Appointments

• Teree Foster will become the first woman dean of DePaul University's School of Law. Foster, a Chicago native, comes to DePaul from West Virginia University's law school where she also was dean.
• Christopher G. Kennedy is the new chairman of the Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau. He will lead the bureau's sales and marketing efforts.
•Kennedy is the executive vice president of Merchandise Mart Properties Inc.
• Albert dark Jr. is the new operations chief at O'Hare and Midway airports. The 19-year veteran of Delta airlines headed that carrier's airport and corporate affairs at Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport.

Edgar launches TV campaign for schools
With mere weeks left in the legislative session, Gov. Jim Edgar picked up most of the tab for two television spots aimed at convincing lawmakers to overhaul school funding before they leave Springfield.

The 30-second spots, which will be aired statewide, cost $600,000. The Illinois Education Association and the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club, a Chicago-based business group, kicked in some cash. But the bulk of the funding, $425,000, came from the governor's political committee, Citizens for Edgar.

"These spots highlight the lack of fairness in the way we fund our schools in this state," the governor said in a printed statement. "Each child in Illinois should be given the opportunity to have a quality education regardless of where he or she lives."

Illinois schools spend anywhere from just under $3,000 to just over $15,000 per pupil. Critics say that's because the school finance system relies heavily on local property taxes. The state covers only about 32.3 percent of school funding statewide.

Edgar has proposed a basic spending level of $4,225 for each elementary and secondary student in the state. He has said he would support increasing the state income tax to make that happen. So far his idea, which would also provide property tax relief and shift the burden of school funding away from local taxes, has been a hard sell in the legislature.

Transcript of "Look"
Announcer: They look to us for an equal chance.

It's a basic American birthright: Every child deserves an opportunity to a quality public education.

Yet today 700,000 of the 2 million school children in Illinois have their futures threatened because their schools are underfunded.

Outdated textbooks. Old science labs. Overcrowded classrooms.

We must insist that our state Legislature act now to insure fairness for each and every child in Illinois.

Shifts at the Top
Archbishop Francis E. George will return to Illinois as the eighth archbishop of the Archdiocese of Chicago May 7. Pope John Paul II named the Chicago native to the position last month. Ordained a priest in 1963, George is a member of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, a worldwide religious order whose mission is working with the poor. He returns to Chicago from Portland, Ore., where he was named archbishop last year. Before that, he had been bishop of the Diocese of Yakima, Wash., from 1990-96. George will replace the late Cardinal Joseph Bernardin, who died last fall.
• Norm Sims of Springfield is now acting director of the Department of Commerce and Community Affairs. Gov. Jim Edgar appointed Sims to replace Dennis Whetstone, who resigned to become president of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce. Sims had served as executive deputy director of the agency for about two years.
• Kassie Davis is the new executive director of the Illinois Arts Council. Appointed last month, she replaces Lori Montana, Illinois' new lottery director. Davis was founder and former board president of the Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education. Most recently, she was director of public affairs and communications at Marshall Field's.
• Political consultant Eric Adelstein of Chicago is now chief strategist for U.S. Sen. Carol MoseIey-Braun's re-election campaign. Adelstein managed Richard Phelan's successful bid for Cook County Board president and also directed President Bill Clinton's statewide campaign in 1992.

36 ¦ May 1997 Illinois Issues

Democrats get a look at their crop of candidates
It was coffee, muffins and a marathon of campaign speeches. Nothing else.

Or so says Illinois Democratic Party Chairman Gary LaPaille about the recent Democratic candidate forum.

Last month's fund-raiser in Springfield was not, LaPaille said at the time, an informal attempt to reinstitute party slating for the statewide ticket. Slating candidates "is not our purpose today." In fact, he said, the party may choose not to endorse anyone. "It's too early in the process to say." The election isn't until 1998.

And it may not matter anyway. Calumet City Mayor Jerry Geneva told the forum he'll "likely" run for state treasurer, even if he's not the slated candidate. "I have the financial ability to do so."

Other hopefuls gave their campaign slogans a trial run.

Among the potential gubernatorial candidates were U.S. Rep. Glenn Poshard, former state Attorney General Roland Burris and former Justice Department official John Schmidt.

Referring to two decades of Republicans in the governor's mansion, Poshard said: "This is a first-class state, yet for 20 years we've settled for a second-class vision of our future."

Former state Comptroller Michael Bakalis has his eye on governor or U.S. Senate — though he would have to take out Democratic incumbent Carol Moseley-Braun in the primary.

Poshard, who made news by appearing to soften his opposition to a ban on assault weapons, and comptroller candidate Daniel Hynes, the son of former Cook County Assessor Thomas Hynes, were the only candidates to receive standing ovations.

