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. Issuing agencies may have copies available. For items listed under "Other Reports," write to the publisher as noted.

State Documents

• Development Financing Programs, Department of Commerce and Community Affairs, 620 E. Adams, Springfield 62701 (February 1992), 44pp.

Businesses that are operating, expanding or planning to locate in Illinois will find this handbook a good resource in tracking down federal, state and local agencies that provide financing, employee training and technical assistance programs. It is divided into sections. The first is a chart showing general information for each of the 44 programs covered. The second section provides a one-page description of each program, including such information as eligibility, amount of loan/grant, program structure and address and phone number of contact.

• Illinois Agribusiness 1992 Product Guide, Department of Agriculture, State Fair Grounds, P.O. Box 19281, Springfield 62794-9281, 129pp.

This guide lists over 250 livestock, grain and agricultural equipment suppliers in the state, once by type of product under 13 categories (such as animal and poultry feeds, chemicals, food and beverage) and once alphabetically. The first list also includes information on the type of business involved (grower, distributor, marketing/ consulting, etc.) and whether the market covered is intrastate, national, regional or international.

• 1990 Census Population Data for Illinois Counties and Incorporated Places, Department of Public Health, 535 W. Jefferson, Springfield 62761, 98pp.

The tables, maps, graphs and occasional brief paragraphs of text that comprise this volume offer a rich source of information about the long-term population trends in this state as well as those for counties and cities. Trends and highlights are also shown for the population by race and Hispanic origin. The bulk of the report consists of three lengthy tables: persons by race and Hispanic origin for the state and counties; persons by race and Hispanic origin for incorporated places by county; and persons by race and Hispanic origin for incorporated places.

• The Financial Condition of the Illinois Public Retirement Systems , Illinois Economic & Fiscal Commission, 703 Stratton Building, Springfield 62706 (February 1992), 77pp.

Of the 17 public retirement systems covered in this report, five are state-funded, six are in the Chicago system, three in the Cook County area and three are downstate systems. While the unfunded liabilities grew for most of the 17 systems, three of the five state-funded systems are among those that are in the worst financial shape. For these five, the General Assembly system will begin to draw down assets to pay benefits in fiscal year 1997 if the state continues its present policy of level funding, and by fiscal year 2008 this system would be insolvent. The Judges', State Universities' and State Employees' systems would follow the same course less than a decade later.

Other Reports

• Harold Washington: Progressive City Government, 1983-1987, (a video, 25 minutes); available from the Center for Urban Economic Development, University of Illinois at Chicago, Box 4348, Chicago 60680; $25.

This collection of interviews with and footage of Chicago Mayor Harold Washington and his staff was coproduced by Wim Wiewel of the University of Illinois at Chicago and Pierre Clavel of Cornell Univesity; it is a companion piece to their edited volume, Harold Washington and the Neighborhood: Progressive City Government in Chicago (Rutgers University Press). The video alone is a fascinating reflection on the short-lived reform efforts of the Washington era. Together with the volume of essays, it could provide classrooms in high schools and colleges as well as civic organizations with many, many hours of important discussion topics.

• Municipal Solid Landfills: A Guide to the New EPA Regulations on Municipal Solid Waste Landfills, Cutler & Stanfield, 700 14th St., N.W., 10th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20005 (March 1992), 80pp.

Although this guide is not directly related to this state, the problem of municipal solid waste is of sufficient significance to Illinois communities, and the guide is so well presented that it warrants inclusion here. The first section of the guide offers 20 questions and answers about the new regulations; it then outlines those regulations and suggests some important questions for jurisdictions to consider. The three appendices present excerpts from federal law and regulations: the Resource Conservation Recovery Act (RCRA), the municipal solid waste landfill regulations and the solid waste disposal unit regulations.

• Human Service Needs in DuPage County , DuPage County Board, DuPage Center, 421 N. County Farm Road, Wheaton 60187 (April 1992), 29pp.

Following a survey of professional care givers, clients receiving assistance and a random sampling of county households, the Human Services Needs Subcommittee of the Health and Human Services Committee of the DuPage County Board concluded that the county has many unmet and serious human service needs. In addition to the problems themselves, the subcommittee found that while numerous individuals and agencies have been working to alleviate the problems, there is little coordination among them, and many residents are unaware of their existence. As a result of the study, a coordinator of services has been hired to bring all agencies together and to optimize their efforts.

• School Restructuring, Chicago Style: A Midway Report, Chicago Panel on Public School Policy and Finance, 220 South State, Suite 1212, Chicago 60604 (March 1992).

Coming next month in Illinois Issues Profiles of U.S. Senate candidates Carol Moseley Braun and Richard S. Williamson Education amendment for Illinois' constitution: What would it do?

According to this report, which focuses on the first two and one-half years of reform efforts following passage of the Chicago School Reform Act in December 1988, major elements of the act have been put in place. Even though organizational changes have been made, however, much remains to be done to reach the goal of improving student achievement. Two findings relating to the instructional programs are highlighted in the report. The first is a concern that plans have focused more on "add-on" than on altering the regular programs. The second is the happy conclusion that a large number of national improvement efforts are now focused on Chicago; prior to the 1988 reform act these were largely unavailable to the city.

Anna J. Merritt

August & September 1992/Illinois Issues/55