BRIEFLY
Edited by Peggy Boyer Long

DON'T BUG US. EL NINO
Mosquitoes and ants and termites. Oh, no!

Arm yourself with bug spray, wear long sleeves and, by all means, put the pest control company's phone number on speed dial. Some say this summer will be a real-life attack of the killer mosquitoes.

But not so fast. Yes, the media are telling us to prepare for a swell in the population of bothersome bugs this summer — from ants, mosquitoes and termites to grasshoppers. And yes, the Entomological Society of America has issued its first-ever warning to that effect.

That's because, thanks to El Nino, the mild weather allowed more bugs than usual to survive the winter. And frequent rainfall throughout the winter and spring have provided fertile breeding grounds.

Nevertheless, this state's experts don't see a swarm of insects looming on the horizon. "Mosquitoes showed up early this year, but I don't know that we are [expecting a population explosion]," says Phil Nixon, an entomologist with the University of Illinois' cooperative extension program.

John McPherson, a professor of zoology at Southern Illinois University, seconds this view. It's possible we're in for record numbers of bugs, he says, but "there's no way of knowing for sure. There are other factors involved."

For example, increased rainfall could leave more standing water, enabling mosquitoes to lay more eggs. But if rains are accompanied by warm weather, the water could dry up before the eggs have a chance to hatch. "Lots of factors are necessary for [a population increase] to come to fruition." As for the warning from the Entomological Society, McPherson, a member of the group, says it's just that — a warning to "be on your toes." Further, Nixon notes that any increase in insects irksome to humans should be matched by an increase in insects that prey on them. "They have a tendency to strike each other out," he says.

So don't overstock the insect repellent. "I'm not giving you the scare tactics," McPherson says. "It's the real story."

Jessica Winski

BIG SPENDERS: SENATE SEATS ARE COSTLY
Illinois is second only to California in spending for this year's U.S. Senate races. The candidates in the 1998 Illinois race collectively spent nearly $14 million during this six-year cycle, according to the April filings with the Federal Election Commission.

Peter Fitzgerald, the Republican candidate for the seat held by incumbent Democrat Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun, was the biggest spender among Senate candidates across the country in the 15-month period ending March 31, at $7,442,323. Moseley-Braun, who was unopposed in the primary, ranked eighth, at $2,516,448.

The most expensive U.S. Senate races in this six-year cycle
STATE	TOTAL SPENT
California	$15, 097, 529
Illinois	13, 814, 843
New York	12, 814, 090
North Carolina	6, 544, 226
Kentucky	3, 879, 130
SOURCE: CENTER FOR RESPONSIVE POLITICS

Beverley Scobell

Illinois' state capital is "submerged." No, Springfield isn't underwater; it's submerged from view. That's the conclusion of a study conducted by Thad Beyle and published in the June 1998 issue of Comparative State Politics. Beyle attempted to construct an index that could accurately gauge the extent of state political coverage throughout the 50 state capitals. He based his study on six criteria that he says determine how much attention is given to state government. He examined, for example, the number of media markets a state has and where the media are based, whether the state capital is the state's dominant population center and whether it is the center of a media market where the state's most important newspaper is located, and the number of Associated Press bureaus in the state. Only two states ranked at the bottom of Beyle's index, and Illinois was one of them. (Kentucky was the other.) In these states, Beyle concludes, the state capital is "lost." Given that the capital is neither the state's largest city nor in its major media market, coverage of Statehouse affairs gets "submerged," Beyle argues.

Donald Sevener

8 ¦ July/August 1998 Illinois Issues

Hooray for the Oryzopsis racemosa! Three cheers for Botrychium biternatum! Rice grass has been taken off the threatened species list because it's now "considered too common." And southern grape fern has been upgraded from endangered status to threatened because its numbers have increased.

Last spring, the Illinois Endangered Species Protection Board updated the list of the state's threatened and endangered plants.

"The overall news is good," says Jim Herkert, a board biologist who coordinated the effort. The number of endangered and threatened plants dropped from 363 to 331, with 12 species improved to the point that biologists no longer consider them jeopardized and another 25 upgraded from endangered to threatened.

