It's hard to miss, we think. This year's annual environment issue is a stunner.
Color helps, of course. It's the second time we've run four-color inside the magazine. (The first was last December's arts issue.) For his enthusiastic support of this endeavor, we want to thank our publisher Ed Wojcicki. Thanks also to our printer Multi-Ad of Peoria for the extra attention color requires.
The photographs help, too. For that, we need to thank the many talented nature photographers who shoot for the state departments of natural resources and transportation, as well as The Nature Conservancy and Lincoln Memorial Garden and Nature Center in Springfield. Special thanks are due to avian experts Vern Kleen and Dennis Oehmke for granting us access to their photographic collections of Illinois birds.
All told, art director Diana Nelson managed to round up some 130 photographs to select from, the most ever for any single issue of the magazine. Even the ones she didn't use are gorgeous, and some of us managed to find more than one opportunity to stop by her light table just to look at the "critters" as she made the final choices. Those she did choose appear throughout the following pages.
We don't want to pass up this chance to thank her, too. Over the last couple of years, Diana has begun to develop a distinctive new "look" for Illinois Issues. We believe it's more inventive and inviting and, as a result, more informative. The photographs, illustrations and graphics complement the words, sometimes telling their own stories.
And that benefits you, our readers.
Diana has a special talent for integrating the visual and the written texts. Before she came to the University of Illinois at Springfield's Institute for Public Affairs, which includes Illinois Issues, she spent a decade as art director for another journalistic publication. But we had no idea how multiskilled she would turn out to be. It's no wonder she was chosen last spring by her peers as a university Employee of the Month. She's responsible for the design of our Roster of State Government Officials and all of the institute's books, including works by such scholars as campaign finance expert Kent Redfield. And she's our Webmaster, electronic guru and (endlessly patient) techie troubleshooter.
We'd like to clone her. But, then, we'd probably have to ask for her help.
We want to thank you, too, for your support through another year. This is our last issue for the summer. We'll be back in September.
July/August 2000 Illinois Issues 4---Also available in PDF
