Chun moves to top spot at Financial Institutions

Gov. James R. Thompson appointed a new director for the state's Department of Financial Institutions in June. Shinae Chun of Riverwoods fills the vacancy left by Michael E. Fryzel's departure to enter private law practice.

Chun has been Thompson's special assistant for Asian-American affairs for the last five years and has helped to implement such programs as the Asian-American Truancy Program, the Chinatown Development Project and a number of minority business development seminars. From 1980-83, she was project director of the Title IX Multiethnic Training, Assistance and Dissemination Project for the Chicago Consortium of Colleges and Universities. Prior to that, Chun served as a consultant for the Midwest Resource Center and as project director for the Indochinese Center for Material Development and Training, a project of the Bilingual Education Service Center of Arlington Heights, from 1976-80. Chun is also a member of the board of directors of the United Way of Chicago.

Fryzel had been with the department since 1977, first as supervisor of its currency exchange division (1977-79) and then as administrator of its unclaimed property division (1979-82). He moved into the director's spot in 1982.

Chun's appointment, which requires Senate confirmation, was effective July 1. Her annual salary is $54,862.

Reineke replaces Tristano at Central Management Services

Gov. Thompson appointed his personnel director, Gene Reineke, as the new head of the state Department of Central Management Services (CMS) in mid-July. Reineke replaces Michael Tristano, who left state government in July to assume the post of vice president with UNISYS Corp. Tristano, who had been CMS director since 1985, is in charge of government sector marketing for the giant computer firm.

Reineke joined Illinois government in 1980 as administrative assistant to then-Lt. Gov. Dave O'Neal. After a year in this post, he became assistant director of the Abandoned Mined Lands Reclamation Council. In 1982 he worked as a field representative for the governor's reelection campaign. Following the election, Reineke joined Thompson's office staff, first as director of scheduling and appointments (1983-84) and then as director of boards and commissions (1984-85). From 1985-86 he directed public affairs for the governor's office. In 1986, he left the governor's office to manage George A. Ranney's campaign for the U.S. Senate, but returned later that year to oversee Thompson's $2.3 billion Build Illinois program. Thompson appointed Reineke director of his personnel office in 1987.

Reineke's appointment must be confirmed by the Senate. His new annual salary is $68,578.

CMS administers health and insurance benefits for state employees, represents the state in collective bargaining negotiations, maintains the state's telecommunications network, manages state facilities and office leasing and procures equipment, office supplies and other commodities.

Replacing Reineke as Thompson's personnel director is Susan Hardesty, who has been his director of scheduling since 1985. Prior to that she held several posts in the governor's office and in the private sector. A Texas native, the former school teacher will be paid an annual salary of $60,000.

Lindberg gets nod for seat on federal bench

Barring anything unforeseen, 2nd District Appellate Court Justice George W. Lindberg of Crystal Lake will be the new judicial officer on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. He will fill the vacancy created by Prentice H. Marshall's move to senior status last winter.

Lindberg, a former state representative and Illinois' first comptroller, was one of three judges recommended to the Bush administration by House Minority Leader Robert Michel (R-18, Peoria). The other two were Cook County Circuit Judges Dean M. Trafelet of LaGrange Park and Wayne R. Anderson of Des Plaines.

Lindberg was first elected to the appellate bench in 1978 after serving as Illinois deputy attorney general for one year. He was retained in 1988. Elected to the Illinois House in 1966, he chaired the Judiciary Committee and authored the state's Governmental Ethics Act. He served as Illinois' first comptroller from 1973-77. Prior to his years of public service, Lindberg was vice president and legal counsel for John E. Reid & Associates from 1955-68.

New officers, board members for Illinois Humanities Council

The Illinois Humanities Council's (IHC) board of directors elected new officers and new board members in May.

