Adam Kinzinger gathered with high

school students from across the 16th Congressional District for the Fourth Annual

Leadership Summit on Nov. 9 at IVCC in

the Cultural Center, where he spoke to

them about being a leader.

 

“Sometimes it can be overwhelming,”

he said of his position in leadership, “because [the constituents] look to you to

solve everything. Government, I believe,

can’t solve everything, but we can sure try

to do everything we can to help.”

 

He told them that, despite this, it is rewarding to represent the concerns of the

district in DC. “Don’t run against me,

though, it’s not that good of a job. I’ll crush

you if you run against me,” he joked, to the

laughter of his audience.

 

After Kinzinger told the high school

students about his life and his journey to

being a representative, he opened it up for

questions from the students.

 

One asked how he handled the backlash from supporters or opponents for his

decisions, to which he replied that he “just

handle[s] it. You have to remind yourself

what the job means.” He said that he wanted this job so he can lead his district justly and do what he believes is right for the

country.

 

Kinzinger said that the thing that made

him want to run was during the war in

Afghanistan, George W. Bush wanted to

keep fighting when everyone around him

said otherwise. Kinzinger said that Bush’s

response was “we are not going to lose this

war.” Bush’s confidence to stand alone for

what he felt was right inspired the Representative to run for office.

 

Kinzinger then introduced the next

speaker, Carl Cannon. From working as a

correction officer, Cannon learned that a

lot of the inmates could have avoided incarceration if there was an intervention at

a young age.

 

He started the ELITE Youth Program

for Peoria area schools. In this program, he

taught students how to respect themselves

and others and how to prepare for careers.

 

He then explained that the program

has extended to released convicts, too. The

program helps them find jobs and get back

into society.

 

After Cannon, Marc Goldwein led the

students in an activity about Social Security.

He said that the federal program is losing money fast, so he had the students adjust tax percentage and retirement age that

could keep the program in use.

 

Goldwein said that if high school students could fix the Social Security issues,

then Congress should have no trouble addressing it as well.

After the event, Kinzinger took questions from the media, including reporters

from the IV Leader.

 

Kinzinger responded to questions

about the election, calling it a “victory” for

Republicans, and expressed his determination to work with President-Elect Trump

to “continue to represent the interests of

the 16th D, but also do some big things.”

Among these “big things,” the Congressman mentioned tax reforms and infrastructure improvements.

 

His tone seems to have shifted since

earlier in the campaign season: back in August, Kinzinger said that he could not endorse Donald Trump for president, telling

CNN that while he would not be voting for

Hillary Clinton, he felt compelled to “skip”

Trump.

 

When asked how he would respond to

IVCC students and others struggling with

the outcome of the election, Kinzinger said

America will pull through this divisive

time: “America has survived presidents

of all stripes, from all ideologies and everything else, and we’re a country that no

matter what side of this debate you’re on,

we’re going to survive.”

 

He also expressed a desire for unity

across party lines, despite fundamental

differences. “My hope is that we have a

chance to reach out, not only to our own

party, but to Democrats, and say, ‘Where

are areas we can find common ground?

What are some big things we can achieve

together, and try to bring this country back

to a position of being united?’ We can always disagree on issues—you’re never going to have unity on issues—but it becomes

less personal.”