19-year-old Northbrook woman attends DNC as Illinois’ youngest delegate: ‘I have hope for the future’
CHICAGO - There are nearly 4,000 Democratic delegates from all over the country attending the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
While most of them are political veterans, Fox 32’s Dane Placko found one delegate from the north suburbs who's still a teenager and voting in her first presidential election.
"I’ve met so many cool people," said 19-year-old Claire Satkiewicz. "And to be able to see some of my favorite political leaders speak like Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Bernie Sanders yesterday was very cool."
Satkiewicz, who was raised in Northbrook, is about to begin her sophomore year at Northeastern University in Boston. Luckily, classes don’t start until next week because she is attending the DNC as Illinois’ youngest delegate.
"I have hope for the future. I think we can move in the right direction. And I think step one would be having someone like Kamala Harris as president," Satkiewicz said.
Satkiewicz began getting interested in local politics while still in high school at Glenbrook North. After working on some campaigns while still too young to vote, she met her mentor, Democratic State Rep. Tracy Katz Muhl of Northbrook.
About a year ago, Katz Muhl asked Satkiewicz if she’d be interested in trying to become a delegate. She applied and learned a few months ago that she had made the cut as an alternate.
"It is really cool. I think one of the biggest reasons I got involved in high school was I wanted to feel I could make a difference in politics, but I was too young to cast my vote. And now it’s feeling pretty amazing that I could get to not only do both at the same time, but I get to participate in such a monumental convention this year."
So all this week, Satkiewicz has been staying downtown, attending Illinois delegation functions during the day and the Democratic convention at night.
At a time when many young people are pessimistic about politics, Illinois political leaders said it’s encouraging to see people like Claire, stepping up for the future.
"The younger we can get kids involved in what’s going on in their lives the better," said Democratic Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza. "Claire may be young, but the policies we all put in place affect Claire and her generation. So the younger, these kids actually get involved and take control of their destiny, their future, the better for all of us."
Would Satkiewicz ever consider running for office?
"I would love to run for office," she replied. "Not sure which office yet, but I guess we’ll find out in a few years."