Cook County deputy liquor control commissioner and comptroller candidate Fred Lebed also spoke. As did Kane County Coroner Mary Lou Kearns, who wants to run for lieutenant governor, and Wilmette lawyer Clint Krislov, an attorney general candidate.

Yes, everyone took a turn — even state Rep. Lou Lang of Skokie, a candidate in the undecided category.

"Go from here and spread the Democratic gospel around Illinois," Lang told his captive audience. "If you do that, it won't matter who the candidates are. They're all good."

Peorian aims to protect the Illinois River
The ailing Illinois River can always use another advocate. Lisa Haderlein of West Peoria plans to fill that role. As the new lower Illinois River project manager for The Nature Conservancy, she has a big mission: to help protect and restore the state's most important river system.

Environmentalists have raised alarms about the health of the Illinois River for decades. Thirty years ago, chemicals and industrial waste poisoned it. Now, the river is choking in sediment. (See Illinois Issues, January 1997, page 22, and March 1997, page 8.)

In the past year, state officials have become increasingly concerned, too. Gov. Jim Edgar has asked for federal funds to help clean up the river. And Lt. Gov. Bob Kustra and his river strategy team released a 34-part rescue plan in late January.

Haderlein hopes to help put Kustra's plan into action. "Someone needs to take the lead on continuing to increase awareness about the importance of the Illinois River as a resource," she says.

Lisa Haderlein

"Even though there has been a lot of education recently, I still see that as a big part of what I want to do."

Haderlein joins The Nature Conservancy after six years with the Peoria County Department of Planning and Zoning, where she was named director in 1994.

The Conservancy, a nonprofit organization, helped develop Kustra's plan.

Republicans are O-for-2 on their Supreme Court map
U.S. District Judge Richard Mills tossed out a new law redrawing the state's high court election boundaries, ruling "the redistricting claim here is a nonjudiciable political question" for Illinois' courts and legislature to decide. Republicans rammed through the new law during the General Assembly's fall veto session before losing control of the House. Prior to Mills' ruling. Cook County Circuit Judge Dorothy Kirie Kinnaird ruled the proposed map dividing the Cook County judicial district into three sub-districts violates the state constitution. In their federal suit, Republicans contended the current map violates the U.S. Constitution by diluting suburban voting strength. At press time, they had yet to decide whether to appeal.

Illinois Issues May 1997 ¦ 37

PEOPLE

Basketball plays in Peoria
When Illinoisans speak of basketball dominance, the Chicago Bulls naturally come to mind.

But Peoria Manual High School's unprecedented fourth straight championship gives them the edge on the Bulls, who won three in a row, then took a two-season breather before winning their fourth championship.

Last month, the Manual Rams won their fourth straight boys' basketball state title. The feat puts them in the basketball spotlight as the No. 1 team in USA Today's national high school basketball ranking.

All-staters and future University of Illinois players Marcus Griffin and Sergio McClain led the Rams over West Aurora 47-43 in the title game.

Judicial impeachment rare, removal would make history

James D. Heiple

"Governor, I need your help." That was Illinois Supreme Court Justice James D. Heiple's plea, says former Gov. James R. Thompson. Now with the Chicago law firm of Winston & Strawn, Thompson agreed to represent Heiple, who faces impeachment. Thompson says he didn't think twice. While he was moving up the ranks as a young lawyer, the Supreme Court was "somewhat of a second home."

Legislative leaders in the Illinois House are taking seriously a move to remove Heiple. A bipartisan committee in the House is investigating Heiple's conduct. The chief justice has been accused of flashing his court identification card to evade speeding tickets.

If the committee finds reason to issue articles of impeachment, the matter would be taken up by the full House, where it would require a majority vote. The Senate would then conduct a trial. If two-thirds of the senators agree, Heiple would be removed from the bench. Such a decision would make history. Two state Supreme Court justices have been impeached. None have been removed from the bench.

Illinois' top court has had its share of rascals, though. One justice, elected by the legislature to the first court after Illinois achieved statehood in 1818, simply collected his salary and took off for other parts. The first impeachment articles against a Supreme Court justice were returned by the House in 1833. In fact, the account has a familiar ring. George Fiedler writes in his history of the Illinois courts that Theophilus W. Smith "did not bear a good reputation and he was widely criticized." Nevertheless, Judge Smith was narrowly acquitted by the state Senate and remained in office.

Fiedler was a circuit judge in the mid-'60s and chaired the Illinois Judicial Conference in the early '70s. His book, The Illinois Law Courts in three centuries — 1673-1973: A Documentary History, was published in 1973. He writes that a second state Supreme Court justice was impeached in the 19th century. Justice Thomas C. Browne was indicted by the House in 1843 for doing little work. But he, too, was acquitted by the Senate.

