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A CONVERSATION WITH OUR READERS

State governments warrant more media attention

by Ed Wojcicki

Peter Harkness, the editor and publisher of Governing magazine, was in Springfield last month to give a keynote address at a conference. In the course of his talk, he suggested that the federal government is overcovered by the media but that many state governments are not covered thoroughly enough. A Florida news organization, for example, has five people in Washington but only two in Tallahassee, that state's capital.

Governing bills itself as "the magazine of states and localities," and a few years ago absorbed the publication known as City and State. The fact is, there aren't many such organizations devoting significant resources to following state government. And, in an era when policy initiatives are devolving to the states, only a handful — California, New Jersey and New York among them — have a publication comparable to Illinois Issues. So we think we're fortunate to have a magazine published by a university and run by professional journalists that provides in-depth, reliable information about what is happening in state government and politics.

And I am pleased to announce that, in one sense, we have come full circle. Illinois Issues was founded in 1974 by three people: Paul Simon, then teaching on the Sangamon State University campus; Sam Gove, then the director of the Institute of Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; and Sam Witwer, president of the 1970 Illinois Constitutional Convention. Since then, SSU has become the University of Illinois at Springfield. Simon went to Washington as a congressman and senator, and in January became director of the Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.

Now, Simon has agreed to join the Illinois Issues board. We are delighted to have this founder formally reconnect with the magazine.

Our other new board member is Douglas Whitley, president of Ameritech Illinois. Before going to Ameritech, Whitley was director of the Illinois Department of Revenue. Ten years ago, in March 1987, he was profiled in a cover story as president of the Taxpayers' Federation of Illinois.

Finally, I would like your help. For the third year, we are cosponsoring the Motorola Award for Excellence in Public Service. This annual award honors an appointed public servant for outstanding, innovative leadership. Last year's winner was Richard Wagner, executive director of the Illinois Board of Higher Education. The year before, it was Ruth Rothstein of Cook County.

We need nominations for this year's award. You can find the user-friendly nomination form on page 17.

Illinois Issues June 1997 /3