Leininger new education superintendent

C. Robert Leininger, acting state superintendent of education since May, got the job on a permanent basis in August. He was selected from a field of over 80 applicants to succeed Ted Sanders, who resigned in April to accept the No. 2 position in the U.S. Department of Education. Leininger had been Sanders' chief of staff since March 1987.

Leininger said he has three priorities: to seek a permanent state income tax increase, to make the state's school aid formula more equitable and to study the quality of junior high school education.

Leininger plans to lobby vigorously to convince legislators that the two-year income tax increase passed in June should be made permanent. Public schools will receive $300 million annually from the temporary tax. First, said Leininger, "our concern. . . is to account for and make sure that the money is effectively used. Then, we can prove to the General Assembly that the tax should be sustained."

He expects legislation to revise the school aid formula to be introduced in the spring session of the General Assembly. "We have to come up with a system that is fair to kids," Leininger said. "Right now, spending per pupil ranges from $2,100 to $11,000, and that is not fair." Supt. Leininger's third priority comes in the wake of a nationwide report that found a majority of junior high schools are failing to meet teenagers' needs.

Leininger was the unanimous choice of the 17-member State Board of Education, said its chairman, Thomas Burroughs: "Of all the people we interviewed all across the nation, he was the best person."

Leininger, who has 30 years of experience in education, got a three-year contract for $100,000 annually. He was earning $78,000 as chief of staff and acting superintendent; Sanders was earning $110,000 annually when he resigned.

Navy Pier to be renovated

Chicago's Navy Pier will finally get its long-awaited renovation. Backed by $150 million in state bonds financed with money that is diverted from state sales tax receipts, work on the pier could begin by next summer. Additional funds must be sought from private sources for development,

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but, according to Gov. James R. Thompson, first the pier must undergo major repairs to make it safe: "If we don't rehabilitate the pier, it will fall into [Lake Michigan.]"

A new 13-member, state-city board was established to guide the pier's rehabilitation and its subsequent development. Known as the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, the new unpaid board will oversee Chicago's McCormick Place, replacing the 12-member Metropolitan Fair and Exhibition Authority. Appointment powers to the new board are shared by the governor and the mayor of Chicago.

The board chairman, appointed by Mayor Daley, is his former chief of staff, John Schmidt. The board's executive director, appointed by Gov. Thompson, is his former deputy governor, James Reilly. Reilly will be paid $160,000 annually.

Thompson's board member appointments are James Bolin, vice president of Merrill Lynch; Patrick Daley, chairman of Daley & Associate; Chandra K. Jhu, president and chief executive officer of PSM International; Alexander Lerner, executive vice president of the Illinois State Medical Society; Tim Roche, president of Sheet Metal Workers' International Local 73; and former U.S. Atty. Dan Webb, now a partner with Winston & Strawn. Bolin, Daley, Lerner and Roche were members of the now disbanded authority that oversaw McCormick Place.

Mayor Daley's other board appointments are Michael Bruton, secretary-treasurer of the Chicago Federation of Labor; Carmen Caldero, president of CPC Electrical Supply; John Rogers, president of Ariel Capital Management; Thomas Rosenberg, president of Capital Associates; attorney William Tuggle; and Marion Volini, former 48th Ward alderman.

Governor's appointments

With less than 16 months remaining in his term, Gov. James R. Thompson has reshuffled some of the top jobs in key state agencies.

John Washburn, who had been head of the Department of Insurance since November 1983, was named deputy governor. He assumed those duties on September 15. Washburn has served in state government since 1973. He will earn $85,000 a year as deputy governor.

Washburn replaced James Reilly, who in August was appointed executive director of the new Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority. Reilly will earn $160,000 a year.

Zack Stamp replaced Washburn as director ofthe Department of Insurance, effective September 15. His appointment must be confirmed by the Senate. He will receive an annual salary of $60,349. Stamp was the governor's director of legislative affairs.

Replacing Stamp as director of legislative affairs is Steve Selcke, who had been director of the Department of Professional Regulation. Selcke's new position as the governor's chief liaison with the General Assembly became effective October 1. He will receive an annual salary of $75,000. Selcke's successor, or an acting director, at the department was expected to be named October 1.