Richard J. Franke of Chicago is the council's new chairman, succeeding Cullom Davis. He is currently chairman, president and chief executive officer of John Nuveen & Company Inc. Franke also serves as a trustee for the Yale Corporation and for The University of Chicago where he is also chairman of its Visiting Committee to the Humanities. He will serve a two-year term.

The new IHC vice chairman is Marilyn J. Cason of Evanston. Vice president and corporate counsel at DeVry Inc., she also serves as a director on the boards of the Illinois Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation and The University of Chicago's International House. Cason will serve a one-year term.

Robert C. Bray of Bloomington is the council's new secretary. Currently Bray is the R. Forrest Colwell Professor of American Literature at Illinois Wesleyan University in Blomington. Active in promoting access to and interest in Illinois literature, Bray is a board member of the Illinois Center for the Book and chairs the secretary of state's Read Illinois Committee. Bray will serve a one-year term.

The new IHC treasurer is Morris Kaplan of Highland Park. He is the founder and current executive director of the Mayer and Morris Kaplan Foundation which is known for its support of innovative educational programs. Kaplan also serves on a number of boards, including those of the Orchestral Association of Chicago, the Executive Service Corps and the Chicago International Theater Festival. He will serve a two-year term.

The IHC board also reelected five of its members. Board members may serve two three-year terms. Reelected were:

Galey Day of Belvidere, a realtor with Gambino-Hyland Realtors Inc. Currently on the boards of the United Way, the New American Theater and the YMCA, Day is also a member of the University of Illinois Foundation and the President's Council.

Lee A. Freeman Sr. of Chicago, an attorney with Freeman, Freeman, and Salzman. A 1988 IHC Public Humanities Award recipient and a long-time member of the board of directors of the Lyric Opera of Chicago, he is a Verdi scholar and was the initiator of the artist and composer-in-residence programs at the Lyric. He also initiated the Nelson Algren fiction award for promising young writers.

Diana Hunter of Skokie, chair of the American Library Association's legislative committee. President of the Skokie Library's board of trustees since 1980, Hunter received the American Library Association's Trustee Award in 1983.

Emmet Larkin of Chicago, a history professor at The University of Chicago. Recently he received a fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to support his study of the devotional revolution in Ireland from 1850 to 1875. Larkin has been a member of The University of Chicago faculty since 1966.

James Dunlap Nowlan of Galesburg, currently a professor of public policy studiest at

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Knox College. After serving four years in the Illinois House of Representatives (1968-72), Nowlan was Gov. Richard B. Ogilivie's running mate as the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor in 1972. He is the author of Inside State Government and A New Game Plan for Illinois.

The IHC was organized in 1973 in order to broaden public knowledge and appreciation of the humanities throughout the state. An affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, it supports and produces programs and projects which bring the historical, cultural, literary and philosophical parts of human learning into the public domain.

Taking the sulfur out

The push for cleaner air and, more recently, the controversy over acid rain has made sulfur the bane of Illinois' coal industry. Illinois coal has up to five times the sulfur content of that mined in the western states. This, combined with the high cost of coal scrubbing technology, has meant that Illinois coal is increasingly difficult to market.

But all of this may be changing due to the efforts of two researchers at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. Brian P. Klubek, associate professor of soil microbiology, and David P. Clark, associate professor of microbiology, have been working since 1984 on isolating soil bacteria they discovered in abandoned stripmined lands that appear to have the capacity to convert organic sulfur to sulfate. Sulfate can be flushed from coal using a relatively simple rinsing process. Dissolved in water, the sulfate then can be successfully combined with lime to form gypsum, a component of fertilizer and cement.

Klubek and Clark are currently trying to mutate the bacteria strain so that they will grow more rapidly and will feed on three to four different types of organic sulfur. "Once we've perfected this strain of soil isolate," according to Klubek, "we can transfer those genes through the use of biotechnology to create a quickly responsive bacterium that could feed on a wide variety of harmful organic components found in Illinois coal."

