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.

■ Guidelines for Determining the Feasibility of a Small Business Incubator (1985), Starting a Small Business Incubator: A Handbook for Sponsors and Developers (1985) and Managing a Small Business Incubator (1986), Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs, 620 E. Adams St., Springfield 62701. Most new jobs in the American economy are generated by small businesses. Such businesses are also more productive and innovative than large firms. Small businesses, however, are also highly vulnerable to outside forces, and many close their doors each year. To improve the success rate of new firms, the state has encouraged the development of small business incubators. These are buildings in which a number of new and/or growing businesses can locate and operate at a much lower overhead cost than in conventional space. These three manuals offer useful information for communities and individuals interested in pursuing this relatively new economic development tool.

■ Industrial Small Issue Revenue Bond Financing, Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs, 620 E. Adams St., Springfield 62701, (January 1987), 17 pp.

Industrial revenue bonds, or IRBs, are tax-exempt bonds issued by state or local public agencies on behalf of private businesses. Such bonds can be used as a source of financing by industrial firms to construct, expand or equip buildings or by agricultural concerns to purchase real estate and depreciable property. This pamphlet provides information for both government officials and business people about how these bonds can be used, how bond purchasers can be located and what procedures must be followed. It also answers a series of specific questions that might be raised by various parties involved with IRBs.

■ Welfare Reform in Illinois: Breaking the Cycle, Governor's Task Force on Welfare Reform, Illinois Department of Public Aid, Jesse B. Harris Bldg., 100 S. Grand Ave. East, Springfield 62762, (March 1987), 28 pp.

This state has numerous programs aimed at turning welfare recipients away from dependency on public assistance and toward self-sufficiency. In fact, Illinois leads the nation in increases in child support collections and ranks 12th in overall collections. Nonetheless, improvements are needed. This report discusses five areas in which reform measures should be undertaken: training and employment placement activities, support services for work, income assistance, education and child support enforcement.

■ State Revolving Loan Program for Financing Illinois Wastewater Treatment Needs, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Division of Water Pollution Control, 2200 Churchill Rd., P.O. Box 19276, Springfield 62794, (January 1987), 67 pp.

State and federal grant funds for municipal sewage treatment facilities are presently being phased out. Because federal law is aimed at eventual self-sufficiency at the local level, a State Revolving Fund Program that would bridge the funding gap has been suggested. The program would offer low-interest loans or credit enhancements to allow for the return and reuse of initial capitalization money. About $450 million in federal funds are expected to be available over the next six years to capitalize such a fund in Illinois. The state would be required to provide a 20 percent match. This study concludes that a program is feasible and should be implemented.

■ Unfair Labor Practice, Representation, Impasse Procedures for Protective Service Units, and Impasse Procedures for General Public Employee Units, Office of the Illinois State & Local Labor Relations Boards, 320 W. Washington, Suite 500, Springfield 62701.

Each of these fold-out pocket brochures contains answers to the most commonly asked questions on the procedures to be followed when filing a petition dealing with rights protected by the state's Public Labor Relations Act.

■ The Natural Resources of Illinois: Introduction and Guide, Illinois Natural History Survey, 607 East Peabody, Champaign 61820, (1987), 224 pp.; $10.00.

Every Illinois school child has been told that this state is rich in natural resources and that its statistics are enviable indeed. This extremely attractive volume shows why. It is divided into six sections: general characteristics, agriculture, fish and wildlife, climate, water resources, and geological resources. It contains over 200 maps, tables, and color photographs. The text is clearly written and highly informative. All in all an important book for newcomers to this state as well as for those old-timers who may need to be reminded about the extraordinary land we live on.

■ The State's Role in Property Tax Administration in Illinois: A Review of Existing Procedures With Suggestions for Reform, Center for Policy Studies and Program Evaluation, Sangamon State University, Springfield 62794-9243, (July 1987), 66 pp.

This report is based on interviews with 10 county supervisors of assessments; further interviews with other county as well as township assessors may be conducted at a later date. The open-ended discussions touched on a wide range of issues including opinions about bureaucratic barriers to predicting sales prices; the Dept. of Revenue's procedures for gauging the assessor's job performance; the housing market, property assessments and the assessment/sales ratio studies; and the Dept. of Revenue's role in the local property assessment process. Numerous suggestions for changes in procedures and in the law are discussed at the end of the report.

■ The State of the Region: Policy Issues and Options for the Chicago Metropolitan Area, The Regional Partnership, (January 1987); available from Metropolitan Planning Council, 53 W. Jackson, Rm. 550, Chicago 60604.

This report is based on a cooperative study carried out by over 25 civic and government agencies who worked for almost two years to identify and analyze critical problems facing the Chicago region (defined as Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry, and Will counties). Each of the 12 chapters deals with a separate issue: education, health, social services, crime and public safety, economic development, culture, human relations, poverty, parks and open space, the environment, housing and transportation. In addition to identifying problems, the report includes an analysis of the issues and a range of suggested options for action.

■ Commercial Landfilling Hazardous Wastes in Illinois, by Lettie McSpadden Wenner, Institute of Government and Public Affairs, 1201 W. Nevada, Urbana 61801, (March 1987), 47 pp.

The author analyzes eight case studies of commercial hazardous waste landfills in the state, five of which have been closed in the last decade. She concludes that recent changes in federal and state regulations have increased incrementally the costs of landfilling hazardous wastes, but industry continues to prefer this method because of the unknown costs of new technologies. In addition, the various levels of government involved in the process do not coordinate their efforts. For this reason, neighbors of waste facilities rely on informal political pressure and common law nuisance suits just as often as they turn to the regulatory process.

■ CIES Final Report and CIES Reports, Community Information & Education Service, University of Illinois, Suite 202, 302 E. John St., Champaign 61820.

The CIES project began in 1980 with a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The final report describes the first five years of the project during which more than 6,000 leaders in central Illinois and around the state participated in nearly 300 information and education programs, applied research projects and public service activities. During the next phase, which began in July 1986, the project will develop a statewide program delivery system using the latest in audioteleconferencing technology. The first issue of the CIES Reports newsletter appeared in April 1987. 

Anna J. Merritt

August & September 1987/Illinois Issues/73