A conversation with our readers

A conversation with our readers

Readers:

Our aim this month is to surprise you. No matter where you sit in Illinois, you might be surprised by what you read about two important, changing sections of the state — suburban Chicago and southern Illinois. (Hint to Chicago-area readers: "Southern Illinois" in this case does not mean everywhere south of Interstate 80. It means, literally, the southern counties, which are a few hours south even of Springfield.)

Most people talk about Illinois being divided into three parts: Chicago, suburban Chicago, and downstate, as if Chicago stands for Democratic interests as well as problems related to crime and poverty; suburbia for Republican conservatism and limits on government; and downstate for, well, downstate. But in our cover story, Statehouse bureau chief Jennifer Halperin offers a different description of the suburbs. In addition to malls, traffic congestion and manicured lawns, she finds unemployment, crime and people on welfare — as well as a growing number of minorities. The reality is that the suburbs are far more complicated and diversified than you might believe if you never leave the interstates and tollways. This means that a political agenda catering only to middle and upper class professionals in the suburbs is going to miss a growing number of suburban residents.

Another of our staff writers, Beverley Scobell, traveled south this fall to check out the travails of Saline County, now that a major coal mine has shut down there. Part of her investigation into the new realities of the Illinois coal industry took her personally into Kerr-McGee's coal mine near Galatia, for a firsthand look at one of Illinois' most abundant natural resources. The issue is a complex one, because Illinois mining is being adversely affected by the federal Clean Air Act. Nobody is against clean air, of course, but we thought you'd like to know about the hardships being endured by Illinois miners.

One aside, if you will. The sudden retirement announcement of basketball legend Michael Jordan caused great ripples not only in the world of sports. It also became front page news in the next issues of Grain's Chicago Business and Advertising Age magazines. The reason is obvious: Jordan was also extremely influential as a sponsor of products. His retirement has raised questions about the value of his endorsements and potential economic losses all related to Jordan's former status as the leader of the Chicago Bulls.

Below is a summary of the first set of responses we received to our new feature, the Question of the Month. Each month on a tearout card we'll be asking you to comment on a current topic.

Finally, in this issue we talk with Dawn Clark Netsch as we continue our series of profiles on the public service records of potential gubernatorial candidates. Earlier this year we profiled Roland Burris (in June) and Richard Phelan (in July).

Readers suggest less flood control

Here is the Question of the Month we posed to our readers in our August-September double issue:

THE FLOOD: In the aftermath of this year's flood, should the Illinois government set policies that would result in more frequent flooding of natural flood plains and less business and residential development of flood plains?

And the readers replied:

Yes: 36.
No: 4.
Not sure: 1.

And one said our question/answer was irrelevant. Summary: Thirty-six of the 41 respondents (88 percent) believe it would not be a good idea just to rebuild all the levees, and possibly additional bigger, stronger ones, and wait for the next flood.

This was the first in a series of Questions of the Month we are posing to our readers. The question is written on a tearout car inserted into the magazine. You can send us your reply on the postage-paid card, and then look for a summary of reader responses in an upcoming issue of the magazine.

Typical of the comments was a Chicago reader who wrote, "Don't mess with Mother Nature! We have plenty of more appropriate space for residential and commercial development." An Elgin man added: "We have so many pressing problems that we don't have money for. It is a waste to build levees and dikes and either don't work, or that cause other areas to flood. Flood plains are good. Let's use them."

On the other hand, one Carlinville reader said that if new policies were enacted, landowners should be compensated for their loss of land and business. And a Wheaton reader said, "This flood was a very rare occurrence and a freak of nature. Man has done well to tame the waters and make available hundreds of thousands of acres of extremely productive cropland for food production. What happened in 1993 will not again occur in my lifetime, and I'm 39."

The question also enticed Michael Platt, executive director of the Heartland Water Resources Council in Peoria, to send us the draft of the council's new 86-page document about what needs to happen to preserve the Peoria lakes and the Illinois River. This document concludes that the current shotgun approach in public policy could cause the Illinois River to cease to exist. "A study of the facts and the historical perspective of the river's decline provides a solid basis for just how grim the future will be if we as a society continue down the road we now follow."

If that isn't food for thought, I don't know what is.

Thanks to all you readers who responded to this first Question of the Month. We'll keep the dialogue going next month, with your comments about the Chicago school funding crisis.

The question in this month's issue asks you reflect on next year's campaigns for governor.

Ed Wojcicki

November 1993/Illinois Issues/3