State Reports                                                         

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.

• Legislator's Guide to Local Governments in Illinois, Illinois Commission on Intergovernmental Cooperation, 707 Stratton Bldg., Springfield 62706 (August 1992), 102pp.
Illinois has more local governmental units than any state in the country; of the more than 6,500 such entities, 2,783 are independent special districts. This guide lists some three dozen types of special districts and provides information on the establishment, dissolution, governance, powers and financing of each. It also includes a list of specific districts by county. Thus, under Mass Transit Districts, the reader will learn that the state statute for such districts became effective on July 21,1959, that there is no statutory provision for a fiscal year, and that 16 counties have mass transit districts (with Tazewell having the distinction of being the only county with more than one).

• Directory of Self-Help and Mutual Aid Groups, The Self-Help Center, 1600 Dodge Ave., Suite S-122, Evanston 60201 (October 1992), 250pp.; $45 plus $3.49 tax and $5 handling.
The Self-Help Center of Illinois was founded in 1974 as a clearinghouse and research center. This seventh edition of its directory contains information about more than 2,500 groups throughout the state. These are organized by group name as well as by the 350 health or emotional concerns that are addressed by these groups (such as, asthma, domestic violence, hemophilia).

• Your Place or Mine, sponsored by the Illinois Planning Council on Developmental Disabilities, 100 W. Randolph, Suite 10-600, Chicago 60601, 79pp.
This handbook offers insights into the myriad aspects of buying or renting a home from the special perspective of persons with disabilities. In addition to chapters on the importance of where one lives, where to get financial help, and basic real estate information, it contains step by step forms to assist in determining rental or ownership costs and a payment schedule for monthly mortgage expenses.

Anna J. Merritt

34/January 1993/Illinois Issues