 |
Home | Search | Browse | About IPO | Staff | Links |
|
Home | Search | Browse | About IPO | Staff | Links |
|
Edited by Rodd Whelpley
Lake Michigan is slowly dropping. So are profits associated with the Great Lakes shipping industry and prospects for a carefree pleasure boating season. As of mid-June Lake Michigan water levels were nearly two feet below their average level for that time of year. Don Wadleigh, operations manager for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Chicago, says the reduced lake levels are taking their toll on both commercial shipping and recreational boating. Most of the commercial ships coming into southern Lake Michigan are stopping first in Toledo or Cleve-land to lighten their loads before going on to Chicago. One business, Lafarge Corp., a cement distributor, estimates it has had to reduce its shipping capacity by 3,000 tons per load over the last two to three years. Little boats feel the pinch, too. Waukegan, Portage and Michigan City, the three major recreational harbors near Chicago, are all being dredged to allow access to the lake, Wadleigh says. The Waukegan dredging alone will cost $150,000. But there are navigational issues, as well. Boaters need to be wary of the danger posed by submerged objects that may be closer than usual to the surface. Wadleigh says that while reduced lake levels mean whiter beaches and less storm damage to lakeshore property, they also result in the loss of coastal wetlands and the destruction of some fish spawning habitats. For the long haul, though, Toby Frevert, Great Lakes coordinator for the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, doesn't seem worried. "The [water] levels will come back." Former U.S. Sen. Paul Simon hopes
limited recreational opportunities on
the lake this summer will encourage
people to focus more on water
conservation. He believes Lake
Michigan water issues are going to
become increasingly controversial
over the next decade, as water
supplies in California and other parts
of the southwestern United States are
depleted. "There will be pressure to
get water from areas of the U.S. that
have it and send it to areas that
don't." In his 1998 book Tapped Out:
The Coming World Crisis in Water
and What We Can Do About It,
Simon explores the potential for
using desalinated seawater to satisfy
human needs. But he argues the best
plan right now is to decrease demand
by making water a more costly
commodity. Toby Frevert, Great Lakes coordinator for the Illinois Environmental
Protection Agency, says this is a good time to work on Chicago's
shoreline project because low lake levels make the shore more accessible.
In fact, the state is planning to spend $42 million over five years to rebuild
Lake Michigan's eroding shoreline.
"The existing structures that guard the Lake Michigan shoreline in Illinois
from flood and storm damage not only have expired, they have crumbled
away," Gov. George Ryan said in a printed statement boosting the project.
The initiative, which has been under way for about a decade, is expected to
cost $301 million. But most of the money will come from federal sources.
To qualify for those dollars, Chicago must come up with $128 million.
The state's share is part of Ryan's Illinois First program designed to upgrade
infrastructure statewide. Illinois Issues July/August 2000 | 8---Also available in PDF REPORTS Prejudicial punishment, legislative conflicts of interest African-American males make up 90 percent of the drug offenders in Illinois prisons, according to "Punishment and Prejudice: Racial Disparities in the War on Drugs" by Human Rights Watch. Further, says the New York-based advocacy group, black men are being sent to Illinois prisons on drug convictions 57 times more often than white men. The study looked at U.S. Department of Justice data for those going to prison for drug crimes in 37 states in 1996, the most recent year for which complete numbers were available. The report cites mandatory sentencing for drug offenses and police targeting of crack cocaine users in poor, minority neighborhoods as the reasons behind the racial discrepancy in incarceration rates. Curious about whether your state legislators have a personal stake in a piece of legislation? Want to know if their jobs outside Springfield are influencing their votes in the Statehouse? Would it help to find the type of investments they are making? If you're trying to find such information about an Illinois legislator, you'll likely have a tough time. According to the Center for Public Integrity, Illinois ranked 42nd out of the 50 states in what it requires to be made public about legislators' private income, other assets and potential conflicts of interest. That may sound embarrassing, but when the center handed out report cards, 23 other states received the same failing grade. For its report, "Our Private Legislatures: Public Service, Personal Gain," the center analyzed the 1998 financial disclosure forms of more than 5,700 legisla-tors nationwide. The Washington, D.C.-based center is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit research organization. Nationwide, 25 percent of state legislators sat on committees that regulated their business interests and 18 percent had connections to the businesses and organizations that lobbied them. In Illinois, 21 percent of legislators sat on committees that regulated their professional interests. Lawmakers defend the practice, saying they sit on certain committees because that's their area of expertise. Farmers work on farm proposals, for instance. The center's report is available online at www.publicintegrity.org/reports/50states/project.html. Visitors to the site can also view Illinois legislators' financial disclosure forms. Burney Simpson
WEBSOURCE Frogs and other amphibians are like the canaries in a coal mine: Their demise is a warning sign the environment is not safe. Amphibians have a two-part life cycle. Their eggs and young live in water, and the adults live at least partially on land. So they sample two environ-ments during their life cycles. "With this realization came a shift in concern from the disappearance of a few frogs and toads to the real possibility that the health of our planet is deteriorating," says Christopher Phillips, associate research scientist and curator of amphibians and reptiles at the Illinois Natural History Survey. The survey has released a new field guide covering the state's 102 species of amphibians and reptiles. A Web version can be found at www.inhs.uiuc.edu/cbd/collections/herp_links/TOC.html. The guide includes full-color photographs and biological descriptions of all species living within Illinois' borders, their natural history, a statewide distribution map divided by county and an easy-to-follow key. Beverley Scobell Canoeing Cook
and the collars That is, until a 747 out of O'Hare
rumbles over. This canoe trail flows
through one of the most developed,
heavily populated regions of the
state: Cook and its collar counties.