Other types of bacteria have been used to desulfurize coal to some extent, according to Klubek. But he is confident that the strain on which he and Clark are working could reduce the sulfur content to as little as 0.5 percent: "Ultimately it may be able to eliminate all of the sulfur found in coal."

Although he is optimistic about the sulfur transforming bacteria, Klubek is quick to point out that he and Clark are still in the early phases of their research. The bacteria probably won't be ready for use until around 1995.

Klubek and Clark's research has been supported by the U.S. Department of Energy and by the Illinois Department of Energy and Natural Resources.

Illinois Industrial Commission gets two new members

Two new appointees to the Illinois Industrial Commission were announced by the governor in May. The seven-member commission administers Illinois' Workers' Compensation Act.

Barry Allen Ketter of Itasca was the governmental affairs officer for the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority. He replaced Douglas Holland on the commission. Beverly Masuda of Forest Park was an associate attorney for Gurion and Lewis in Chicago. She replaced Barbara Sherman on the commission.

Both appointments, which were effective immediately, require Senate confirmation and expire in January 1991. The positions are full time and pay $63,000 annually.

Schmidt to direct Commerce Commission's legislative affairs

The Illinois Commerce Commission (IICC) has a new director of its legislative and intergovernmental affairs office. Molly Schmidt assumed the post this past spring. She was previously state and federal legislative liaison at the Illinois Department of Nuclear Safety from 1987-89.

Schmidt brings a number of influential contacts to her new post as the IICC's chief lobbyist. From 1985-87 she served as special assistant to the chief of staff and as assistant director of the policy staff in the office of the Illinois House minority leader. In 1984 Schmidt was director of communications for the Illinois Republican State Central Committee, and from 1982-84, she was a member of the communications staff in the office of the Senate minority leader.

In addition to working with the Illinois General Assembly, Schmidt and her staff are responsible for dealing with other governmental agencies, including Congress and various federal agencies.

Chicago area to benefit from McCormick grant to The Nature Conservancy

Calling it "most probably the largest single foundation grant every awarded for conservation in Illinois," Albert E. Pyott, director of Illinois' chapter of The Nature Conservancy, announced in May that his organization had received $500,000 from the Robert R. McCormick Charitable Trust. The funds are being used to acquire and restore natural lands and wildlife habitat in the Chicago area.

The grant money has been targeted at three of the organization's current projects:

• At the Indian Boundary Prairies in suburban Markham, the money will purchase approximately half of the 150 acres the conservancy would like to add to this prairie preserve. The preserve, which already encompasses nearly 150 acres, supports many rare prairie birds and mammals, over 200 species of native plants and more species of prairie butterflies than any other site in Illinois. Part of this site was declared a National Natural Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior in late 1987.
• At the Lake Renwick Heron Rookery in Plainfield, funds will be used to protect nesting sites. More than 552 nests of rare birds can be found on three small islands in the middle of this lake which was created as a result of gravel mining. The rookery is arguably the most populous Illinois nesting site for great blue herons, great egrets, double crested cormorants and black crowned night herons (The latter two are on the state's endangered species list.). The Will County Forest Preserve District is cooperating with The Nature Conservancy's protective efforts.
• Restoration of the Poplar Creek Prairie and Savanna was launched this year. This joint effort with the Cook County Forest Preserve District began at Poplar Creek Forest Preserve where 600 acres of oak savanna, prairie and former farm fields are threatened by an invasion of dense weedy brush. Volunteers are currently removing this brush and reintroducing native prairie plants.

The Nature Conservancy is an international conservation organization that protects habitat for rare and endangered species and communities — often by buying land on the open market. The conservancy's 17,000 Illinoisd members have helped protect more than 22,000 acres at more than 104 sites throughout the state.

Successful Middle Fork appeal means protected status

It's official. A 17.1-mile stretch of the Middle Fork of the Vermilion River has been granted National Scenic River status by U.S. Department of Interior Secy. Manuel Lujan. The state's request that the river be given the federal designation was denied by former Interior Secy. Donald Hodel during the final days of the Reagan administration. Gov. Thompson, who has actively pushed for the national status for the last 13 years, appealed that decision in February.

