Washington
By ROBERT MACKAY

Lobbying for the state

INSIDE a modern office building just a block from the Capitol, a half dozen people spend their time trying to prevent the federal government from taking money away from Illinois or imposing regulations that could possibly hurt the state and its residents. And, when they're not busy maintaining the status quo, they lobby for more federal dollars for Illinois and for projects that would benefit the state.

They are the eyes and ears in Washington of Gov. James R. Thompson, his cabinet and the people of Illinois.

Gayle Cozens is director of the Washington headquarters of the state of Illinois, which was created in 1970 by Gov. Richard B. Ogilvie. Ms. Cozens is the fourth director of the agency which spans three administrations. Operating out of a spacious, modern office in the Hall of the States Building on North Capitol Street, Cozens' staff consists of three professional aides, two legislative assistants and two office aides.

"The office is primarily here to represent the state and the state's interests, to make sure the bills that are passed do not injure the state, and to focus on the federal agencies and their regulations in the same manner," she said. "We lobby, basically, to represent the best interests of the state."

Each of the three professional staff members concentrates on and is responsible for a particular area of interests. Raymond Willis is in charge of human services, such as welfare and public health; Michael Masterson concentrates on energy, transportation and agriculture; and Alie Randlett handles economic development and federal funding. They share office space with the Illinois Office of Education.

"It's a big job and you have to establish priorities," Cozens said. "Our charge, basically, is to work with the Illinois [congressional] delegation to make sure we are adequately and appropriately representing the state's interests and to make sure the delegation understands where the state is."

Illinois is not the only state with an office in Washington, and each Monday morning, the representatives of the individual states get together to discuss what they are trying to accomplish and to see if they can join together for lobbying purposes in an area of mutual concern.

"This is a hard year to realize any successes," Cozens said, noting the various efforts to balance the budget will undoubtedly affect the money states receive from the federal government. "Last year was much more of a successful year in terms of finances than this year. Our state was instrumental in helping settle a retroactive claim for social services for the states, and we [Illinois] captured an unanticipated $32 million."

The office's priorities change to counter the changes in government programs or legislation that affect Illinois. "Right now, the thrust is on energy," she said. "So we have a priority whether the feds are going to establish Morris, Illinois, as a dumping ground for spent nuclear fuel. And we've been lobbying hard on transportation in regard to the Rock Island Railroad. So, we are reactive in a certain sense. Right now, we're reacting to the budget cuts."

President Carter and congressional budget committees have proposed eliminating the general revenue sharing funds states receive from the federal government. Illinois stands to lose $113 million annually in revenue sharing funds.

"We do have state priorities, but when federal priorities become paramount, we do focus on that," Cozens said. "Our priority is not to lose any money."

Cozens keeps in close contact with Thompson, who appointed her to the post and who tells her which direction his administration is heading on various issues. She has a master's degree in political science and has spent most of her career working in human services, first as a caseworker in Ohio and later as a member of the Ogilvie administration. She joined Thompson's staff after working a few years for the Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW) in Washington. The salaries of her staff members are paid out of the budgets of the state agencies they represent, and their jobs are contingent on keeping the heads of those agencies happy and satisfied with their performance. Cozens is paid as a member of the governor's staff.

Willis was busy lobbying for an increase in funds for the food stamp program, and for a modification in legislation that affects the way the federal government transfers funds for human service programs to the states. The latter may seem minor, but the original legislation, as proposed by HEW, would "increase state administrative costs to handle federal funds for Medicaid," Willis said.

Masterson was lobbying to keep the Rock Island line open under new carriers, if parts of the line were closed, he said, it could mean the loss of several thousand shipping jobs in Illinois. He was also trying to get more federal funds for the North-South and Peoria-Quincy freeway projects, and to convince the Department of Energy to approve an application for a coal gasification plant in Perry County.

Ms. Randlett had her hands full with the budget cuts, but was also keeping an eye out for any proposed export restrictions that might hurt Illinois' businesses. "Japanese auto imports are also of interest to us in Illinois, partly because if they build in the United States we would like to see them build in Illinois."

The office, in addition to reacting to state agencies' needs and helping them meet their goals, must be aware of virtually every federal proposal and let the appropriate state agency know if it will be affected.

June 1980/Illinois Issues/33