A Conversation with Our Readers

Fans always passionate about sports

Readers:

When I was in high school, I spent a summer or two umpiring baseball games. I must not have been the greatest umpire, because from my position behind home plate, I heard plenty of nasty, ignorant remarks from parents and other spectators resting in lawn chairs behind the screen. I'm sure I made some bad calls, but I'm just as sure that many adults don't know the nuances of baseball rules and that people express anger during sporting events in ways they would never think of anywhere else.

Then, in my early adulthood when I edited a small-town daily newspaper, I learned to accept that our sports department would never come close to satisfying many of the fans of the numerous high schools in our readership area, despite our best efforts to be fair. Nearly every fan seemed to think we covered all "other" schools more favorably than their favorite one.

So I learned long ago that one way to arouse strong reactions in people is to get them talking about sports.

Two articles in this issue deal with the thorny subject of college sports in Illinois. In an essay on page 15, Don Sevener explores how the state's public universities have responded to a mandate to stop using taxpayers' dollars on intercollegiate athletics. This has been difficult for most universities because their athletic departments already operate in the red.

Meanwhile, an article by Jennifer Halperin deals with the tension and lawsuits emanating from universities' efforts to implement Title IX, a federal program that seeks to find more opportunities for women in college sports. One result has been the elimination of several men's teams, which, understandably, has been upsetting to the men who participated in such sports as soccer, swimming and gymnastics. To learn how the movement to give women more athletic opportunities is continuing in Illinois, see the article on page 10.

Readers often tell me they like the profiles we write about major public figures in Illinois. In this issue, we feature Attorney General Jim Ryan, the Republican who is gaining a reputation for taking strong stands and then sticking by them, even if he has to rankle his own party's members at times. The Ryan profile begins on page 25.

This issue marks an anniversary. A year ago, Peggy Boyer Long arrived as our new editor. I'm not sure how long you can call somebody "new" in his or her position, but I hope you notice that the magazine is becoming more attractive and more current.

Peggy has drawn some new writers to the magazine, she has broadened the scope of issues we're willing to tackle, and she has motivated us to become more thoughtful and provocative in our coverage of state government, even as we maintain our commitment to fairness and balance.

One of our board members commented recently that Illinois Issues is more "reader friendly" under Peggy's direction. What she meant is that, with tighter editing, the articles and departments are more lively and therefore more interesting. I couldn't agree more.

I think you'll find that in the months to come, Illinois Issues will be on the leading edge of the debate about issues vital to Illinois. So I want to offer my own public congratulations to Peggy on her accomplishments in her first year, and I am confident that she'll find more and more ways to make the magazine a "must-read" for Illinoisans.

Readers offer advice on future of Illinois Issues Our Question of the Month in July first mentioned that we are considering the possibility of redesigning Illinois Issues, and we asked for your advice and input. Here is some of what you said: • A Macomb reader enjoys the magazine because of its content, not its appearance, and asked, "Does the Wall Street Journal change design?" • But a Charleston man said he used Illinois Issues extensively "as an example of what NOT to do" in a graphics and editing course he taught as a visiting professor in Florida. Our basic flaw, he said, was "overuse of rules (lines); also, violations of basic layout principles." We're listening. • Other readers suggested that we change the kind of type we use on the cover, that we don't go overboard with white space, that we refrain from allowing articles to "jump" from one part of the magazine to the back and that we write more shorter pieces. • Many readers had specific content suggestions. One asked us to cover the future of Illinois and write less about the past. Several asked us to focus more on business interests, several want more coverage of legislative issues, and one specifically requested more columns from James Krohe Jr., one of our contributing editors. • Two respondents demonstrated how common it is for any publication's readers to have opposite reactions. One reader, from Chicago, requested more coverage of the city because we reflect primarily "a down-state or suburban perspective." But another reader said, "Chicago topics are well-covered, but I would like to see more relevant downstate articles." So there. We're listening, and we appreciate your interest and feedback. Ed Wojcicki

September 1995/Illinois Issues/3