chief Steve Neubauer used his hour with Gerk to explain some of the unique aspects of local police work and to dispel a few general myths. Communication is the key requirement for police work, he said, adding, “They spend all day talking to people.”
Requiring officers to live in the village increases their sensitivity because “the people they have to deal with are their neighbors,” he said.
Unlike with crime labs in television and movies, DNA samples and fingerprints don’t come back to police in hours, days or weeks because of the volume of requests, Neubauer said. He also took exception to portrayals of investigators gaining information by bullying suspects.
“In reality, people confess to people they like. An officer will spend hours building rapport with people who are, sometimes, very repugnant,” he said.
In outlining departmental functions, Neubauer stressed the U.S. Constitution and the department’s budget are the primary determinants of how things are done.
Gerk acknowledged some shock at “how much money goes into” police operations but was quick to add, “They spend the money really well and budget wisely.”
Gerk said her time with Neubauer expanded her understanding of the different roles of police.
“I understand now how necessary it is to have them around,” she said.