Good news for Brian Johnson and other nerdy Illinois teens: you won’t need a fake ID to vote anymore.
Brian, played by Anthony Michael Hall was the brainiac in the 1985 John Hughes movie The Breakfast Club, which took place in fictional Shermer, Illinois. (Shermer was based on Hughes’s home suburb of Northbrook. The movie was filmed at the closed Maine North High School in Des Plaines.) In one scene, Andy the wrestler, played by Emilio Estevez, is going through Brian’s wallet and finds a fake ID.
“This is the worst fake ID I’ve ever seen,” Andy says. “Do you realize you made yourself 68 years old? Why do you need a fake ID, anyway?”
“So I can vote,” Brian replies.
Just today, Gov. Pat Quinn signed a bill allowing 17-year-olds to vote if they turn 18 by the general election. From a press release issued by Quinn’s office:
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Sponsored by State Rep. Carol Sente (D-Vernon Hills) and State Sen. Terry Link (D-Waukegan), House Bill 226 amends the Election Code by revising the qualifications of voters. The bill allows a 17-year-old the ability to vote during a primary election if he or she will be 18-years-old on the date of the immediately following general election. According to FairVote, 20 other states permit 17-year-olds to vote in the primary election.
“We are talking about young adults who are already voting for candidates in the general election, so I believe it’s only fair to allow them to have a voice in who appears on the general election ballot,” Rep. Sente said. “Hopefully, if we offer young adults this opportunity to have a greater say in the voting process, they will begin to form a habit of voting, participate in civics and contribute to the betterment of our state.”
“My own birthday was two days after a primary, and I was disappointed I could not vote for the candidate I supported,” Sen. Link said. “I believe this gives 17-year-olds the opportunity to vote in the primary and possibly result in more voter participation.”
Terry, you should have had a fake ID!
