League of Women Voters of Freeport hosts ‘Civics 101’ event

FREEPORT, Ill. (WTVO) — The League of Women Voters of Freeport hosted a ‘Civics 101’ event at the Public Library to educate the community on citizenship and the U.S. government.

The event featured a presentation by political science instructor Dr. Andy Dvorak, who discussed the basics of citizenship and the structure of the U.S. government.

Organizers said the program aimed to empower citizens with knowledge about their civic duties and rights.

“I’ve had a passion for democracy my entire career,” Dr. Dvorak told Eyewitness News. “It’s one of the reasons I got into history and political science. And also both of my parents risked their lives to fight against fascism in World War II, and now it seems like we’re electing those people to office, and it really disturbs me.”

During the event, Dr. Dvorak also addressed what he characterized as current threats to democracy and emphasized the importance of civic engagement.

He encouraged attendees to put pressure on elected officials and to demonstrate in the streets if necessary, highlighting the power of collective action.

The League of Women Voters of Freeport has been serving the community since 1920, focusing on educating and advocating for informed and active participation in government.

All facts in this report were gathered by journalists employed by WTVO. Artificial intelligence tools were used to reformat from a broadcast script into a news article for our website. This report was edited and fact-checked by WTVO staff before being published.