Libraries: Key to Illinois' Future By GEORGE H. RYAN, Lieutenant Governor

Illinoisans have always held a deep respect for Abraham Lincoln, not only for his brilliance as a statesman and U.S. president, but also because he-is one of our own.

But it's time to do more to pay tribute to this world-renowned Illinoisan. We need to explore the possibility of creating an Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library within the new state library in Springfield. The library could be established as a central resource center on Lincoln, bringing together a collection of Lincoln materials and providing a starting point for research on our sixteenth president.

To further honor Lincoln, I propose the creation of an Abraham Lincoln Institute, which would be a national research body committed to the study of the issues which had enlisted Lincoln.

By creating a presidential library in Mr. Lincoln's honor — and in his home town — we can make "The Railsplitter's" insights and wisdom more accessible to everyone.

The Lincoln library and institute are components of a broad-based series of position papers I recently issued. They spell out my views in the race for secretary of state.

As a candidate to be the next State Librarian, I realize the importance of both libraries and librarians in our lives. However, libraries cannot be of much service if they do not have funds for operation and expansion. Libraries are funded through property tax levies as well as grants from the office of the Secretary of State. With tax cuts and freezes being the hottest issues of the day, the future of libraries is certainly on shaky ground. They must not be hurt disproportionately from any tax freeze that may be enacted. In addition, in rural areas 20% of the people live on 80% of the land — so it is important that we find ways to expand services without extending the property tax burden to economically hard-hit farmers and small towns. I plan to seek new and innovative ways to fund our libraries in order to reduce reliance on property taxes and to further secure quality library service to all.

To promote further excellence in our libraries, I want to improve the status of library professionals. These individuals can be recognized for their achievements in this field by being classified as a "master librarian," a "children's librarian" and so forth. Moreover, scholarships should be established as an incentive to attract candidates to a career in a profession of such merit.

In my first position paper, I focused on eradicating illiteracy, a disease which affects an estimated 2 million people in Illinois. My initiatives include efforts to break the cycle of illiteracy by establishing programs to educate illiterate parents, to expand literacy training of Illinois prison inmates and to require that high school students pass a rigorous literacy test before graduation.

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Furthermore, I will make the workplace a battlefield in my war on illiteracy. Employers must guarantee the job security of illiterate workers who come forward for training. Employers also should assist employees in passing G.E.D, examinations.

The perpetuation of illiteracy places an immense burden on the shoulders of our society and on our most valuable resource, our children. As the next secretary of state, I will be the leading force in the campaign for literacy in Illinois.

I will continue to develop position papers highlighting additional issues and initiative for the office of the secretary of state.

As election time draws near, my vision for the secretary of state's office have taken form. I see the secretary of state as having the ability to be a highly positive force — not only in highway safety — but also in the educational environment in Illinois.

I look forward to that privilege and challenge. •

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