Ashley Hamilton, a freshman at Maine South, attended the Illinois gubernatorial inauguration on Monday, Jan. 12. She wrote the following essay on her experience for the Pioneer Press.
Inauguration 2015 to me was a moment in time I will never forget.
The event started off with the Air National Guard Band of the Midwest playing several songs before and during the event and they sounded amazing.
Jim Cornelison of the Chicago Blackhawks sang the national anthem, and the crowd really enjoyed it.
When it was time for Bruce Rauner to take the oath of office, I thought it was really cool how his whole family was on stage and his wife held the Bible for him. Once he took the oath, he gave a speech and I loved how he talked about education and how he wants to get schools back to how they once were, as well as get funding so that all kids get the same education, no matter where they live. He also talked about getting jobs back to Illinois, since so many have left Illinois in recent years in order to keep their businesses alive.
Once the ceremony was over, I headed to the Old State Capitol building where Governor Rauner a Lieutenant Governor Evelyn Sanguinetti were holding a meet and greet. I got the chance to ask Mrs. Sanguinetti about the one thing she would like to see changed the most while she’s in office and her quote was “I would like to see more jobs become available. We want more businesses to come back to Illinois so more people will be able to find jobs in the future and make it easier for people like you as well.”
Later on in the evening, I attended the Inauguration Concert at the Convention Center, and got to enjoy listening to the legendary Buddy Guy who was superb on his guitar, eating great food from local food truck companies and then the main attraction of Toby Keith.
Bruce & his wife danced their first dance to the song, “Kiss Me Like This” as their kids stood by and watched. They looked so happy and had a great time.
The whole day was something I feel honored to be part of, and is something I will for sure never forget. I will say that being part of this and watching and listening to issues and ideas, I am more interested in learning more about politics and now see how important great leaders truly are.