Clark Bullard, who was the director of the statewide Committee on the Middle Fork of the Vermilion River, said, "It's taken 22 years of work by over 100,000 Illinoisans to convince 80 percent of our state lawmakers and 95 percent of our congressional delegation and the Secretary of the Interior that we ought to protect these 17.1 miles of our natural heritage for future generations to enjoy."

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The Middle Fork of the Vermilion is the first river in Illinois and the Midwest to be designated a National Scenic River. The designation, which provides an additional layer of federal protection to help keep the river in its natural state, should draw many canoe enthusiasts to Illinois.

Guardianship & Advocacy Commission announces new Human Rights Authority members

The Guardianship and Advocacy Commission announced in May appointments and re-appointments to its Human Rights Authority (HRA). Authority members serve three-year terms but may only serve a maximum of six years.

• Appointed in Region 1A (Rockford) was Sharon R. Rudy, a Rockford attorney in private practice.
• In Region 1B (Peoria), Nancy Dyer of Moline, Donald Roller of Peoria and Nancy L. Pease of Peoria Heights were reappointed.
• In Region 2N (Elgin), Karen Heine Egenes of Clarendon Hills and Joy Landre of McHenry were reappointed. Newly appointed in the region was Lynne McLaughlin of Elgin, energy director for Community Contacts Inc.
• Reappointed in Region 3B (Champaign) were Marsha L. Combs of Charleston, Phyllis G. Hunt of Decatur, Richard C. Kleckner of Champaign and Adelle M. Renzaglia, also of Champaign.

Each of the nine HRA regions has a panel of nine appointed volunteers. As the investigative arm of the commission, the authority seeks to improve conditions in public and private facilities serving the disabled.

Historical Society elects new president

The Illinois State Historical Society has a new president. James G. Schneider of Kankakee was chosen for the spot by the society's members at their 89th annual meeting in Springfield. Schneider is chairman and chief executive officer of the Kankakee Federal Savings and Loan Association. He has been with the Kankakee S&L since 1954.

Schneider has been a member of the Illinois State Historical Society for nearly 20 years and currently serves as director of the Kankakee County Historical Society Foundation. He is also a member of the society's Second Century Campaign Steering Committee which has secured over $1 million in private sector funding to endow the society's programs and begin new initiatives to preserve Illinois history.

Conservation's public information, marketing programs under new direction

Mark Frech, director of the Department of Conservation, announced the appointment of Carol Knowles as head of the agency's public information program and Robert Winchester as head of its marketing program. The appointments were effective May 30.

As head of the public information office, Knowles will be responsible for agency publications, press relations and the audio-visual department. She comes to conservation from United Press International where she had been Springfield bureau chief since 1985. Knowles joined UPI in 1982.

As head of the Office of Resource Marketing and Education, Winchester is responsible for the agency's special events and marketing sections. A former state representative (R-118, Harrisburg), Winchester sponsored legislation creating the state's parks and recreation fund and backed funding for tourism during his 10 years in the General Assembly (1975-85). He was appointed head of the Department of Conservation's parks and lodge program in 1985.

One of Winchester's pet programs is Kids for Conservation, which has grown to 80,000 members, mostly children from 3-15 years of age. The program publishes a newsletter to keep its young members informed about conservation issues. By promoting such awareness now, it is hoped that these kids will grow up to be conservation-minded adults. If he can win additional funding, Winchester would like to extend the program into the schools with the state's teachers receiving information on conservation issues. For more details on the Kids for Conservation program, call Glenda Burke at (217) 524-4126.

