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CONVERSATION WITH THE PUBLISHER
Seven reasons to celebrate
25 years of covering Illinois
by Ed Wojcicki
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A woman from the Chicago suburbs
wrote me a note about Illinois
Issues. "After reading a recent article,
I got the name of a woman whom I
asked to speak at a business and professional women's organization on the
topic of welfare," she wrote. "Our
group then developed a yearlong
program to help women. I think the
magazine is essential to Illinoisans."
Such a letter, a response to solicitations for reasons why Illinois Issues
makes a difference, is more gratifying
than you might realize, especially now
as I reflect on Illinois Issues' 25th
anniversary. We frequently get feedback
that tells us the magazine is worth
people's time for three reasons: It is
informative; it is useful; and it provides
a provocative perspective Illinoisans
cannot find anywhere else.
"Illinois Issues helps me identify
trends," an elected official told me. "In
the predominantly superficial world of
politics, Illinois Issues provides depth of
reporting. It also covers areas that other
media find too esoteric or too boring to
cover. If there had been no Illinois
Issues [over the years], my understanding of what is going on in Illinois would
have been much more constricted and
narrow."
Informative, useful and one-of-a-kind.
What began as the idea of a few
people in the mid-1970s blossomed
into a monthly publication that has become indispensable reading for about
20, 000 people every month.
The first copy of Illinois Issues rolled
out in January 1975. Twenty-five years
and nearly 300 editions later, we can
proudly say that we have found our
niche. "Without Illinois Issues it would
be impossible for me to know who's
who and what's what in the fascinating
world of Illinois politics and government," a Chicago reader wrote.
Exactly.
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An anniversary is the
perfect time to recap some
of our history. Start with
Sam Gove of the
University of Illinois'
Institute of Government
and Public Affairs and
former U.S. Sen. Paul
Simon, who was teaching on
our campus in 1974. They had a
passion for Illinois government and
believed Illinois needed a magazine
similar to those that covered the federal
government. Soon they were talking
with Sam Witwer, who was the "father"
of the 1970 Illinois constitutional
convention, and with Bill Day, research
director for the Illinois Legislative
Council, who was tapped to become the
magazine's first editor and publisher.
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They decided to house the magazine
at Sangamon State University in
Springfield, with co-sponsorship of the
University of Illinois. Then Simon and
Gove went to the Ford Foundation in
New York to get $250, 000 in seed
money, and the magazine took off.
It has been supported ever since by a
combination of university funding,
subscription and advertising income,
grants and additional donations.
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I attribute our survival and maturity
to seven factors:
• The magazine's content. It is
thoughtful and balanced, and its pages
are open to all reasonable points of
view.
• The magazine's startup plan,
including an advisory board of diverse,
influential Illinoisans. The board has
provided invaluable advice to the staff,
has broadened our "network" throughout the state and has been chaired capably, first by Gove, then Mike Hudson, Jim Banovetz, and now, Phil Rock.
• The strong leadership under publishers William Day and Mike Lennon
and editors Day, Caroline Gherardini
and Peggy Boyer Long.
• The strong writing by some of
Illinois' most knowledgeable and skilled
reporters and scholars.
• The ability to remain independent
of various political forces — and
endure the pressures and misinterpretations that publishers, editors and
reporters inevitably must
bear.
• The support of the
University of Illinois at
Springfield and its Insti-
tute for Public Affairs,
which recognizes that our
mission fits so well into the
general public affairs focus of
our campus.
• The loyalty of readers who keep us
on their "must-reading" list despite
growing demands on their professional
and personal time.
As an Evanston reader put it,
" Illinois Issues has consistently and
successfully gone beyond the daily and
mundane reporting of political events
and trends, revealing not only what
takes place behind closed doors,
but why. For the interested, but not
necessarily insiders, these analyses are
invaluable. Here's to the next 25 years!"
We'll do our best.
Illinois Issues October 1999 / 3