Janet Hamm, of Jacksonville, IL and her mother recently resurrected the Morgan County Republican Women’s Club. The group had been inactive for more than a decade.  Encouraging people, especially those who vote, to seek out more information about current political issues is one purpose of the group, said Hamm, though a more important goal is compelling voters to action.  “Our goal is to get people informed and active in voting,” she said. “I want more people to realize that you can’t just sit back and say, ‘I’m apolitical, I don’t want to get involved.’ It is crucial that people listen and get informed and get involved.”

Ham was a student at Illinois Wesleyan University when she first read the novels of Libertarian icon Ayn Rand and was inspired to consider her own political convictions.