Common Cause's Manske survives his first year of Illinois politics

Although he expected "that the going would be rugged," Common Cause's executive director John Manske was "somewhat startled" at just how rough Illinois politics can be. As head of the citizens watchdog lobby group's Illinois chapter for the last year, Manske, a former Wisconsin legislator, can cite some successes and detail a few disappointments after experiencing his first full session of the Illinois General Assembly.

Both at the top of his Illinois agenda and at the top of his list of disappointments during this last session are laws governing the disclosure of lobby expenditures and campaign contribution limits. Bills covering lobby expenditures didn't get out of committee, and the campaign contributions bill sponsored by Sen. Dawn Clark Netsch (D-4, Chicago) also failed to win legislative approval. Gov. Thompson has twice vetoed similar legislation governing campaign contributions and limiting how much gubernatorial candidates can spend.

Among his successes Manske counts a Senate bill that would establish a voluntary code of campaign ethics and legislation that facilitates voter registration in such satellite locations as drivers licensing facilities.

Manske comes to Illinois from Wisconsin. He was elected to that state's legislature in June 1981 but didn't get seated until June 1982 because his opponent contested the outcome. The case was eventually decided by the Wisconsin State Supreme Court. Manske served until 1986. In 1987 he became the legislative liaison for the Wisconsin Department of Health and Social Services, a post he held until joining Common Cause in Illinois.

Common Cause got its start in 1970 as a one-issue lobby group intent upon stopping U.S. involvement in Vietnam. Since that time, the group has expanded both its focus and its size. Well known today for its efforts to ensure accountability, ethics and openness in government,

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Harvesting the river The Illinois State Museum is offering IIlinoisans — and non-Illinoisans — a unique opportunity to explore the Illinois River and its past, present and future. Harvesting the River, a traveling exhibition about life and work on the Illinois, was launched August 27 in Peoria. During its 640-mile tour, the exhibit will visit 18 ports of call before returning to Peoria the week before Thanksgiving. Project director Craig E. Colten estimates that 200,000-300,000 people will view the exhibit. Housed on board a 1950s-era towboat, the Belle Reynolds, the 1,500 square-foot gallery affords visitors a glimpse into such traditional Illinois River occupations as commercial fishing, mussel gathering and market hunting as well as into many other skills associated with life along the river. Using artifacts, historic photographs and audio tapes of interviews with river folk, the exhibit will deliver a unique view into a rapidly disappearing way of life. The exhibit explores three themes. "The Nature of the River" looks at the natural geographic setting of the Illinois River Valley. "The Harvesters and Their Workplace" explains the relationship between the people who followed the ways of the river and the resources they harvested for food, pleasure and trade. The last theme, "Conflict and Change," depicts the social and environmental changes of the past century and their influences on river life. Held in conjunction with the floating exhibit will be a series of public programs, including a lecture series, folk art demonstrations and live entertainment. The 18 ports of call are also planning local events which will include annual celebrations, craft demonstrations and sales, music and theater performances, food concessions, displays and contests. Many of these local celebrations and special programs, as well as the exhibit, are open to the public free of charge. The museum, which has been planning and developing the project for more than four years, has received assistance from several quarters in defraying the project's $500,000 pricetag. Major grants were received from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Illinois Humanities Council and the Caterpillar Foundation. Also providing support is Central Illinois Light Company of Peoria, GTE North Incorporated of Bloominton, Illinois Bell of Chicago and Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company Inc. of Alton. After departing Peoria on August 27, "Harvesting the River" stopped August 28-30 at Hennepin's Riverfront Park. The exhibit's remaining ports of call include: Illini State Park: September 1-4 at the riverside area Joliet: September 5-10 at the Will-Joliet Bicentennial Park Morris: September 11-14 at Stratton State Park Starved Rock State Park: September 16-20 at the riverside area Henry: September 21-23 at Waterworks Park Lacon: September 24-26 at the city marina Chillicothe: September 28-October 1 at Cutright Park Havana: October 2-8 at Riverfront Park Beardstown: October 9-12 at the riverfront (Main Street) Kampsville: October 14-16 at Riverfront Park Alton: October 17-23 at the Great River Road St. Louis: October 25-27 at the Gateway Arch Grafton: October 28-31 at the city's public boat launch Hardin: November 1-3 at the riverfront (Water Street) Meredosia: November 4-6 at the city's public boat launch Pekin: November 8-12 at the city's public boat launch Peoria: November 13-22 at the Boat-works

Common Cause has more than 270,000 members in 47 states, including 11,000 members in Illinois. Nationally it counts among its successes presidential campaign funding reforms, including the $1 income tax checkoff which it helped to establish.

