Do you ever come across a story that seems laboratory-designed to be a personal delight?

That was me last week, courtesy of Capitol News Illinois reporter Jenna Schweikert and the headline “Bill drafted by Illinois high schoolers would mandate vape disposal program.”

Andrew Diaz and Allison Hovaniec, who attend Pontiac High School, worked with the Illinois Environmental Council and state Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, to draft House Bill 4652. It’s got one cosponsor, state Rep. Diane Blair-Sherlock, D-Villa Park, and sits in the Executive Committee.

The students said the bill originated as a class project intended to positively impact their community. And while I generally dislike vaping products and support the idea of incentivizing proper materials disposal, the good vibes stem purely from seeing a prime example of citizen involvement laying the groundwork for possible change.

Although second-graders can learn from asking to have the General Assembly name an Official State Nursery Rhyme or whatever, this bill would be substantive, not ceremonial, and that requires real work and an understanding of the legislative process.

Kudos to all involved, including teacher Paul Ritter, and here’s hoping more students and lawmakers have productive conversations about a better future for everyone in Illinois.

NEVER ENOUGH REPORTING: I’ve been around long enough to have worked at daily newspapers with ownership groups staging multiple reporters in Springfield to cover state government. That infrastructure thinned over the years, so it’s been wonderful to observe the seeding and flourishing of the CNI service, which the Illinois Press Foundation created as a nonprofit entity in 2019 and now has 13 full-time journalists whose work is essential to me (selfishly) and anyone interested in Illinois government.

Last week, CNI launched an Insider page with a live blog. Subscribers can submit questions to reporters, which staff will attempt to answer in video streams, posts or other commentary. Access is free for now, but it will move to a paid premium, so now is a good time to evaluate if the work is worthwhile. For more information, visit capitolnewsillinois.com/live-blog.

MORE OLYMPIANS: The Winter Olympics concluded Sunday, but the 2026 Paralympics are set to begin March 6, also based in Milan and Cortina. There are just six winter Paralympic events: alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, hockey, snowboarding and curling. And there will be Illinoisans vying for medals.

Among the most decorated of that bunch is Brody Roybal, returning for a chance to win a fourth hockey gold medal. Roybal, a Northlake native, was born a congenital bilateral amputee without femurs in either leg, according to TeamUSA.com. He competed in Sochi in 2014 at age 15, was tournament MVP of the 2018 PyeongChang Games and led in scoring at the 2022 Games in Beijing.

• Scott T. Holland writes about state government issues for Shaw Local News Network. He can be reached at sholland@shawmedia.com.