News Release

CHICAGO — A team of five students from The University School of Milwaukee in Wisconsin representing the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago's Seventh District will compete on May 18-19 in the national finals of the High School Fed Challenge competition to be held in Washington D.C.

The University School of Milwaukee competed against the following teams from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Michigan to become district champions of the Federal Reserve's High School Fed Challenge competition.

The Fed Challenge was developed to encourage greater awareness among students of how the U.S. economy functions and the role of the Federal Reserve in the economy. Each team is required to analyze current economic data, develop a monetary policy recommendation and defend that recommendation in front of a panel of judges. The team prepares a 30-minute demonstration, which encompasses a 15-minute presentation on the economy and a 15-minute period where students answer questions from the judges.

Presentations must include a discussion of economic conditions as of the day of the competition; a forecast of near-term changes in economic, financial and international conditions, such as unemployment and inflation; identification of conditions or situations that warrant attention in the formulation of monetary policy; and a recommendation as to whether the Fed should move to raise or lower interest rates.

Judges at the final competition will include members of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and presidents of Federal Reserve Banks.

The team members from The University School of Milwaukee are available upon request.

Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Background

The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago is one of 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks that, along with the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., constitute the nation's central bank. The Chicago Fed serves the Seventh Federal Reserve District, which encompasses the northern portions of Illinois and Indiana, southern Wisconsin, the lower peninsula of Michigan, and the entire state of Iowa. In addition to providing check processing and other services for financial institutions, each Reserve Bank serves as a bank for the U.S. government, supervises member banks and bank holding companies, monitors economic conditions in its district, and participates in the formulation of national monetary policy.