People                                                                       

Shifts at the top

•James Montana, who has been chief legal counsel to Gov. Jim Edgar since January 1993, resigned to become senior vice president and general counsel of Bally Entertainment Corp., which operates casinos and casino hotel resorts in Atlantic City, N.J., Las Vegas, Nev., and New Orleans, La.

•Raymond T. Wagner Jr. resigned as director of the Illinois Department of Revenue to become government affairs manager of Enterprise Rent-A-Car in Clayton, Mo. Ken Zehnder, deputy director of the department, was named acting director.

•Mark Boozell has been appointed director of the Department of Insurance. He aeplaces James Schacht, who has been serving as acting director and will return to his duties as chief deputy director. Prior to his appointment, Boozell was director of Gov. Jim Edgar's legislative office. Deno Perdiou was named to replace Boozell in the governor's office.

•Levi B. Moore Jr. of Chicago was appointed assistant director for the Department of Commerce and Community Affairs. Previously, he was a senior associate with Korn/Ferry International in Chicago, a management consulting firm specializing in executive recruitment.

•George R. Cramer of Woodridge was appointed assistant director for the Department of Veterans' Affairs. Prior to his appointment he was an art director with Sears, Roebuck and Co. Cramer had served as a former national commander-in-chief for the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

•Frank D. Rezac of Peoria was named assistant adjutant general of air. He is the former vice commander and human resource officer of the Illinois National Guard.

•William T. Lundeen, a native of Bloomington, was named chief counsel of the Department of Revenue. Previously, he was a senior attorney with the Internal Revenue Service in Washington, D.C. He replaces Constance W. Beard, who has been acting general counsel. She will be managing counsel of the newly realigned Legal Services Office.

Richard L. Ryan has been named chief administrative law judge, a position that he held on an acting basis since the revenue department separated its litigation and administrative hearing functions earlier this year. From 1973 until 1995, Ryan served as a senior attorney and chief of the revenue litigation division in the attorney general's office.

•Jim Nelson, who worked for the Illinois Gaming Board setting up the state's riverboat gambling industry, has been named legislative liaison for the Department of Employment Security, a position he held from 1985 to 1990.

•Mark Gordon and Brian McFadden, both staff for Senate Republicans, have left state service to join the administration of newly elected Springfield Mayor Karen Hasara. Gordon, who was chief of communications, will be Hasara's director of community and economic development. McFadden, who was assistant chief of staff for the Senate Republicans, will be chief of staff for Hasara. Patty Schuh of Springfield is the new chief of communications for Senate Republicans. She has been Senate staff for 10 years, most recently as Gordon's deputy director.

Photo courtesy of Lutheran Social Services of Illinois Jane Otte of Marion (right) received the Citizen Volunteer Service Award presented by TLS. Attorney General Janet Reno (left) during ceremonies held in the Justice Building in Washington, D.C. Chosen from a nationwide field of nominees, Otte was recognized for her 13 years of work with the Prison Family Support program, which helps families maintain ties with loved ones imprisoned at the Marion Federal Penitentiary. Otte also supervises the prison ministry program for Lutheran Social Services. This is the first year for the award.

Honors

•John Knoepfle of Auburn, emeritus professor of English at the University of Illinois at Springfield, was named the first recipient of the new Illinois Literary Heritage Award, given by the Illinois Center for the Book. Knoepfle, a poet and essayist, was recognized for his contribution in promoting literature written by Illinois authors or by authors whose focus is on the Prairie State. He has written more than 20 books, including Poems from the Sangamon and Dim Tales. Knoepfle is also the subject of a 30-minute public television documentary titled Inland Voyages — The Poetry of John Knoepfle produced by St. Louis University.

•The Illinois Department of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse recognized 10 people for their contributions to alcohol and other drug abuse prevention and treatment: Dr. Andrea Barthwell, medical director of Interventions, a DASA-funded program; Peter Bensinger, chairman of the Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority and president/CEO of Bensinger, DuPont and Associates; Salvador diMenza, Wayne State University School of Medicine; Hon. Michael B. Getty, Illinois circuit court judge and chairman of the Illinois Advisory Council on Alcohol and Other Drug Dependency; Jerome Jaffe, Center for Substance Abuse Treatment; Thomas Kirkpatrick, executive director of the Chicago Crime Commission; Howard A. Peters III, deputy chief of staff for Gov. Jim Edgar; Dr. Charles R. Schuster, Wayne State University School of Medicine; Dr. Edward Senay, director of research at Interventions and professor of psychiatry, Pritzker School of Medicine, University of Chicago; and Wayne Wiebel, University of Illinois School of Public Health.

