Job training service regions announced

THE 26 regions to become service delivery areas under the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) were announced by Gov. James R. Thompson in April. JTPA is the federal job training program which replaces the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA). "Local government, business and community leaders in each of the 26 regions will work together in planning and managing training programs with funding provided through the JTPA," Thompson said. "These Illinois communities will greatly benefit from this design, and they had a vital role in drawing the map."

The 26 regions were selected according to the following criteria: adequate training facilities; an appropriate size; and boundaries which match with other similar training program districts, with labor commuting patterns and, when possible, with old CETA boundaries. These regions are different from the 18 regions for the Dislocated Workers Centers which are limited to areas hardest hit by unemployment.

Service Delivery Areas under the Job Training Partnership Act

The training programs will begin October 1, and the governor said that each region will be able to decide what programs work best for it within Department of Commerce and Community Affairs guidelines. Each region will establish a Private Industry Council, made up of business, labor and community organizations, which will work with elected officials to choose an administering body for the region's JTPA program.

Dislocated Worker Centers

WITH THE passage of the Emergency Jobs Bill in Congress this spring, the state received an additional $4.1 million to be added to the $1.2 million previously allocated under the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) Title III. The Title III JTPA program, which is administered by the Department of Commerce and Community Affairs (DCCA), assists laid-off workers with job retraining and related assistance to prepare them to reenter the job market. Eighteen regions within the state hard hit by job losses and high unemployment will receive funds to establish Dislocated Worker Centers where services can be obtained by unemployed workers. Selection of center locations is based on unemployment rate, number of dislocated workers and information supplied by applicants seeking to establish a local center.

As of the end of May the following 13 centers and the counties they will serve had been designated:

Black Hawk College serving Henry, Mercer and Rock Island; Elgin Community College serving Kane; Illinois Central College along with the West Central Illinois Building & Construction Trades Council serving Peoria, Tazewell and Woodford; John A. Logan College serving Alexander, Franklin, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hardin, Jackson, Jefferson, Johnson, Massac, Perry, Pope, Pulaski, Saline, Union, Wayne, White and Williamson; John Wood College serving Adams; Joliet Junior College serving Grundy and Will; Lake Land Community College serving Clark, Coles, Cumberland, Edgar, Effingham, Fayette, Moultrie and Shelby; Madison County Board serving Madison; Moraine Valley College serving southwest suburban Cook; Richland Community College serving Macon; Rock Valley College serving Boone and Winnebago; and Triton Community College serving northwest Cook.

As of May 24, five additional centers are yet to be named for the Chicago area and DuPage, Kankakee, St. Clair and Vermilion counties.

Urban economic development at Northwestern's KGSM

THE J. L. KELLOGG Graduate School of Management (KGSM), Northwestern University, plans to offer a graduate-level training program in urban economic development. The program, which is the first of its kind in the nation, will be directed by Donald Haider, professor of public management at KGSM, and Louis H. Masotti, professor of urban affairs at Northwestern. The program will also be affiliated with the National Council for Urban Economic Development, a 1,500-member organization of professionals involved in economic development work.

According to Haider, the faculty involved in the new program will be "interdisciplinary and combine the resources of Kellogg together with leading practitioners in the field." In addition, an advisory council made up of individuals involved in urban economic development will play an active part in the program.

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Special election for Washington's congressional seat

THE SPECIAL election to replace former U.S. Rep. Harold Washington, who resigned his 1st District seat April 30 to become mayor of Chicago, will be held August 23. To have their names included on the ballot for the July 26 primary, all potential Democratic, Republican and independent candidates were required to file their petitions between May 31 and June 6. New party candidates filed the week of May 16-23.

Lower Cache wetlands

ILLINOIS' Lower Cache River property is all that remains of the wet forest and open swamp which once covered much of southern Illinois. Most of the wetlands have been lost to extensive logging and drainage for conversion to agricultural land. The Nature Conservancy, a national nonprofit conservation organization, has been working with the Illinois Department of Conservation (DOC), the Citizens Committee to Save the Cache, individual landowners and a corporate landowner to work out a preservation plan for these wetlands.

Located in Pulaski County, this area (also known as Buttonland Swamp) has received official National Natural Landmark designation. The area includes about 1,200 acres. The conservancy purchased 170 acres in 1981 and acquired another 60 acres in April through a $60,000 grant from the Amoco Foundation Inc. of Chicago; the DOC is acquiring 945 acres; and approximately 160 acres of land are owned by conservationist landowners.

Unknown to most of the Midwest, wet forested areas such as the Lower Cache once dominated the junctions of the Mississippi and Ohio river valleys. "The Lower Cache offers Illinoisans a rare glimpse of the Deep South," said Ralph Brown, director of the conservancy's Illinois field office. Immense bald cypress trees and water tupelos thrive in standing water for the majority of the year. Often called the "sequoias of the Midwest," these cypresses are estimated to be 500-1,000 years old, and the largest in Illinois is found here. The area is also a valuable habitat for native plants and animals, many of which are at the northernmost limit of their range.

