Over the years, I've come to think of the magazine as having a life all its own. Beyond, perhaps despite, the intentions and attentions of any one editor, it sometimes takes surprising turns. Every editor and writer, every artist and photographer contributes something to character and content, making the magazine different, then different again.

This fall, Illinois Issues takes another one of those turns. Three editors and writers have joined the staff. Burney Simpson will run our Statehouse bureau. Maureen Foertsch McKinney, our new projects editor, is already at work on our annual arts issue. And Rosalie Warren, a refugee from law school and our graduate assistant for the year, put two bylines under her belt in short order. Each brings new life to the magazine.

Burney comes to our Statehouse bureau with a strong background in investigative and financial journalism. He began as a market trader. At the Chicago Board Options Exchange, he edited a national computer bulletin board for securities investors and traders. He moved on to The Chicago Reporter, an investigative monthly that focuses on race and poverty.

During five years at that magazine, Burney developed considerable expertise on the relationship between money and politics, spurring change in city government and winning awards from fellow journalists. His national analysis of congressional fund-raising by race and ethnicity broke new ground. His research on Chicago voter registration led the Board of Election to conduct an unprecedented canvass of the rolls and won him a National Press Club honor. His assessment of Empowerment Zones motivated the city to set new rules and earned an award from the National Association of Black Journalists. Along the way, Burney contributed to Agence France Press, Campaign & Elections magazine, Asian Week and Illinois Issues. And he coached the Reporter's softball team to Alternative Press World Championships in 1994 and 1995. (Ummm.) Most recently, he was a reporter for Faulkner & Gray, a business publisher.

As for covering state government, Burney says, "If you want to follow the money, it's important to be at the center of things. And the timing is great. Illinois is at an interesting turning point." The federal government has shifted some responsibility out of Washington, making the states more important. And we'll get a new governor next year. But the changing economy also interests Burney. There will be plenty to keep his eyes on. "As the business community becomes more international and the farm economy contracts, will Illinois lose influence as a financial player?" he asks. "Are we in danger of becoming a so-called financial flyover state? And is Chicago going to remain a crossroads for transportation, or fritter that advantage away?"

Meanwhile, Maureen swears she can't wait to get to work each morning. As projects editor, she'll have significant responsibilities next year when we launch the magazine's 25th anniversary series on key state issues. This is, she agrees, "a great time because we'll be taking an intense look at the history of policy in Illinois." She'll help guide what gets covered and how.

Maureen began in daily newspapers in Charleston and Wheaton, where she won awards from the Illinois Press Association and United Press International for local government and education reporting. She moved to the Daily Herald, a suburban metro newspaper, to cover schools. Beginning in 1995, she covered Illinois for the State Net Capitol Journal, an electronic publication.

Our graduate assistant, Rosalie, began writing and editing at Knox College, where she won a prize for the best essay written by a freshman and managed Catch, its literary journal. She's a graduate student in English at the University of Illinois at Springfield. Rosalie will have responsibility for our Roster of State Government Officials and help with our Web page.

We've said our share of goodbyes over the years here, too. But everyone managed to leave something of themselves behind, as these folks will. As for the magazine, it continues to be more than the sum of its parts.

And that's good. 

4 ¦ November 1998 Illinois Issues