Lake County Board Member Aaron Lawlor was recently selected as one of 40 emerging Illinois leaders to participate in the inaugural Edgar Fellow program, an initiative designed by former Illinois Governor Jim Edgar to promote responsible and responsive leadership.

"It's an honor to be selected," Lawlor said. "Governor Edgar's initiative to bring emerging leaders together from all corners of the state and both sides of the aisle is exactly what Illinois needs right now.  I look forward to the program and working with other Edgar Fellows in the years to come."

Lawlor, the only Lake County board member selected as an Edgar Fellow, will join state legislators, legislative candidates, appointed government officials and non-profit leaders. The bipartisan group includes: Chicago City Clerk Susana Mendoza, State Representatives Kent Gaffney, Chapin Rose, and Jason Barickman,  as well as State Senator Toi Hutchinson, among others. They will gather in August at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and participate in an executive training program and then remain involved with periodic briefings on major policy issues, such as health care and government finance.

The program, which is offered by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's Institute of Government and Public Affairs Office of Public Leadership, aims to enhance leadership skills and promote understanding, networking and cooperation across regional, partisan and ethnic lines.

Lawlor was nominated by Mark Peterson, a Lincolnshire resident, Vice President at Bridgeview Bank and member of the Illinois Tollway Board.  There were nearly 200 nominees.

Learn More:
Complete media release
List of fellows