First annual Whitman Education Awards go to 20 Chicago principals

Whitman Corporation (formerly IC Industries), the Chicago-based manufacturer of food, mufflers, soft drinks and food refrigeration equipment, decided to make its own mark on Illinois education. "By recognizing good principals, hopefully we encourage others to do a good job," said Karl D. Bays, Whitman chairman.

The first Whitman Education Awards for Excellence in Education Management went to 20 Chicago area school principals in June. They were chosen out of 200 nominees by a 22-member committee of top educators, civic leaders and business executives. Each honoree will receive $5,000 to spend on a school project of his or her choice.

"We're not going to change the world, but we can make significant progress," Bays said. "We can start a little power of positive thinking."

Bar associations elect new officers

Two of the state's top bar associations installed new officers in June and July.

The new third vice president of the Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA) is Peter H. Lousberg of East Moline. He defeated James J. Elson for the post and will become ISBA president in 1992-93. An association member since the early 1960s, Lousberg served on ISBA's Board of Governors from 1969-74 and also has been a member of the ISBA Assembly, the group's policymaking body.

Lousberg succeeds Thomas A. Clancy, a Chicago attorney, who moved up to second vice president. He will serve as president in 1991-92. Belleville attorney Maurice E. Bone, who will serve as president in 1990-91, is now first vice president. Leonard F. Amari, a Chicago lawyer, is the current ISBA president, succeeding Jerome Mirza.

Officers elected in July by the association's 25-member board of governors were Peoria attorney Timothy L. Bertschy as secretary and Terrence K. Hegarty of Chicago as treasurer.

Installed at the Chicago Bar Association's (CBA) annual meeting was new second vice president Laurel G. Bellows. She will become the association's second woman president in 1991. The first woman to serve as CBA president was Esther R. Rothstein in 1977-78. Bellows has chaired five CBA committees and has served on the group's Board of Managers where she is currently secretary. She succeeds Gordon B. Nash Jr. who moved up to first vice president and will be president in 1990. Chester L. Blair, the first black ever to serve as the CBA's top officer, is the 1989 president.

Other CBA officers elected were Dixie L. Laswell, secretary, and Thomas A. Demetrio, treasurer.

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Brownridge elected to GFOA Executive Board

J. Paul Brownridge of Chicago was elected to the executive board of the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) during the group's 83rd annual conference on public finance in Seattle, Wash. Brownridge, the former revenue director for the city of Chicago, will serve a three-year term.

GFOA's membership consists of nearly 12,000 local, state and provincial government finance officers and others responsible for financial policy decisions in governmental units, public employee retirement systems and various special districts. The association is headquartered in Chicago.

Lederman appoints two at Fermilab

Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) Director Leon M. Lederman has appointed two of the facility's longest tenured scientists as associate directors.

J. Ritchie Orr of Warrenville is the new associate director for administration. He, along with Helen Edwards who recently left Fermilab to work on the superconducting super collider in Texas, was instrumental in the successful construction, commissioning and operation of the Energy Saver, the superconducting synchrotron that is part of the TEVATRON collider, currently the highest energy particle accelerator in the world. He has been with the facility since 1970. From 1972-74 he was head of the neutrino lab. Orr has also served as deputy head of Fennilab's research division (1974-75) and as business manager (1976-77). From 1978 until its completion in 1984, he headed up the Energy Saver project. Orr was head of the accelerator division from 1981-86. Since that time he has served as an associate director at large, "successfully sort[ing] out a number of difficult problems for the directorate," according to Lederman.

