O’Fallon teen named Chief Justice of YMCA’s Youth Government

Even Spencer Peck was surprised by his victory.

The O’Fallon Township High School senior was recently elected as the new chief justice at Illinois’ YMCA Youth and Government conference in Springfield in a landslide.

Winning by 31 votes against his opponent, Spencer became the first Chief Justice from Southern Illinois in 13 years and pushed the Gateway Region YMCA delegation to its first-ever win.

“It feels pretty awesome,” said Peck, who plans to attend Southwestern Illinois College in Belleville this fall.

“A lot of people tend to vote for people who are in their region,” he said. “So, I was surprised some kid from down south and who just started their first student attorney program was able to win over the entire state.”

Spencer, the son of Anthony and Nancy Peck, aspires one day to be a U.S. Air Force flight nurse.

But in the end, Peck now hasn’t ruled out the possibility that he might pursue a degree in health law after he finishes his nursing degree.

“It’s an option,” he said.

Peck, who used to work at the YMCA, found out about the Youth and Government program from his former boss, who took him to Springfield a couple years ago just to see if he wanted to get involved in the YMCA Youth and Government program.

“At the time, I didn’t want to go,” he said. “I said ‘I didn’t care about politics.’”

But Peck ended up going, and enjoyed watching the students debate bills at the Illinois YMCA Youth and Government assembly.

After he returned to O’Fallon, Peck signed up for the program and got a few of his friends to join, too.

Peck is now trying to get younger sister, Taylor Peck, a freshman at OTHS’ Milburn School campus, involved with the Illinois Youth Government Program.

He believes he succeeded in becoming a judge because he made sure all 765 participant voters’ voices were heard during the judicial review process.

The new chief justice also is involved with the OTHS’s ROTC and is the flight commander for his senior class.

Always eager to volunteer, Peck was earlier placed in charge of the ROTC’s Polar Plunge, which helped raise money for Special Olympic athletes.

Suzanne Whitehead, who is the local Gateway YMCA Delegation volunteer adviser, said Peck is “super smart and sweet.”

“He’s incredibly professional,” Whitehead added. “He’s very serious about his work with the group of about 15 students from different schools like, Governor French Academy, OTHS, Belleville West High School and a home-schooled teen. It’s a bizarre mix, but they work great together and all bring something unique to the team.”

Whitehead hopes Peck’s victory will help attract more youth to join the YMCA’s young attorney program run out of the Belleville YMCA.

“I’m so proud of Spencer,” she said. “He’s a stand-up kid and also does ROTC and leads his squadron, too. He always goes above and beyond what is asked of him.”

Q: What words do you live by?

A: “Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs just told me over the weekend sometimes you win; sometimes you learn. There are no losers. This tells me it’s okay to take risks in life.”

Q: Whom do you most admire?

A: “My parents. Without my parents constant support and wisdom, I don’t know if I could have won my campaign.”

Q: What do you think is your most outstanding characteristic?

A: “I’m remarkably stubborn. If I’m working on something, I won’t put it down until I believe the finished product is perfect.”

Q: What do you like most about your job?

A: “The people that I work with are great. You know you work with the right people if time flies by at work.”

This story was originally published March 29, 2016 at 9:10 AM with the headline "O’Fallon teen named Chief Justice of YMCA’s Youth Government."