Other appointments by Thompson were:

• Ngoan Lee, as special assistant to the governor for Asian-American affairs. Lee came to the United States from Vietnam in 1975. She was previously executive director of the Vietnamese Association of Illinois where she administered and coordinated job counseling and economic development assistance programs. Her new annual salary is $35,000. Lee replaces Shinae Chun, who was appointed director of the Department of Financial Institutions.
• Eric Watson, as Thompson's new director of scheduling. Watson has been in state government for five years. He will earn $44,000 annually.
• Cathy Ficker Terrill, as executive director of the Illinois Planning Council on Developmental Disabilities. Her annual salary is $52,000. Formerly special assistant to the Department of Public Aid's Medicaid administrator, she helped guide the state's response to the U.S. Omnibus Reconciliation Act.

New prisons, new wardens

The Department of Corrections will open three new prisons this fall and next summer, and Director Michael P. Lane recently appointed new wardens for these facilities.

Rodney J. Ahitow will be the warden at the Illinois River Correctional Center in Canton. The 728-bed medium security prison will open this fall. Ahitow joined the department in 1969 and most recently was assistant warden for programs at the Hill Correctional Center in Galesburg.

Marjorie Brown will be in charge of the 600-bed minimum security prison to open next summer in Robinson. Prior to this appointment, Brown had been assistant warden for operations at the East Moline Correctional Center. She has been with the department since 1978.

Michael Furrie will oversee Taylorville's 600-bed minimum security prison scheduled to open next summer. Furrie had been assistant warden for programs at the Jacksonville Correctional Center since 1983. He has worked for the department since 1975, except for a three-year stint (1978-81) as school psychologist for Lincoln Land Community College's special education system in Springfield.

Guardianship & Advocacy elects officers

The Guardianship and Advocacy Commission, meeting at the end of June, reelected its officers for second one-year terms. Officers include state Rep. Karen Hasara (R-100, Springfield), chairperson; Carol A. Madison of Edwardsville, vice chairperson; James D. Pitts Jr. of Chicago, treasurer; and Corinne Hallett of Hinsdale, secretary.

The commission also made several appointments and reappointments to its Human Rights Authority:

• In Region 1A (Rockford), Mary A. Olson of Sycamore, a DeKalb County Community Services director, was appointed.
• In Region 3B (Champaign), Laura Wozniak of Urbana, a psychotherapist, was appointed.
• In Region 4 (Metro East area), Mardra Y. Banks of Glen Carbon and Marlene A. Brandt of Granite City were reappointed.
• In Region 5 (Carbondale), Gina Green of Carbondale was reappointed.

The Judiciary

The Illinois Supreme Court has announced the following appointments, assignments, resignations and retirements:

1st District Appellate Court

• Appointed to Board of Trustees, Judges Retirement System: Michael A. Bilandic of Chicago.

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• Appointed as alternate member of the Appellate Court's Industrial Commission Division: Charles E. Freeman of Chicago.
• Appointed as a member of the Supreme Court's Committee on Implementation of Jury Standards: Blanche M. Manning of Chicago.
• Appointed members of the appellate court's Administrative Committee: Daniel J. McNamara (reappointment) and Anthony Scariano, both of Chicago.
• Reappointed to the Supreme Court's Rules Committee: Dom J. Rizzi of Chicago.

2nd District Appellate Court

• Retirement: William R. Nash of Rockford, a retired circuit judge (17th Circuit) who has been serving by assignment on the appellate court, will retire when his current assignment expires on December 3, 1989. Assigned to the appellate court since 1977, Nash has been a judicial officer since 1968.

4th District Appellate Court

• Assigned to appellate duty: Robert J. Steigman of Urbana, judge of the 6th Judicial Circuit, effective July 10, 1989. Steigman was also reappointed in June as a member of the Supreme Court's Committee on Jury Instructions in Criminal Cases.

5th District Appellate Court

• Reappointed as a member of the appellate court's Administrative Committee: Moses W. Harrison II of Granite City.