More recently, Fiedler notes, two justices resigned from the bench following allegations of impropriety. In 1969, Chief Justice Roy J. Solfisburg Jr. and Justice Ray 1. Klingbiel resigned after an investigation was launched by the high court into rulings that appeared to benefit the two justices.

38 ¦ May 1997 Illinois Issues

Honors

• Western Illinois University will present its Distinguished Alumni Award to state Sen. Kirk Dillard, a Hinsdale Republican, during commencement exercises May 17.
• Prairie Farmer magazine has selected four Illinois farmers as 1997 Master Farmers. Gerald Bemis of DeKalb, Darrell Lass-well of Washburn, John Reifsteck of Champaign and Ralph C. Walter of Grand Ridge were honored at a ceremony in Bloomington. The award recognizes farmers for their community service as well as for their farming abilities.
• Bonnie Ryan, a hospice expert from Chicago, was among 18 White House Fellows honored by President Bill Clinton. Fellows work for a year as full-time paid assistants to senior White House, cabinet and other executive branch officials. Ryan is spending her fellowship year working for Kenneth Kizer, under secretary for health at the Department of Veterans Affairs. She'll focus on the care of chronically ill elderly veterans. A registered nurse, Ryan has directed the start-up of three hospices in Illinois and is the past president of the Illinois State Hospice Organization.
• Gary Ladd of the University of Illinois has been selected as a member of the governing board of the American Educational Research Association. AERA encourages scholarly study on education.
• Denis J. Healy, president of Turtle Wax Inc., earned the American Enterprise Award from the Prairie Institute for Economic Growth and Freedom for his business leadership and commitment to community service.

Walsh replaces Dunn in the Senate
His first day on the Senate floor lasted less than a hour, but Democratic state Sen. Lawrence Walsh of Elwood says he "still enjoyed it immensely." The Will County Democratic Party chairman recently appointed himself to the seat vacated earlier this year by Sen. Tom Dunn of Joleit, who resigned to become a judge. Walsh took his seat April 10. "It wasn't a hectic day in regards to legislation," he says, "so it was a great day to meet a lot my new colleagues."

Bradley replaces Kotlarz in the House
Democrats tapped Rich Bradley of Chicago to replace former state Rep. Joseph Kotlarz Jr.

Kotlarz submitted his resignation in April after he was found guilty of theft in a Toll Highway Authority land deal. Kotlarz and Robert Hickman, a former fund-raiser for Gov. Jim Edgar, were found guilty of arranging a secret $190,000 commission for Kotlarz in the sale of tollway land to Waste Management Inc. Hickman, executive director of the tollway authority at the time, also was found guilty of official misconduct.

Bradley, who took the legislative post April 14, was Kotlarz' chief of staff when Kotlarz was a Chicago alderman.

OBITUARIES
Jerome Cosentino
Former state treasurer

There's a saying: When the judge's dog dies, everybody comes. When the judge dies, no one does. Political scientist Paul Green translates: "When you're in power, everybody loves you. When you re not, nobody knows you." That sums up the political and personal life of former state treasurer Jerry Cosentino. A broken man after pleading guilty to bank fraud several years ago, Cosentino, 65, died April 3 in Florida after suffering an apparent heart attack. "He was an outsider who became an insider who became an outsider," says Green, director of the Institute for Public Policy at Governors State University in University Park. Cosentino, a Democrat from the south suburbs, was elected treasurer twice, serving from 1979 to 1983 and again from 1987 to 1991. The first Italian-American to hold the treasurer's post, Cosentino bucked and beat his party's choice in his re-election bid. During his tenure, he gained national recognition for an innovative program linking state investments to banks approving low-interest home mortgages and farm loans. He also encouraged banks to lower their interest rates on credit cards by threatening withdrawal of state funds. The move proved politically popular. However, in 1992, Cosentino had his own run-in with banking laws. He pleaded guilty to one count of fraud and writing millions of dollars in bad checks.

Charles Hayes
Former congressman
Former U.S. Rep. Charles A. Hayes died April 8. The 79-year-old Cairo native spent his political career in Chicago, where he was a labor organizer and social activist. Hayes, who served as international vice president and director of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Region 12, was prominent in the civil rights movement. In 1983, he replaced Harold Washington in Congress.

Dovie Thurman
Neighborhood activist
Longtime community activist Dovie Thurman, 51, died at Chicago's Billings Hospital April 7. Thurman worked with Voice of the People, a neighborhood organization, in the city's Uptown community. She served as president of the Voice board and as a tenant organizer.

Illinois Issues May 1997 ¦ 39