State Reports

Items listed under state Documents have been received by the Documents Unit. Illinois State Library Springfield, and are usually available from public libraries in the state through inter-library loan. Issuing agencies may have copies available. For items listed under Other Reports, write to the publisher as listed.

State Documents

■ Medicare and Other Health Care Choices: A Guide for Illinois Seniors, Illinois Department on Aging (October 1986), 34 pp.; 421 East Capitol Ave., Springfield 62701. Older health care consumers can expect to spend over $2,000 annually in contrast to the average of $800 for younger people. Medicare was designed to help with those bills, but it does not cover all expenses. This pamphlet deals with some of the most frequently asked questions concerning health insurance for the elderly; it also provides names, addresses and telephone numbers of agencies that can offer further assistance.

■ Outdoor Recreation in Illinois: 1986-1987 Action Program, Illinois Department of Conservation (November 1986). 18 pp.; Lincoln Tower Plaza. 524 S. Second St.. Springfield 62706.

The action program for fiscal year 1987 addresses four important recreation and conservation issues: protection of wetlands and provision of wildlife related recreation; realization of the economic benefits of recreation; preservation of natural areas; and improvement of the recreational uses of streams and lakes. In addition to a brief description of why each topic is important, the report describes the specific actions that are being taken.

■ The Condition of the Homeless in Chicago, Social and Demographic Research Institute (University of Massachusetts) and NORC (University of Chicago) (September 1986), 220 pp.; available from Illinois Department of Public Aid, Office of Public Information, Jesse B. Harris Bldg., 100 S. Grand Ave. East, Springfield 62762.

In 1985 and 1986 NORC (a social research institute affiliated with the University of Chicago) conducted interviews with homeless persons in shelters, on the streets and in public places in Chicago; all were done at night. The average cash income for the persons interviewed was less than $6 per day, 55 percent slept in shelters (the rest in public places, the streets or in hallways), many were in poor physical and mental health, three out of four were men, 60 percent were black and the median age was 40. Based on data from these surveys, it is estimated that as many as 6,000 persons become homeless each year and that about 7,000 persons may be homeless for some part of each year. Since the major problem faced by the homeless is poverty, the report recommends income attainment and maintenance strategies as the most appropriate for alleviating the homeless condition.

■ Adolescent Parent Outreach Follow-Up Survey, by Pat W. Mosena for Illinois Department of Public Aid, 100 S. Grand Ave. East, Springfield 62762 (1986), 118 pp.

In 1981-82 interviews were conducted with 899 adolescent mothers; all were under 18, had at least one child or were pregnant with their first child and were on AFDC (Aid to Families with Dependent Children). The same group was interviewed again in 1983-84. Two critical factors in determining the future of these young parents were whether they finished high school and whether (or when) they had a second child.

■ Investment Guide for Illinois Local Governments, Office of the Comptroller, 201 State House, Springfield 62706 (January 1987), 80 pp.

This manual provides guidelines for the development of municipal investment policies and information about how public funds may be invested. It also contains model agreements and policies for a variety of situations, as well as a checklist for the nonfinancial analysis of prospective banks and savings and loan associations.

■ Illinois Small Quantity Generators' Manual, Hazardous Waste Research and Information Center, 1808 Woodfield Drive, Savoy 61874(217/333-8940), (January 1987), 19 pp. plus appendices.

Since September 1986 small businesses that generate hazardous waste have been under new federal regulations. It also lists treatment, storage and disposal facilities, waste management firms, analytical laboratories and other sources of information.

Other Reports

■ 1987 Illinois Economic Outlook, Bureau of Economic and Business Research, University of Illinois, 428 Commerce West, 1206 S. Sixth, Champaign 61820 (217/333-2330), 32 pp.

Following an introductory statement by University of Illinois president Stanley Ikenberry, this booklet presents two-page descriptions of the present situation and future prospects in 11 areas: education, population, employment, secondary manufacturing, transportation, real estate, state revenues and expenditures, character of growth, financial markets and institutions, agriculture and international exports. A summary forecast appears at the end.

■ Applications of Particle Physics: Out on the Limb of Speculation, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (n.d.), 97 pp.; P.O. Box 500, Batavia 60510.

The industrial affiliates of the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory comprise about 40 companies, some on the Fortune 500 list and several that were formed by Fermilab staff members and users.

For the fifth annual meeting of these affiliates (held May 21-22, 1985), Fermilab focused on antimatter, neutrinos, quarks, muons and other constituents of elementary particles. This volume includes five papers, four of which were presented at the meeting. Although the topics are fairly technical, an educated layman should be able to follow the arguments in each, and almost anyone can sense the excitement the authors feel about the possibilities offered by work in the area of particle physics.

■ Public Policy on Mental Illness in Illinois, League of Women Voters of Illinois (December 1986), 39 pp.; 67 E. Madison St., Chicago 60603 ($4.50 plus $1.50 postage and handling).

Deinstitutionalization was viewed by its early proponents as a humane approach to the problems of the mentally ill. In practice, however, the problems have merely been shifted, since community mental health services have not developed as anticipated. This study, which is based on interviews, site tours, expert testimony and other types of research, reviews the history and present status of mental health services in this state. It looks at community services and private institutions, private and public funding, standards for professionals and programs, the mentally ill in the criminal justice system and various aspects of the Department of Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities. The study is clearly meant for serious readers; its double-column pages are densely printed and only rarely interrupted by a graph or table.

■ Illinois Government Finance Review, Illinois Government Finance Officers Association; available from William Stafford, Managing Editor, 2100 Ridge Avenue, Evanston 60204 (312/328-2100).

The inaugural issue of this magazine appeared in December 1986; it is produced as a membership benefit for those belonging to the IGFO but others may receive copies by contacting the managing editor. The first issue contains nine articles on such topics as how to evaluate advance refunding of tax-exempt debt, debt reform in Illinois, an update of the 1986 Tax Reform Act and information on the pooled bond program. 

Anna J. Merritt

May 1987/Illinois Issues/31