Cook County Circuit Court

• Appointed circuit judge: Philip L. Bronstein to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Frank Petrone, Thomas P. Durkin to fill the vacancy created by the expiration of Richard Samuels' term, Themis N. Karnezis to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Richard Fitzgerald, and James H. Williams to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Roger Kiley Jr. All reside in Chicago and had previously served as associate judges in the Cook County Circuit Court. The appointments were effective July 1, except for Bronstein's which took effect August 1.
• Assigned to duty: Retired circuit Judges John A. McElligott of Chicago and Edward E. Plusdrak of Palatine, effective July 1 to January 1, 1990.
• Assignments extended: Retired circuit Judges Morton C. Elden, Hyman Feldman, Philip A. Fleischman, Joseph Gordon, Benjamin J. Nelson, Margaret G. O'Malley, Arthur A. Sullivan, Alfred B. Teton, Raymond E. Trafelet, Eugene L. Wachowski and Louis A. Wexler, effective immediately to January 1, 1990.
• Elected associate judges by full circuit judges: Gary L. Brownfield of Chicago, a member of the Cook County public defender's office since 1974; David R. Donnersberger of Chicago, an attorney with the Olive-Harvey City Wide Colleges of Chicago; Perry J. Gulbrandsen of Chicago, an arbitrator with the Illinois Industrial Commission since 1979; Lambros J. Kutrubis of Chicago, with the Illinois Attorney General's Office since 1986; James B. Linn of Chicago, a partner with Dubin, Linn & Associates; Clifford L. Meacham of Oak Park, an assistant and acting U.S. trustee for the Northern District of Illinois, U.S. Department of Justice, since 1983; Shelia M. Murphy of Chicago, a member of The Murphy Law Firm since 1980; James G. Smith of Glenview, a lawyer for the city of Des Plaines since 1979; Bernard R. Spak of Lincolnwood, a member of Spak & Associates since 1981; Michael W. Stuttley of Homewood, with the Law Office of Michael W. Stuttley; and Thomas M. Tucker of Wilmette, an assistant Cook County state's attorney since 1977.

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3rd Judicial Circuit

• Selected chief judge: Charles Romani of Edwardsville. He succeeds P.J. O'Neill.
• Appointed by circuit judges as associate judge: private attorney Robert P. Hennessey of Granite City.

5th Judicial Circuit

• Appointed circuit judge: Ashton C. Waller Jr. of Charleston, an associate judge, effective June 1. He fills the vacancy created by the death of William Sunderman.

• Appointed by circuit judges as associate judge: private attorney Gary W. Jacobs of Charleston.

6th Judicial Circuit

• Appointed as a member of the executive committee of the Illinois Judicial Conference: John L. Davis of Decatur, effective June 28. Judge Davis fills the vacancy created by the resignation of 7th Circuit Judge Simon L. Friedman.

7th Judicial Circuit

• Resigned: Thomas G. Roady Jr. of Carrollton, effective July 31. He had been a judicial officer since 1983.

9th Judicial Circuit

• Appointed by circuit judges as associate judge: Donald L. Stoffel of Galesburg, formerly Knox County public defender.

13th Judicial Circuit

• Resigned: Robert G. Wren of Morris, effective August 2. Wren had been a judicial officer since 1971.

14th Judicial Circuit

• Retired: William K. O'Connor of Kewanee, effective July 31. O'Connor, an associate judge, had been a judicial officer since 1979.

17th Judicial Circuit

• Resigned: John C. Layng of Rockford, effective December 1. Layng has been a judicial officer since 1970.

18th Judicial Circuit

• Appointed by circuit judges as associate judge: private attorney Ann Brackley Jorgensen of Wheaton.

21st Judicial Circuit

• Appointed by circuit judges as associate judge: private attorney Sheldon W. Reagan of Kankakee. In the 1960s Reagan had served as a circuit court magistrate.

Deakin gets new post with SIU

Director of the Illinois Senate Democratic appropriations staff since 1976, Garrett Deakin is now the executive assistant for external relations for Southern Illinois University. In making the appointment to the new post, SIU chancellor Lawrence Pettit said the position was created in anticipation of population shifts that are likely to affect the university: southern Illinois' rural population is expected to decline as the Chicago area gains more economic and political power. "The university is going to need strong relationships with legislators from southern Illinois, the Chicago area and the rest of the state," said Pettit.

Deakin, a two-degree graduate of SIU, assumed his duties September 16. He will supervise the university's governmental relations in Washington, D.C., and in Springfield. He will work with corporations as well as foundations.

Deakin has been with the state legislature staff since 1973. He first was on the Illinois House minority appropriations staff, and in 1976 he joined the Senate appropriations staff.

Illinois School for the Deaf gets new superintendent

Former Illinoisan Peter Seiler is the new superintendent of the Illinois School for the Deaf in Jacksonville. Seiler, who is deaf, was previously campus administrator at the Nebraska School for the Deaf in Omaha.

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The 43-year-old earned both of his graduate degrees in Illinois, a Ph.D. in education administration from Illinois State University in Normal and a master's in education of the auditorily impaired from Chicago's DePaul University. In 1977 he served as president of the Illinois Association of the Deaf.