•Two Illinois schools were recognized for programs to keep their schools safe and drug free: Pleasant Hill Elementary, Springfield, and Lake in the Hills Elementary, Lake in the Hills. The principals of both schools accepted the awards in ceremonies at the White House in Washington, D.C.

34/July 1995/Illinois Issues

The race is on: The bandwagon is already
getting full for U.S. Senate and House seats

•U.S. Senate

The field for the seat being vacated by U.S. Sen. Paul Simon, who is retiring, is filling up. U.S. Rep. Dick Durbin, who represents the 20th District, announced in early June he would be a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the Senate seat. Also announcing was David Wilhelm, former chairman of the Democratic National Committee. Former state Treasurer Patrick Quinn and Chicago attorney Richard Devine have voiced an interest in running. Other names touted as possible candidates are former U.S. Sen. Alan Dixon and Chicago city Treasurer Miriam Santos.

•U.S. House, 20th District

With Durbin's announcement for the U.S. Senate, a number of Republicans announced candidacies for his 20th District House seat. Rick Angel of Litchfield, a private investigator and former police officer, announced in early June. Others considering the race include Bill Owens of Springfield, who received 45 percent of the vote against Durbin in the November general election, and Madison County Treasurer John Shimkus of Collinsville, who ran against Durbin in 1992. Still others considering a run for the nomination are Carl Oblinger of Chatham, former mayor of that city and son of former state Rep, Josephine Oblinger; Dennis Wise of Kincaid; former U.S. Attorney Bill Roberts.

•U.S. House, 5th District

State Rep. Nancy Kaszak of Chicago is the first Democrat to declare her bid for the congressional seat held by U.S. Rep. Michael Flanagan. Uast fall Flanagan defeated former Ways and Means Committee Chairman Daniel Rostenkowski, who had held the seat for 35 years. State Rep. Rod R. Blagojevich also announced he would seek the party's nomination.

Race for the state Senate
50th District seat has begun

The race for Karen Hasara's state Senate seat began before she had officially vacated it to be full-time mayor of Springfield. The day before the session ended and six months before the filing period for the 1996 Democratic primary, Steve Denton of Leiand Grove announced he is a candidate for the 50th District seat.

Denton is executive director of the Springfield-based Veterans Protective League, an international charity for veterans and their dependents.

An election to fill out the final two years of Hasara's term will be held November 5, 1996. The primary elections are set for March 19. As of mid-June, the Republicans had not appointed anyone to take Hasara's place until the next election.

Appointments

State Board of Elections

•Ken Boyle of Chatham, partner with Boyle and McClain in Springfield;
•Mitchell P. Kobelinski of Chicago, chairman of the board for Mid Europe Trade and Investment Co.

Reappointed:

•Theresa M. Petrone of Chicago;
•Hannelore Huisman of Rock Island.
Members are paid $22,400 annually.

Capital Development Board

George H. Fleischli of Springfield, executive assistant with the National Jockey Club. Fleischli was also appointed to the advisory board to the Department of Conservation.

Pollution Control Board Reappointed:

•Claire A. Manning of Williamsville, former member of the State Labor Relations Board. She was reappointed chairwoman.

•Joseph C. Yi of Park Ridge, formerly with the Department of Transportation.
•Marili McFawn of Palatine, a former partner with Schiff Hardin and Waite.
Members are paid $78,796 and the chairwoman is paid $81,488 annually.

Former state Sen. Grace Mary Stern of Highland Park (center) led a workshop on the best way to write lawmakers. The session was part of the Illinois Youth Summit for 11 Chicago-area high schools held in May. The students considered anti-violence measures pending in the Statehouse and Congress. Among the sponsors of the summit: the Constitutional Rights Foundation of Chicago and Ameritech.