State Reports

Items listed under State Reports have been received by the Documents Unit, Illinois State Library, Springfield, and are usually available from public libraries in the state through inter-library loan. Issuing agencies may have copies available. For items listed under Other Reports, write to the publisher as noted.

State Reports

• History in the Re-Making, Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, Old State Capitol, Springfield 62701 (1991), 24 pp.

The subtitle of this handy 4-inch by 9-inch, pocket/purse-size pamphlet clearly describes its contents: A Guide to Special Events at Illinois State Historic Sites. The nearly 100 events are listed by month and day, with specific information concerning location, cost and special activities included for each. A map of state-owned historic sites and a description of each site (with addresses and phone numbers) is also included in the pamphlet.

• Illinois Outdoor Recreation, Department of Conservation, 524 S. Second, Springfield 62701 (May 1990), 26 pp.

The Department of Conservation's five-year plan for 1988-1993 identifies important issues, analyzes needs and provides guidance for protecting, acquiring, developing and managing the state's outdoor recreation resources. The publication listed here presents highlights of that plan. It also lists a number of major issues and makes six specific recommendations in the areas of natural resource management and protection, planning and coordination, acquisitions, management of existing sites, education and funding. It should be added that the publication is not only informative and highly readable, it is also very attractive.

• Blueprint for the Future, Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority, 120 S. Riverside Plaza, 10th Floor, Chicago 60606-3997 (January 1991), 84 pp.

To focus attention on the need for change and to start planning for that change, the Criminal Justice Information Authority held a first-ever five-day forum in summer 1990 during which nearly 700 government, business and civic leaders focused on trends and issues for the 1990s. In addition to summaries of the many sessions held at the forum, this report also presents further background information and research on specific issues raised during the forum. The key trends and issues listed are new directions in law enforcement, drug abuse, finances and planning, technology, education and training, juvenile justice, correctional alternatives, crime victims, the media and the role of citizens.

Other Reports

• Excellence in Public Service: Illinois' Challenge for the '90s, The Chicago Community

April 1991/Illinois Issues/25

State Reports

Trust/Government Assistance Project, 222 N. LaSalle, Suite 1450, Chicago 60601-1009 (January 1991), 8 pp.

In response to the growing difficulty of attracting the "best and brightest" into Illinois state government service, CCT/Gap formed the 40-member Illinois Commission on the Future of Public Service and gave it the task of answering the question: How can state government attract and retain talented professionals, including minorities and women, to its ranks? The commission discovered a number of barriers to excellence, including an outmoded civil service system, inadequate training and development opportunities for upper management, state government's negative image, private sector competition, and Illinois' reputation and practice in patronage. Among the commission's recommendations are a radical revision of the personnel code, more active recruitment of talented people into state government as well as greater opportunity for advancement for those already in government service, and the need to find ways to reward productivity and innovation.

• Child Support Modification Packet (for Cook County), Illinois Task Force on Child Support, available by phone: (312) 786-0291 or by going to the Child Support Division of the Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court, 32 W. Randolph, 19th Floor, Chicago.

The Illinois Task Force on Child Support is a not-for-profit advocacy organization that helps custodial parents collect child support; it has been in existence since 1983. This do-it-yourself packet contains step-by-step instructions and all of the legal forms needed to increase child support awards to custodial parents who cannot afford a lawyer when taking their child support cases back to court.

• Yard Waste Programs: Existing Regulations, Collection, Composting, Compost Characteristics and Land Application, by Bruce A. Hegberg, Gary R. Brenniman and William H. Hallenbeck, for the Office of Technology Transfer, School of Public Health, the University of Illinois at Chicago, Box 6998, Chicago 60680 (July 1990), 84 pp.

One result of the passage of the Illinois Solid Waste Management Act in 1986 was the creation of the UIC Center for Solid Waste Management and Research and its subunit, the Office of Technology Transfer. During the past few years, this office has issued a number of reports beginning with one on the recycling of municipal solid waste, published in August 1988. The latest report, on yard waste programs, covers such issues as disposal options, regulations, experiences of various cities with yard waste programs, contaminants and cost comparisons between land-applying and composting yard waste.

Anna J. Merritt

26/April 1991/Illinois Issues