Atticus Francken of Illinois
- 1. Atticus Francken is a sixteen-year-old junior attending Normal Community High School in Normal, Illinois. Atticus has always had an interest in the political process, and he started his political activity in Junior High School during the 2008 election cycle. He began as an active volunteer who gradually received more leadership roles as the election cycle progressed. Although Illinois is a reliably Democratic state, McLean County has a very established Republican party. Due to the hard work of Atticus and others, McLean County chose the Democratic presidential candidate for the first time since the election of Franklin Roosevelt. Immediately after the 2008 election cycle, Atticus began to frequently volunteer with the local municipal elections helping the two candidates in Bloomington and Normal carry out their campaign operations. In March of 2009 he became an intern for the Office of Congresswoman Debbie Halvorson (D-11), a freshman member of Congress. He continued assisting the Congressional office until receiving a position as a Deputy Field Organizer on the Halvorson for Congress campaign team, while also serving as office manager for the McLean County Democrats Headquarters. Before then, he held various internships with state-wide candidates and with various local candidates. After all of his hard work as an organizer and activist, he is proud to announce his candidacy for Vice Chair of High School Democrats of America. Atticus currently serves as the newly appointed Communications Director for the High School Democrats of America as of March 2011, and has served as the Illinois State Chair and as a member of the National Committee since August 2009. Atticus is also currently the campaign manager for a local aldermanic race. Atticus would like to put his previous experience as being a former campaign staffer, Congressional intern, and political activist to work for making progress and developing the High School Caucus.