CHATHAM —State Rep. Elgie Sims (D-Chicago) was recently chosen to participate in the Edgar Fellows initiative, a program overseen by former Gov. Jim Edgar at the University of Illinois.
Sims and other fellows will meet for an intensive leadership workshop at the U of I in Urbana from Aug. 4-7.
And the focus of the workshop, according to Sims, is to enhance one's leadership skills.
“I am proud and honored to have been named one of 41 leaders selected to participate in the 2013 Edgar Fellows initiative,” Sims said, in a statement. “This initiative is a perfect opportunity to discuss the important issues facing the state, work with other elected officials and develop ideas to get Illinois in the right direction.”
And even though Sims, whose district includes Chatham, is a democrat and Edgar is a republican, none of that matters when it comes to working on the initiative, said the former governor, who oversees the Institute of Government and Public Affairs at U of I.
“As we have seen with the 2012 Fellows, relationships and trust build as they recognize they must work together to help promote progress in their communities and our state,” Edgar said, in a statement “I am confident these emerging leaders representing the great diversity of our state will become friends. They will realize that they much in common and appreciate differences in perspective. They will form bonds and sharpen leadership skills that should help them solve problems as they assume even more responsibility.”