However, there's bad news, too. Four plants were added to the endangered list and eight species were downgraded from threatened to endangered. And 21 of the plants were removed from the endangered list because they are thought to be lost to the state, "extirpated" in listing language.

"A plant that hasn't been found in 30 years is presumed to be extirpated," says Sue Lauzon, executive director of the protection board.

Thismia americana has not been seen in Illinois since 1912, Potamogeton vuseyi (Vasey's pondweed) since 1938 and Rhynchospora globularis (grass beak rush) since 1940. Such is also the plight of panic grass, bluegrass, northern manna grass, cow wheat, sour dock and arrow grass, which are among those plants that have not been found in Illinois since the 1950s and '60s.

The state requires the protection board to reassess the plant list every five years. A new listing for the state's animals will be completed in August.

Beverley Scobell

The show will go on this summer at a number of theaters because of the Illinois Arts Council. For example, the Illinois Shakespeare Festival in Bloomington received a $12,000 grant this year. The Bloomington festival alternates three plays on an Elizabethan, open-air stage near the campus of Illinois State University. In addition to preshow miniplays, combat demonstrations and Madrigal singers, the festival includes a museum exhibit that enables playgoers to see how costumes and sets are designed. Each year the exhibit, funded in part by the council, focuses on a different aspect of the history or culture of Shakespeare's plays. Other projects supported in part by the arts council are Shakespeare on the Green at Barat College in Lake Forest, the Celebration Company at the Station Theatre in Urbana-Champaign, The Summer Place Inc. in Naperville and Timber Lake Playhouse in Mt. Carroll, which in its 37th season is the longest continuously operating not-for-proftt summer theater in Illinois. Sheldon Frank, chairman of the Timber Lake hoard, says the council's $16,000 grant is crucial to keeping theater alive in that western Illinois community. "In Carroll County, which only has a population of 17,000, it is difficult to raise money without corporations to subsidize theater." Frank, who served on the council's theater advisory panel, says most downstate theaters depend on council grants to continue operating.

Beverley Scobell

Illinois Issues July/August 1998 ¦ 9

COME ONE, COME ALL
Illinois to dole out school construction funds

The check is in the mail. Soon. And it's about time, school officials say. Because, until lawmakers passed a $1.4 billion five-year capital program late last year, the state hadn't funded school construction for nearly two decades.

Just recently, the first little bit was released — a start-up portion of $30 million. Six school districts — Chicago, four suburban districts and one southern Illinois school — will share it. Another $327 million will be doled out in fiscal year 1999, which began July 1. But exactly how many of the 168 districts applying for funds will be chosen — and for what amount — won't be known until later this summer, according to Capital Development Board spokesperson Erika Rasch.

Districts in the first round: Dolton school districts 148 and 149 in Dolton, Lincoln-Way Community High School District 210 in New Lenox, Kirby School District 140 in Tinley Park and Savanna Community School District 300 in Carroll County

Chicago District 299, the nation's third largest, also got a share. The dollars will be used for an ongoing $1.7 billion capital improvement program, says the district's Tabrina Davis. (By law, Chicago public schools get 20 percent of these funds each year.)

Almost immediately after lawmakers approved the program, part of a comprehensive school reform package, they began arguing over who gets what. Suburban districts complain the program doesn't count anticipated growth, and some poorer downstate schools say they're too small to apply. (See Illinois Issues, April 1998, page 6.)

State School Superintendent Joseph Spagnolo says we need "at least $11 to $12 billion to begin to address the problems of crowded and crumbling buildings throughout our state." So this program, while "an accomplishment," is not enough. His office points to the 56 districts that applied for the initial $30 million. If every one of those grants had been filled, the state's share would have been about $315 million. (Based on a school's ability to pay, the state will contribute 35 percent to 75 percent of a project's cost.)

Despite some talk early in the session, lawmakers did not devote more money for building and repair.

"Lawmakers have uncovered a need that everybody knew was out there, but nobody had a clue as to how huge a need it was," says Ben Schwarm of the Illinois Association of School Boards. "If they want this program to be viable, they have to put in more money."

But Al Grosboll, Gov. Jim Edgar's deputy chief of staff and longtime education advisor, says the state board is counting schools "which aren't anywhere near being ready to build. We have enough [money appropriated] to cover the ones that are."

