Names

Laura Kent appointed senator to complete her mother's term

Laura Kent, Quincy, was appointed state senator by the 48th Republican Committee effective March 23. Kent replaced her mother, Mary Lou, who died of a heart attack on March 9 (see back cover). An employee of the Illinois Veterans Hospital in Quincy, Kent is a 1971 graduate of Smith College in Columbia, Mo. Although she does not have much political experience, she stated she shares similar political beliefs as her mother and will run for the seat in 1982.

Thompson co-chairman of U.S. Task Force on Violent Crime
Gov. James Thompson was appointed to co-chair a federal committee to study the rising crime rate. The committee, known as the Attorney General's Task Force on Violent Crime, was set up by U.S. Attorney General William French Smith to look at the increase in violent crimes, which Smith said have gone up 59 percent since 1970. Former Attorney General Griffin Bell will serve as the other co-chairman.

Rosenblum on Illinois Commerce Commission
Daniel W. Rosenblum, Chicago, was named to the Illinois Commerce Commission by the governor effective in February. The appointment requires Senate confirmation. Rosenblum has been a staff attorney and utilities specialist with the Legal Assistance Foundation since 1976, specializing in consumer and utility litigation. He replaces C. Burton Nelson, Rockford, who resigned. The term will end January 21, 1985.

SIU Trustees; Board of Governors
A.D. VanMeter Jr., Springfield, and Mrs. Crete Harvey, Sterling, were named to ihe Southern Illinois University Board of Trustees by the governor effective February 23, for terms ending in January 1987. VanMeter, president of the Illinois National Bank, was reappointed to the board. Mrs. Harvey, a farmer and Arabian horse breeder, replaced Wayne Heberer, Belleville. The unsalaried terms require Senate confirmation.

D. Ray Wilson. Dundee, Wilma J. Sutton, Chicago, and Marcellno Miyares. Evanston, to the Board of Governors of State Colleges and Universities, by the governor effective February 11. The unsalaried positions require Senate confirmation. Wilson, editor and publisher of the Daily Courier News in Elgin and Daily Journal in Wheaton, replaces John Warner, Clinton, for a term ending in January 1985. Sutton, executive vice president of Hyde Park Federal Savings, replaces Leon Davis, Chicago, for a term ending in January 1985. Miyares, president of Operation Market Advertising Research, Inc., replaces Dan Alverez, Chicago, for a term ending in January 1987.

The Judiciary
The Supreme Court appointed the following associate judges as circuit judges February 20:
William H. Ellsworth, Geneva, to the 16th Judicial Circuit, to replace Ernest W. Akemann, who retired.

John T. Beynon, Rockford, to the 17th Judicial Circuit, to replace David R. Babb, who was not retained.

Lewis V. Morgan Jr., Wheaton, to the 18th Judicial Circuit, to replace Alfred E. Woodward, who retired.

Charles R. Norgle, Elmhurst, to the 18th Judicial Circuit, to replace George W. Unverzagt, who was elected to the 2nd District Appellate Court.

The circuit judges recently appointed the following attorneys as associate judges:
Nicholas G. Byron, Edwardsville, and Jonathan Isbell. Collinsville, to the 3rd Judicial Circuit.

Thomas G. Ebel, Peoria, to the 10th Judicial Circuit.

Paul A. Logli and K. Craig Peterson, both of Rockford, to the 17th Judicial Circuit.

Jane D. Waller, Waukegan, to the 19th Judicial Circuit.

The following judges have been elected or reelected as chief circuit judges: Ralph S. Pearman, Paris, 5th Judicial Circuit; Rodney A. Scott. Decatur, 6th Judicial Circuit; Paul Hickman, Hillsboro, 4th Judicial Circuit.

Edwin L. Douglas, Wheaton, was elected interim chief judge for the 18th Judicial Circuit.

William H. Spitler Jr., associate judge of the 4th Judicial Circuit, retired December 31. A resident of St. Elmo, Spitler has been a judge since 1974.