The new associate director for technology is Dennis Theriot Jr. of Wheaton. He has been with the research facility since 1969, starting as a staff physicist in its radiation physics department. Theriot spent nine years (1972-81) in the neutrino department where he held a number of posts, including department head. In 1981 he moved to the collider detector department where he has served as deputy department head, deputy operations group leader and experimental support group leader. Prior to coming to Fermilab, Theriot did postdoctoral work at Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory in New Mexico (1968-69) and at CERN, the European organization for nuclear research, in Geneva, Switzerland (1967-68).

Fermilab is operated under contract with the U.S. Department of Energy by Universities Research Association Inc.

More names added to Vietnam memorial

The names of 13 more Illinois servicemen who died in Vietnam were engraved on the black granite wall of the Illinois Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Springfield this spring. A formal ceremony honoring these men and commemorating the first anniversary of the memorial's dedication was held in May. The memorial's wall now contains the names of 2,965 Illinois servicemen who died or are still missing in the Vietnam war.

The 13 names added include John C. Davia of Brookfield, Kurt W. Gareiss (address unknown), Richard P. Hawkes (address unknown), Jeffery A. Hults (address unknown), Paul J. Lueking of Hecker, Michael D. McAdoo of Chester, Dennis R. O'Niel of Norris City, Franklin W. Picking of Freeport, Charles D. Snyder of Eldorado, Charles E. Stokes of Stone Park, Phillip P. Summers of Ellis Grove, Robert W. Tuskey Sr. of Downers Grove and Ronald A. Wolter of Carpentersville.

The circles denoting POW/MIA status were also removed from in front of the names of Robert Lynn and Kenneth Thomas Jr., whose remains were recently returned to the U.S.

Three Illinois teachers win McAuliffe Fellowships

Three Illinois teachers were among those chosen by the U.S. Department of Education as winners of 1989-90 Christa McAuliffe Fellowships. The fellowship program, now in its third year, honors the late Christa McAuliffe, the teacher who died in the Challenger space shuttle explosion in January 1986.

The Illinois teachers include:

• George W. Dervis of Glen Ellyn, who teaches at Evanston Township High School. His project is "Remote Sensing/Geographic Information."
• Siri J. Hartsfield of Springfield, who teaches at Jane Addams Elementary School. "Students Using Architecture and and Technology" is the subject of her project.
• Susan J. Woodfin of Benton, who teaches at Benton High School. Her project is entitled "Science and Visually Impaired Students."

The fellowship program enables teachers to continue their education, develop innovative new programs and engage in a variaty of educational opportunities. Each of the teachers will receive approximately $14,930 in federal funds to work on their projects for 12 months. Teachers are expected to return to their school systems for at least two years after completing the fellowships.

Agriculture recognizes outstanding employees

Department of Agriculture Director Larry A. Werries presented awards to four outstanding employees of his department during a special spring ceremony in Springfield.

Terry Langley received the Director's Service Award. A mechanical engineer, he keeps the construction and rehabilitation of the department's projects on course. His major goal is to have an automated energy management system in all the buildings on the Illinois State Fairgrounds.

Winning Outstanding Service Awards were Harry Devlin and Leo Schlesinger. Devlin, a laboratory seed technician, has been with the department since 1972. In charge of maintaining inventory controls, Devlin works closely with farmers, initiating the labeling and weighing of samples that they bring in. Delvin has also served as a member of Virginia's school board. Schlesinger is the department's meat and poultry inspectors' supervisor in the Chicago area, a position he has held since 1980 when the department assumed responsibility for meat inspection from the city of Chicago. Schlesinger is responsible for ensuring that meat and poultry processing plants maintain proper standards.