Jennifer Davis

WEB SITE OF THE MONTH
Get a preview of the Illinois State Fair

Jim Edgar will be there. Chances are Glenn Poshard, George Ryan and every big-name politician (and most of the small-name politicians) in Illinois will be there.

More important, Alan Jackson and LeAnn Rimes will be there, along with Foreigner and Savage Garden, all manner of livestock, harness racing, bands in the beer tent, daredevil rides, corn dogs, elephant ears and home-made taffy, They'll all be there. Plus the butter cow.

There, of course, is the Illinois State Fair, which opens August 14 for its 10-day run. But before heading to Springfield for the 1998 version of the State Fair — its 145th — head to the World Wide Web to scope out the attractions, events, grandstand acts and more at www.state.il.us/fair/

The state fair home page is a useful guide to the fair's daily schedule (Governor's Day is August 19; Family Day, August 23), the grandstand line-up, admission information, daily events, plus information related to renting space, competitions, harness racing and camping arrangements.

The first state fair was held in Springfield in 1853, and the state capital became the fair's permanent site in 1894, when admission was 50 cents — or 75 cents if you rode your horse in.

Donald Sevener

10 ¦ July/August 1998 Illinois Issues

Six summers have come and gone since the Illinois Pollution Control Board set limits on diesel exhaust. But the limits aren't being enforced, say representatives of four public health groups.

"Imagine having a speed limit, but not posting signs or giving police speed detectors. You'd have no enforcement of an important safety law," says Jack Darin of the Illinois chapter of the Sierra Club.

Unlike mandatory emissions testing for car owners in the metropolitan Chicago area, diesel exhaust testing is optional — something local governments can choose to enforce. But no one does, says Ron Burke, deputy executive director of the American Lung Association of Metropolitan Chicago.

So Darin's club, Burke's association, the Illinois Public Interest Research Group and SUSTAIN, an environmental information organization, have banded together to push for change. They're resting their case on a draft report issued this spring by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that links diesel fumes with the risk of cancer and other respiratory diseases.

And they've set up a hotline on problem trucks. The number — 312-649-3355 — is listed on 10 billboards in Chicago and surrounding suburbs. Between 400 and 500 calls were logged as of June 1, says Burke. The information is being passed along to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and local legislators. "The state EPA is being very cooperative, but, ultimately, they don't have the authority to enforce this," Burke says.

Municipalities that decide to do so can buy portable testers for a few thousand dollars. And there has been some interest. Chicago, for example, is "considering it," says Henry Henderson, the city's commissioner of the environment.

Chicago is second only to California for the most truck traffic nationwide. And Henderson adds that more than 40 percent of the Chicago region's ozone problem is attributable to cars and trucks. (Chemicals from the exhaust combine with light and heat to make ozone — necessary in the upper atmosphere, but problematic when we breathe it.)

Henderson says Chicago is investigating the potential impact of authorizing city police to patrol interstate traffic. "Is it a cost-effective way to deploy our police force, which already has a pretty serious amount of work to do?"

Meanwhile, representatives of the trucking industry say mandatory testing and enforcement would drive up costs, which consumers would end up paying. Further, they argue they are already solving the problem.

"Since 1989, the trucking industry has been replacing engines with clean-burning diesel engines," says Fred Serpe, executive director of the Illinois Transportation Association, which represents 14, 000 trucking companies in Illinois. "Ninety percent of all fleets have been replaced already, and in the next one or two years, they all will be."

Robert Jasmon, executive vice president of the Mid-West Truckers Association, which represents another 2,600 trucking companies, adds there is no "current scientific data" to prove diesel trucks are polluting. "This is totally, completely, no question about it, a false claim being made by the lung association. The engines used in today's trucks burn cleaner and the fuel is much cleaner."

If that's true, says Burke, then the truckers have nothing to lose through testing. "It only takes 10 or 15 minutes of their time."

Later this summer, the groups plan to do some spot-checking of their own at a handful of busy intersections in Chicago and some nearby suburbs.

Jennifer Davis

Illinois Issues July/August 1998 ¦ 11