The Illinois delegation includes veteran elected officials and "political junkies" as well as young leaders of the party.
Among them is State Representative Barbara Hernandez, of Aurora. She became a legislator in 2019.
She says her experience at the convention so far has been very emotional and empowering. And it gives her encouragement the Harris-Walz ticket will attract young voters, who she says President Joe Biden wasn't able to sway.
“Because of the age of the President, and different aspects of what's going on in the world," she said. "Many young individuals don't feel heard. Many people overall don't feel heard. But then I think, after [Harris] announced, many people are regaining that hope.”
A national poll released in the spring by the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School found more than half of young Americans said they planned to vote in the presidential election. But the findings showed levels of support varied significantly among different subgroups.
The poll also found among young voters, broad support for a permanent ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, economic concerns, and declining confidence in public institutions.
So far, abortion rights and reproductive health have been major themes at the Democratic National Convention.
But Illinois Treasurer Michael Frerichs says in the remaining days of the convention, he anticipates a focus of the Biden-Harris administration’s work on the economy.
“The work that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have done to pull us out of the COVID recession," Frerichs said, and the great numbers we've had in terms of jobs and increase in our economy. And quite frankly, that story that hasn't been told enough, and I'm looking forward to hearing more about [it]."
Vice President Kamala Harris has laid out various economic proposals in recent campaign stops that include increasing affordable housing and addressing price gouging.
Former president Donald Trump has emphasized the elevated price inflation the country has experienced in recent years in his criticism of the Harris-Walz campaign.