The department's "Rooter Award" went to Chuck Ward. The award, which was established in 1982, goes to a person or section at the Department of Agriculture that "roots out" the most waste and inefficiency. Ward's network of contacts in other state agencies, along with his skill at "cutting a deal," has saved the department thousands of dollars through the years.

Illinois high schools place well in JETS competion

Two Illinois high schools placed first in their enrollment categories, and three others were in

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the top four in the national Junior Engineering Technical Society's (JETS) Invitational TEAMS contest.

Oak Park's Fenwick High was first in its category of 500-999 students and Hinsdale Central topped the 1,000-1,999 student enrollment category. In the 2000 + class, Evanston Township tied for second with the Illinois Math and Science Academy of Aurora. Red Bud High School, about 50 miles southeast of St. Louis, was fourth in the nation in the smallest school category, with student enrollment less than 499.

The JETS competition is a series of multiple-choice exams in physics, chemistry, biology, mathematics, English and computer fundamentals. Each test has 40 questions and a 40-minute time limit. The scores are averaged for students taking each test from the same school, then totaled for the school.

Illinois was the only state to place four schools among the top three winners in each of the various enrollment categories.

Decatur's director of public works one of top 10 in nation

Jon Henson, an artist from Benton, Ky., won the 1990 Migratory Waterfowl Stamp Art contest with this acrylic painting depicting two snow geese flying over a flooded southern Illinois cornfield in late fall. Henson said the painting, one of 146 entries, was made from memory and took him 20 hours to complete. This was the first time that Henson had entered the Illinois contest. In addition to having his work appear on the 1990 Illinois Migratory Waterfowl Stamp, he will receive a $1,000 purchase award.

William B. Sands, director of public works for the city of Decatur, was one of 10 outstanding professionals recognized by the American Public Works Association (AWPA) in May. Decided by a distinguished panel of judges, the awards are designed to inspire excellence and dedicated public service by recognizing the outstanding contributions of 10 individuals each year.

Among Sands' accomplishments cited by the AWPA were the approximately $175 million worth of public works improvements completed since 1970, his leadership of a task force during the drought of 1988 that developed interim and long-term solutions for water supply emergencies and his development of a cold-mix recycling technique that produces structurally adequate pavement for less than one-third the cost of conventional methods.

Sands is both a registered professional engineer and a land surveyor. He is actively involved in the AWPA and serves as Illinois chapter president and delegate.

Emmons named Correctional Officer of the Year

The 1989 Illinois Correctional Officer of the Year is Rod Emmons who has been employed at Pontiac Correctional Center since 1987. Emmons' nomination for the award was based largely on his heroic performance during a stabbing incident at Pontiac in March 1988 when he subdued one of the assailants and recovered a weapon. Emmons also scored well in the attendance, attitude, initiative and leadership categories. He received $500, a plaque and letters of commendation from Gov. Thompson and Michael Lane, director of the Department of Corrections. Emmons also won a trip to the American Correctional Association's summer congress in Baltimore.

One employee from each of the 18 adult prisons across the state was nominated for the award and judged in eight areas.

Booth leaves Chicago for Washington, D.C.

After 25 years of organizing community and political groups throughout the nation from her home base in Chicago, activist Heather Booth decided to leave Illinois in May for Washington, D.C. There she will devote most of her time to the Citizen Action Fund, a nationwide coalition of community groups that she organized in 1980.

Booth's Chicago-based Midwest Academy has trained thousands of activists since she established it in 1972. "Heather will be too modest to take the credit, but you can look at women's groups, utilities groups, labor groups, community groups all over the country and find leaders who learned the trade from Heather Booth," according to the academy's executive director, Jackie Kendall, who will take over the day-to-day operations of the academy. Booth will continue as the academy's president.

Booth, who had been in Chicago since she enrolled in The University of Chicago in 1963, joined her husband, Paul Booth, in Washington D.C, where he serves as field services director for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). □

August & September 1989 | Illinois Issues | 67