Judy Pierce, who had been serving as acting superintendent and was formerly assistant superintendent, is now the new associate deputy director for education for the Illinois Department of Rehabilitation Services. Among her duties at the department, is that of liaison to the State Board of Education, local school districts and other special education programs and professionals.

McManus named Partee's press secretary

Ed McManus, reporter and editor for the Chicago Tribune and regular columnist for Illinois Issues, was named press secretary for Cook County State's Atty. Cecil Partee in late July. A June graduate of Chicago-Kent College of Law, McManus worked for Tribune for 15 years in a variety of posts, including Springfield correspondent, urban affairs editor, assistant metropolitan editor and assistant financial editor. While urban affairs editor, he wrote a series of articles exposing corruption at the Cook County Board of (Tax) Appeals that led to the conviction on federal charges of 26 board officials, attorneys, accountants and others.

McManus won the Peter Lisagor Award for Exemplary Journalism in 1988 from the Chicago Headline Club for one of his Illinois Issues columns.

Illinois Community Action Association elects board, officers

1989-90 officers for the Illinois Community Action Association's board of directors include Frank Schwab of Gillespie, president; Gwen Robinson of Rockford, vice president; Sandra Julifs of Rock Falls, secretary; and Patricia McCabe of Geneva, treasurer.

Elected to the board and appointed as committee chairpersons were John Dimit of Urbana, employment and economic development; Dwight Lucas of Danville, training and professional development; Suzan Nash of Macomb, energy affairs; James Raibley of Enfield, older Americans; Russell Rose of Centralia, legislative affairs; and Paul White of Effingham, health and welfare.

Other newly elected board members include Barbara A. Gordon of Waukegan, James Griffin of Havana and Rev. J. Solomon Benn III of Springfield.

Reappointed as the association's executive director was H. Brent DeLand of Springfield.

Other appointments

• Elizabeth March is the new public information officer for the Department of Mines and Minerals. For the previous four years, she has been a public information officer for the Illinois Information Service in its editorial, photo and graphics division.
• The new director of government relations for the Illinois Community College Trustees Association is Michael S. Mohaghan, a former legislative assistant to Illinois Senate President Philip J. Rock (D-8, Oak Park). He has been on the Illinois Senate Democratic staff the last 10 years, most recently as principal staff to the Higher Education Committee and budget analyst for the Appropriations II Committee.
• William Beeler has been reappointed state executive director of the Illinois Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Service by U.S. Department of Agriculture Secy. Clayton Yeutter. Beeler, who has 30 years experience in farming, is responsible for carrying out federal farm price support, production adjustment and cost-sharing conservation programs.

Illinois wins another Take Pride in America award

One of Illinois' two finalists in the third annual federal Take Pride in America awards program was one of 103 national winners announced in June. The Reserve Mobile Construction Battalion 26/Detachment 1326, a Navy Reserve Seabee unit headquartered in Mount Zion, was the national winner in the contest's federal government category. Illinois had 10 state winners in competition for national honors. The reserve battalion nomination was submitted by U.S. Rep. Richard J. Durbin (D-20, Springfield).

Five years ago the reserve battalion volunteered to undertake a wide range of construction projects for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers at Lake Shelbyville. The group has renewed its commitment to the corps annually and last year saved the Army more than $150,000. The battalion's 100 members work one weekend per month building nature trails, bridges, camping facilities, blinds and other hunting facilities, piers, wildlife viewing stands and facilities for handicapped visitors. One of the battalion's major projects was repair of Lake Shelbyville's dams.

The Take Pride in America program seeks to increase the public's awareness of the importance of wise use of public lands and natural resources, to encourage responsible stewardship of these lands and resources, and to promote public participation in caring for them.

High school journalists recognized for AIDS reporting

A year ago, the Illinois Department of Public Health, in cooperation with Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Illinois, launched a student reporting contest to underscore the importance of AIDS education among young people. Winners of the contest, which attracted 55 entries, were announced in late July.

Winning first place and $1,000 was Christy Blew, a 1989 graduate of Oakwood High School in Fithian. She was editor-in-chief of her high school paper, the Oakwood Times, when she wrote a series of articles about AIDS. Blew is now a student at Eastern Illinois University-Charleston, where she is studying journalism and athletic training.

Second place and $500 went to Wendy Martinkus, a student at Champaign Centennial High School. As editor of The Centinal, she wrote an editorial and column about AIDS. She is a senior this year and is news editor for The Centinal.

Emily Griffin won third place and $500. She wrote a feature story dealing with AIDS. Griffin is a senior at Naperville North High School, where she is a reporter for the school paper, The North Star.

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