Renewing Illinois Summit

Our 2022 Renewing Illinois Summit was held on the SIU Carbondale campus on September 29 and 30. Check back for information on future Renewing Illinois Summits.

We'd love to hear from you.

If you have questions about the summit, please email us at paulsimoninstitute@siu.edu.

Our annual Renewing Illinois Summit brings together Illinois college students to discuss and debate creative solutions to revitalize the Prairie State.

We had planned to consider the One Illinois theme at our 2020 summit, which was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We invited Illinois General Assembly leadership to submit their perspectives on our guiding question: Is One Illinois a noble aspiration or impossible dream? We published those perspectives, along with historical and travel essays, in a Renewing Illinois Booklet. We also created an Illinois 101 Recommended Reading List — a collection of essential reading to gain a deeper understanding of our state.

Our inaugural summit was held in 2019 with the theme Renewing Illinois: Ambitious Dreams and Practical Steps to Revive the Prairie State. Thirty-five students from nine Illinois colleges and universities brought penetrating insights to create suggestions for reforms and renewal. Read the 2019 summit findings.

Download the 2019 Renewing Illinois Booklet provided to the participants prior to summit.

2019 Summit Findings

Read the 2019 Summit Findings (PDF)

Participants from the spring of 2019 concluded that they see enormous potential here but are concerned Illinois has fallen into bad habits and has failed to position itself for the long-term. They want their state to solve long-festering problems and build a strong foundation for the future. They are wary of temporizing, evasions, partial solutions, political Band-Aids, and flimsy half-fixes. They are willing to make sacrifices, including paying more in taxes, if it would help Illinois operate more effectively, create jobs, clean up the environment, and revitalize a higher education system that was once the envy of the rest of the United States.

The students believe that Illinois needs more forward-looking leaders and more responsible citizens who will reward courageous policymakers and rebuke timid ones. The sweeping change will not take place overnight, but fundamental reforms and a spirit of renewal in the Prairie State must begin now. Illinois students are ready to go to work to revive their state.

Renewing Illinois Summit | Paul Simon Public Policy Institute | SIU

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