A Conversation with Our Readers                                          

So long, SSU; hello, UIS

Readers:

Something is remarkably different about this edition of Illinois Issues. After being published by Sangamon State University for 20 years, it comes to you this month from the University of Illinois at Springfield. Same campus, same building, same magazine, but a different university name and structure as of July 1, thanks to legislation approved and signed this spring.

SSU no longer exists (it sounds strange to say that), and UIS has become the third campus in the University of Illinois system. The other two campuses are in Urbana-Champaign and Chicago. From an operating and bureaucratic standpoint, this change from SSU to UIS has meant lots of meetings and informal conversations involving plenty of people on all three campuses. From a political standpoint, just as significant is that Illinois voters will no longer elect members of the U of I Board of Trustees, as this will become a board appointed by the governor in 1996.

Other legislative changes are affecting nearly all of the other state's public universities. The Board of Governors and Board of Regents (which now oversee operations at seven state universities) are going out of existence at the end of this year, which means that six public universities will get their own boards appointed by the governor. The seventh affected university is SSU — make that UIS — which isn't getting its own board because it will be governed by the U of I board.

You may notice another change in this issue. Our masthead (on page 2) includes the name of our new advertising representative, Marvin Diamond of Chicago. Diamond seems as excited about selling for a magazine with our upscale, influential audience as we are in having him represent us. So if you would like to contact him to discuss getting your advertising message in front of your fellow Illinois Issues readers, give him a call at (312) 649-6200.

It's old news that the General Assembly ended its session earlier than any year since 1933. So the kind of legislative wrap-up we used to publish in August or September is in this issue.

I owe a special word of thanks to Judy Everson, an English professor here who has edited our book reviews and humanities essays for many years. She coordinated and edited the expansive Summer Book Section in this issue (pages 24-32). But she has taken on additional responsibilities here at UIS. So she'll no longer have the time to coordinate our book reviews, though she will continue to edit some of our essays. Judy has been a tremendous asset to the magazine, and we will miss her insights, her energy and her considerable talents.

Finally, I can't help but comment on the cover of this issue. I hope you've noticed that our editor, Peggy Boyer Long, has gone the extra mile in recent issues to make our covers more striking — with the hope, of course, that you'll be more inclined to see what's inside the magazine. This cover, a watercolor by Stan Adams from a photo by Ron Panzer, sets the perfect tone for this issue, which also features a reflective essay on philanthropy by John Corbally (page 21), as well as the book section.

Readers link 'special interests' and re-election Our Question of the Month in May was based on the cover story about lobbyists. We asked: Do you believe Illinois legislators respond more to their constituents or to special interests? Why? And you responded: Special interests: 43 Constituents: 4 About the same: 8 Other: 2 The lopsided results make me believe the question was probably slanted. Nonetheless, many of the readers who responded had the following comments about the legislative process: • Few constituents take the time to let their legislators know what they think, and so it is inevitable that those who are paid to influence legislation play a heavy role in shaping legislators' views. • Special interests help fill campaign coffers, and with re-election always on the minds of lawmakers, it is inevitable that legislators pay special attention to those who help pay for their campaigns. "It seems that more and more, special interests are becoming the government," a Chicago Heights reader said. One from Palatine echoed: "Special interests are more aggressive about lobbying for their own self-interest, whereas most constituents will not go out of their way to draw attention to an issue if they are basically satisfied." I have to point out, of course, that while "special interest group" often has a negative connotation in our vocabulary, we easily find other terms for individuals or groups who lobby on behalf of a perspective dear to us personally. We call these people thoughtful, informed and fair-minded. And a handful of readers pointed out that on occasion, the interests of constituents and "special interests" sometimes are identical. Ed Wojcicki