July marks the end of another "publishing year" for us. We call this our July/August issue. Our next edition comes out September 1st.

A year ago, Illinois Issues was just beginning to publish profiles of the major candidates for governor. Then we followed all of the campaigns through the March primary, kept a close eye on issues in the legislature and, this spring, published a special in-depth series examining the issues that arise at the intersection of science, ethics and public policy.

That series was the brainchild of Peggy Boyer Long, who has been our editor almost four years. I'd like to pass along that readers frequently tell me that under her direction, the magazine has become more timely, more lively and more readable. I agree!

Meanwhile, Illinois Issues continues to play an "institutional role" in other ways. As part of the Institute for Public Affairs at the University of Illinois at Springfield, we stay in touch with groups that are interested in campaign finance reform. Our role on any issue is one of citizen education rather than direct advocacy.

In this role, we developed some new partnerships this year with groups interested in promoting a regional approach to addressing the state's big issues, such as transportation, housing and land use.

We joined the Metropolitan Planning Council in co-sponsoring a couple of small forums for legislators and their staffs during the legislative session. "Regionalism" has become more than a buzzword in the Chicago area; it is being looked at in new ways by coalitions that are working toward developing a formal, comprehensive, structured regional plan. We'll keep you posted.

Illinois Issues is making an important contribution to that discussion this year with a series of articles about regionalism. This issue of the magazine includes three pieces that are well worth your time.

Finally, I'll pass along some "recommended summer reading" that came in response to a Question of the Month:

The Queen: A Biography of Elizabeth II by Ben Pimlott ("a surprisingly astute political, not personal, biog- raphy and assessment of the U.K. and an institution in the process of change"); Beyond Reengineering: How the Process-Centered Organization Is Changing Our Work and Our Lives by Michael Hammer; and Everyday Revolutionaries by Sally Helgesen, which revises William H. Whyte's 1956 thesis about The Organization Man. "Both [of the latter] books focus on the Chicago suburbs," the reader advises. Happy reading.

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