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Our 'quality of life'
and Illinois public policy

by Ed Wojcicki

We hope we occasionally surpriseyou with the topics we feature in IllinoisIssues. It is our mission to follow thelegislature, the governor's office andstate agencies in order to provide"fresh, provocative analysis of publicpolicy in Illinois." That is our bread andbutter, and you readers generally give ushigh marks for this coverage. (Thankyou for your confidence in us!)

But our mission goes further. It challenges us to examine "the state's qualityof life." That phrase is purposely vague,but it sends a signal that we understandthat public affairs is an inclusive category that affects so many aspects of ourlives, and that public policy affects thequality of our lives.

Some articles in this issue emanatefrom the "quality of life" aspect of ourmission. For example, we examine thearts in Illinois, including public fundingfor the arts. Our hope is that our analysis not only informs you, but alsoreminds you that so much of whatmakes us proud to be Illinoisans,including the variety of arts, is directlyaffected by sometimes little-knownpublic policies.

Last month, in the heat of the presidential campaign, we asked which candidates you believe should be allowed toparticipate in the nationally televiseddebates. We listed all six candidates whowould be on the Illinois ballot, and added Ralph Nader because a lot ofpeople knew he was the Green Party'scandidate, but they did not seem toknow he was not on the Illinois ballotthis year.

By a 2-1 margin, you said that onlyBill Clinton, Bob Dole and Ross Perotshould have been invited. Only one person said only Clinton and Dole, butone-third of you wanted to see all sevencandidates, including those from theLibertarian, Natural Law and U.S. Taxpayers parties. "We should not continuewith our present campaign systemwhich operates on the mantra, 'Moneytalks, ideas walk,'" one reader said.Another suggested having only Clintonand Dole at one debate, but all seven ata second debate.

On a personal note, I offer condolences to the family and friends of ArtQuern, the chairman of the IllinoisBoard of Higher Education who diedlast month in an airplane crash.

I last saw Quern October 16 at a luncheon at which Illinois Issues helped tohonor Richard Wagner with theMotorola Excellence in Public ServiceAward (see page 31). Quern approachedme and praised the magazine for beinga partner with the private sector in recognizing the accomplishments of goodpublic servants. His words meant a lotto me then, but they mean even morenow. He will be missed.

Illinois Issues December 1996 / 3