Selected State Reports

State Documents

Descriptive Inventory of the Archives of the Stale of Illinois, Illinois State Archives, Office of the Secretary of State (1978), 708pp. plus index. Begun in 1975, this inventory represents the first comprehensive, published guide to the holdings of the Illinois State Archives. It is in looseleaf form to allow for inclusion of update pages; an index is provided. The record groups are arranged according to the organizational structure of the slate government into 14 sections. Beginning each record group is an administrative history; this is followed by the record series (comprising standard bibliographical information) and a series description which includes every type of data contained in a particular record series.

The Economic Development Resource Catalog, Illinois Department of Local Government Affairs (December 1978), 76pp. Designed as a guide to Illinois communities facing such problems as rising costs, physical deterioration or industrial slowdowns, this catalog presents descriptions of financial and technical assistance programs offered by 11 state and federal agencies. There are also sections dealing with local sources of assistance, special financing techniques, and the process of applying for state or federal grants or loans. Adapted Physical Education: Related Legislation, IEP Development and Programmatic Considerations for Illinois, IOE, State Board of Education (1978), 31pp. plus appendices.

Public Law 94-I42, which mandates public school programs for the handicapped, specifically addresses the issue of physical education services for handicapped students. This manual provides information, suggestions and considerations for such programs. In addition to general guidelines for teachers, administrators, parents and others who will be involved in developing programs in individual school districts, the manual contains sample forms and letters, as well as a list of relevant agencies and a bibliography of publications dealing with physical education for the handicapped.

■     Veterans in Illinois: 1977, Bureau of Employment Security, Department of Labor( August 1978), 40pp. Veterans are the target population of a variety of programs designed to provide direct benefits, such as jobs or training. This document provides both a compendium of published statistics and an evaluation of the status of veterans in Illinois to assist in the development of such programs.

■     Illinois Health Needs and Priorities Statement: Part I, State Health Planning and Development of Public Health, edited by John R. Noak, Ed. D. (June 1978), 200pp. Intended as a health planning tool for the State of Illinois, this document is part of the total health effort in the state as initiated by P.L. 93-641 that was enacted in 1974. This first part deals only with needs; the second part, which is in preparation, will deal with priorities. Four goals are addressed: health status, health promotion, consumer access and health finance. Specific issues and subgoals are treated. An extensive bibliography and glossary are included.

Other Reports

■     Illinois Women's Directory: A Comprehensive Guide to Women's Organizations and Programs Thoughout Illinois and Northwestern Indiana, by Kathleen M. Ligare. for the Midwest Women's Center, 53 West Jackson. Room 623, Chicago, IL 60604 (1978), 167pp. ($4.95).

This timely guide includes over550 descriptions of services for women — such as career counseling agencies, rape and women abuse shelters and professional organizations along with brief but helpful tips scattered throughout the volume on special areas of concern; there are also 25 previously unpublished photographs depicting women in Illinois since 1850. Descriptions of agencies providing Spanish-language assistance are also given in Spanish. Items may be found either through the organizational title, by subject, by city or by region; addresses and telephone numbers are included.

Items listed under State Documents have been received by the Documents Unit. Illinois State Library, Springfield, and are usually available from public libraries in the state through interlibrary loan. A.J. M.D

Letters

Shrinking farmlands

EDITORS: In "Illinois' Shrinking Farmlands," James Krohe Jr. does a first-rate job of focusing on the problem and suggests that some attitudinal changes are beginning to occur. In my judgment, however, he does not go far enough in addressing effective, timely solutions. On October 30, 1978, Secretary of Agriculture Bergland signed a departmental land use policy memorandum in which he stated his expectation that all agencies of the U.S. Department of Agriculture will strengthen assistance to local agencies in their efforts to retain important farmland, forestland, rangeland, and wetlands and to avoid encroachment into flood plains. What has the Farmers Home Administration done about this in Illinois? In addition to serious discussion of the problem with our nearly 200 Illinois employees, we have met with the directors of substate regional planning agencies to explore ways to support sound land use policies as a context for healthy developmental activity. We have met with responsible representatives of key federal and state agencies operating on the rural development front in Illinois to see how we can promote rural development which has long-term benefits without undue economic and ecological costs as unintentioned by-products.

Finally, at recent statewide workshops I stated that: "Before 1980 arrives, we will absolutely refuse to fund any project in any of our programs which removes or threatens to remove prime agricultural land from crop use. No more rural rental projects in bean fields ... no more rural water lines which encourage rural sprawl. No more business and industry guarantees for shopping centers in corn fields ... we want to encourage compact development. We want first to utilize as fully as possible, existing infrastructures."

FmHA has — albeit unwittingly — done the opposite in too many cases in the past. We can — and we will — assume at least our share of the mammoth job of preserving Illinois' heritage. The undertaking may be accelerated as a result of a recent FmHA planning grant to the Governor's Office (to be administered by the Department of Local Government Affairs) for a comprehensive Rural Revitalization Planning Program. Staff studies and support work are being performed through DLGA, IBOB, and the Illinois Department of Agriculture, and a broad-based Illinois Development Council will offer a forum for formulating policies and strategies.

John Linfield, State director - Farmers Home Administration - Champaign, Illinois

April 1979/Illinois Issues/23