CONVERSATION WITH THE PUBLISHER

Regionalism remains on the minds of the state's leaders and planners
by Ed Wojcicki

We continue our focus on regionalism in this issue. David Moberg's excellent essay on page 30 describes the Chicago region as a player in the global economy. Moberg writes at length about the corporate world and factors affecting the quality of life in that section of the state. In particular, he describes the efforts of World Business Chicago, a relatively new initiative of the Civic Committee designed to help Chicagoans think not only regionally, but globally.

We are paying a lot of attention this year to the subject of regionalism because more state and local leaders are looking for collaborative ways to address such policy issues as transportation, the environment and economic development. We're grateful to The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation for funding the series. You can find all of the articles on our web site (www.uis.edu/~ilissues) by entering the "Projects" section. See at a glance how the pieces fit together.

Illinois Issues is among many who are raising the visibility of regionalism. The Great Cities Institute of the University of Illinois at Chicago and two other groups sponsored a national forum last month in Chicago on urban-suburban interdependence.

It is also noteworthy that Glenn Poshard and George Ryan made their first joint appearance after the primary at a luncheon of the Metropolitan Planning Council, where both gubernatorial candidates shared their views on regional approaches to the states' problems.

Meanwhile, we asked you readers about regionalism in a recent Question of the Month. Some of your responses are on page 40.

We also continue our analysis of campaign finance in Illinois with an essay on page 12. Funding for this article came from the Sunshine Project of the Illinois Legislative Studies Center on our campus. That project is funded by the Joyce Foundation.

Everybody seems to know that Samuel W. Witwer Sr. was the "Father of the Illinois Constitution" because he chaired the convention that rewrote the state's Constitution of 1970. Far fewer people would recall that Witwer, who died September 13 at the age of 90, was also one of the founders of Illinois Issues magazine.

Along with Paul Simon and Samuel K. Gove, Witwer was instrumental in getting this magazine started on our campus. The first issue went on sale in January 1975. Witwer served on the magazine's board until 1992, and he was honored as a "member emeritus" three years ago.

On behalf of the staff and board of Illinois Issues, we send our condolences to his wife Ethyl and family. 

Illinois Issues October 1998 ¦ 3