The 156,000-member Nature Conservancy has preserved two million acres of naturally significant land across the country since its beginnings in the 1950s. Today it owns and manages the largest nature sanctuary system in the world.

Hartigan and Rock set up hazardous waste task force

A STATEWIDE Hazardous Waste Task Force is being set up by two of the state's leading Democrats, Atty. Gen. Neil F. Hartigan and Senate President Philip J. Rock. The goal of the task force is to make recommendations for long-term policy decisions about hazardous wastes, from their generation to their disposal. About 40 persons have been invited to join, representing all sectors of the state which have interesting hazardous wastes, including state and local elected officials, environmental groups, governmental agencies such as the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, businesses, citizens and academics.

In announcing the formation of the last force, Hartigan and Rock said, "We don't want a Times Beach, where an entire town is literally wiped off the map. . . . Hazardous waste is the greatest threat of all to the well-being of our people."

Illinois is the nation's second largest producer of hazardous waste, making these wastes the state's worst environmental problem. According to the Illinois Legislative Investigating Commission in its report on the problem, manufacturers in this state generated approximately 1.6 million metric tons of hazardous wastes in 1980. Ironically, since the enforcement of clean air and water regulations, hazardous wastes have become even more of a problem because toxic substances that used to go into the water system or the atmosphere are now generally put in landfills.

Although there is agreement that hazardous wastes in landfills can be a ticking time bomb, there is disagreement about the nature of the major problems. In fact, most observers see so many major problems that the task force should have its work cut out for it. For instance, according to sources at Sen. Rock's office, landfills which contain hazardous wastes have not been completely identified in this state; and although it is generally foreseen that landfills will leak at some point in the future, leaching harmful chemicals into underground water supplies, no one knows how prevalent this problem is. Robert Ginsburg of the Citizens for a Better Environment said that there needs to be greater resources put into enforcement of present laws, as well as an increase in public representation put into regulations. Ken Mitchell, director of the Illinois Environmental Council, also sees a need for greater public input, particularly in regard to the siting of hazardous waste landfills. The other major problem, he says, is to develop alternate ways to handle wastes besides landfills.

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This problem has been somewhat addressed by Public Act 82-572, which states that after January 1987 no hazardous waste can be land filled without specific agency authorization; but no one yet has ironed out the details of what the alternatives will be. Landfills, although the least expensive method for disposing of wastes, are considered the least desirable because of long-term leaching problems. The task force hopes to make recommendations for legislation to be introduced into the 1984 session of the General Assembly.                                                            Linda Vogt

Misuse of leaded gas and tampering with auto pollution controls

TAMPERING with an automobile's pollution control equipment or using leaded fuel in a car designed for unleaded are apparently widespread practices, much more common than was thought a few years ago. In fact, they could be slowing up the nation's efforts to clean up the air. According to a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) survey, leaded fuel is wrongfully used in 12 percent of the nation's cars that should take only unleaded, and tampering is estimated to occur in about 17 percent of the cars equipped with pollution controls. Both practices are illegal, and improper fueling ultimately costs more in wear and tear on the engine than is saved by purchasing leaded gas. There are no figures on how many cars have to be tampered with or improperly fueled before an area's air quality goes down, but since these practices can increase a vehicle's emissions by as much as 800 percent, they could hamper the ability of Illinois and other states to meet national air quality health standards for ozone and carbon monoxide.

The USEPA and the IEPA have launched a campaign against misfueling in metropolitan Chicago and East St. Louis, the two areas in the state which still have ozone problems. The IEPA and Chicago and Cook County government agencies are already conducting tests at area gas stations to determine if there is a surplus of lead in the gasoline. Spot checks conducted by the USEPA in 1982 indicated several stations and wholesalers in the metro area were selling only leaded gas. Chicago and Cook County are also inspecting garages and muffler shops to check if pollution control equipment is being removed. Testing of gasoline sold in East St. Louis will begin soon. Tests will be conducted by the IEPA with funds from the USEPA.

To publicize these issues, the Chicago Lung Association is giving out information on misfueling and tampering with automobile pollution controls. To find out more, call the association's clean air hotline: (312) G-A-S-P-I-N-G (427-7464), or write the Chicago Lung Association for a free brochure at 1440 W. Washington, Chicago, Ill. 60607.

Governor's Task Force on Prison Crowding

GOV. James R. Thompson announced on March 16 the formation of an Illinois corrections task force. The Governor's Task Force on Prison Crowding, which is scheduled to complete its work in about six months, will evaluate the state's corrections needs, develop options available to meet those needs and propose long-range plans, including costs. "I am not looking for stereotype responses. I am looking for new directions, where appropriate, which will

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