New staff for legislature
Ralph Blackman, Chicago, and Donald Hughes, Palatine, to fill the newly created positions of field representatives, by House Speaker George Ryan (R., Kankakee) effective in February. Blackman had worked in the governor's legislative liaison office and, most recently, served as administrative assistant to a Cook County commissioner. Hughes worked in the Illinois Department of Personnel and as a personnel officer, University of Illinois at Chicago Circle. The field representatives will help legislators with their district offices.

Ron Gjerde, Springfield, as director of research for the House Republicans, by Speaker George Ryan (R., Kankakee) effective February 16. Gjerde, who was working for the Taxpayers' Federation of Illinois, replaced Sarunas Valiukenas, who took a job in the Secretary of State's Office.

Jean Williams, Springfield, as staffer for the Elementary and Secondary Education Committee, by Senate President Philip Rock (D., Oak Park) effective March 16. Williams replaced Jim Jepsen, who will be working for the Board of Higher Education. Williams has worked for the Illinois Association of School Boards and the Burreau of the Budget.

Other appointments
John Washburn, Springfield, as legislative liaison, Office of the Governor, by the governor in February. Washburn formerly worked on the Senate Republican staff and became appropriations director in 1976. Roger Sweet, Springfield, a Senate staffer for seven years, replaced Washburn as appropriations director.

Sue Suter, Springfield, as state coordinator for the International Year of Disabled Persons, by the governor effective January 5. Suter, who holds a masters degree in clinical psychology, was director of consumer services for the Illinois Developmental Disabilities Advocacy Authority.

Nancy C. Silvers, Springfield, as assistant to the governor for health, welfare and human services, by the governor effective February 16. Silvers had been director of the Governor's Volunteer Office since March 1980, and was also director of the Southwestern Area Agency on Aging. She replaces Jim Kiley, who was named assistant to the governor for economic development.

May 1981/ Illinois Issues/35

Roland Eckert and Mark Gordon, both former Washington, D.C., officials, to key positions in the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT), February 23 by Transportation Secretary John Kramer.

Eckert, who served as legal counsel to former IDOT secretary Langhorne Bond at the Federal Aviation Administration, will be the new chief counsel for (DOT. Eekert replaces William Ghesquiere, who took a post in the attorney general's office.

Gordon, who has worked for the Office of Management and Budget under three presidents, was named IDOT's director of finance and administration. He replaces Jack Brewer, who became deputy director.

Kramer also named John Hall, who was executive assistant to former Illinois agriculture director John Block, as his assistant.

Resignations
Julian C. d'Esposito Jr., Springfield, as counsel to the governor, effective March 2. D'Esposito served on the governor's staff since 1977 and was involved in revenue and business issues in the state. He is joining the Chicago Law Firm of Isham, Lincoln & Beale.

William Alderfer, Springfield, as Illinois state historian, effective in March. Alderfer also served as state historian and as executive director of the Illinois State Historical Society since 1967. During Alderfer's administration the library experienced great growth in its collections and in the range of its extension services. Olive Foster, Alderfer's assistant for the past three years, has been named acting historian.

Dr. Louis V. Nau, as executive associate director of the Illinois Department of Rehabilitation Services (DORS), to accept a position as assistant secretary for Asian Missions of the Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod. The resignation is effective March 1. Nau became executive associate director of the department in August 1979 after DORS was created as a cabinet-level agency. Robert Granzeier, deputy director of the department's Bureau of Rehabilitation Services for Adults, was named acting executive associate director.

Deaths
Sen. Mary Lou Kent, 59, in Quincy on March 9. Kent, a Republican from Quincy, was elected state senator in November, replacing John Knuppel (D., Havana), who retired. She had previously served eight years in the House and was the first woman to be appointed to the House Appropriations Committee. Before entering state politics, Kent served as administrative assistant for the Quincy Chamber of Commerce for 13 years. Her daughter was appointed to her Senate seat.

Honors
John Whiteside, Joliet. as 1981 Illinois Journalist of the Year, by a panel selected by the Northern Illinois University Journalism Department. Whiteside, an investigative, general assignment and political reporter for the Joliet Herald-News, has received numerous other journalism honors including the Illinois Associated Press Investigative Reporting Award in 1977 and the Suburban Press Club of Chicago's Suburban Journalist of the Year award for 1979.

May 1981/ Illinois Issues/36