"Yet there are places where it is so
peaceful you would swear you were
nowhere near civilization," says Gary
Mechanic, chairman of the board
for the Des Plaines River Watershed
Alliance and a member of the
Illinois Paddling Council.
Mechanic and his fellow canoe
enthusiasts and river conservation-ists
are creating a system of nearly
500 miles of water trails for nonmo-torized
boats, canoes and kayaks.
The plan was approved last
September by the Northeastern
Illinois Planning Commission and
developed in conjunction with
Openlands Project and the Illinois
Paddling Council. The Illinois
Department of Natural Resources
provided funding.
When completed, the system will
link 174 access and portage sites
along 10 waterways, including Lake
Michigan, the Chicago River, the
Des Plaines River, the DuPage River
and the Fox River.
"The 10 major waterways of
northeastern Illinois encompass the
best of several worlds of paddling.
They are urban and rural, crowded
and empty, easy and challenging.
They present a spectrum of paddling
experiences found in few places in
the world in such close proximity,"
says Mechanic.
Beverley Scobell Illinois Issues July/August 2000 | 9---Also available in PDF Ryan vetoes abortion restrictions Gov. George Ryan last month rejected a politically controversial plan to prevent the state from paying for abortions for poor women whose health is endangered by pregnancy. Ryan's action means Illinois statutes will continue to allow for state funding of abortions in cases of rape, incest and when the mother's life is at stake. In his veto message, Ryan said, "I find it impossible to separate health from life. We live in a very health-conscious society, with a special concern for women's health. Why, then, would we not be concerned about the health of a pregnant woman rich or poor?" Ryan campaigned on an anti-abortion platform, and the action disappointed much of his conservative constituency. Virginia Nurmi, director of public policy for the Illinois Family Institute, an anti-abortion organization, says the decision is "inconsis-tent with where he [Ryan] was before." But abortion rights forces, which argued that the measure would have discriminated against poor sick women, voiced satisfaction with the decision. Steve Trombley, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood/Chicago Area and the Coalition of Illinois Abortion Rights, says, "The governor showed he is a true compassionate conservative by putting people above politics." The state paid for nine abortions in 1999 to protect the health of the mother, according to the Department of Public Aid. An override of the governor's veto would require the support of three-fifths of the legislature. Heather Nickel GOVERNOR'S ACTION Driver data The court records of drivers who have had violations in more than one county will be centralized in a database maintained by Secretary of State Jesse White. This change comes in response to last year's Bourbonnais truck and train crash that killed 11. The truck driver had four traffic violations from several Illinois counties but stayed behind the wheel under court supervision. White says if his office had had all the information prior to the crash, it would have rescinded the trucker's permit. Judges, prosecutors and the police will have access to the database. The law takes effect October 1. Fuel additives Gas with more than 2 percent MTBE will be labeled at the pump. The additive cuts fuel emissions but pollutes groundwater. MTBE is a competitor to corn-based ethanol, an additive produced in the Midwest. Bad bugs Nurseries that knowingly transport the Asian long-horned beetle and other insects under quarantine could face fines ranging from $500 to $5,000. The beetle has devastated trees on the North Side of Chicago and has been found in that city's south suburbs. This summer, the Illinois Department of Agriculture plans to add gypsy moths to its list of insects under quarantine. Generic drugs Illinoisans will have an easier time getting generic drugs that have been approved for use by the Federal Drug Administration. Gov. Ryan vetoed a similar bill last year, but the measure he signed this time around gives the state's advisory drug council authority to review any drugs. At presstime, the governor and lawmakers were heading into a special session to
consider action against high fuel prices. Among the options was a temporary suspension
of the state's share of the sales tax on gas. Illinois Issues July/August 2000 | 10---Also available in PDF PRESS BOX Governor reduces the number of boards; the price could go up Gov. Ryan signed into law a bill that abolishes several boards, commissions and panels and reconfigures others. But the new law also hikes wages of the members of key commissions. Prior to the signing, two Chicago newspapers published stories on the issue. Chicago Sun-Times reporters found that Gov. Ryan has rarely named women or minorities to fill posts on state boards and commissions. More than 90 percent of those selected for paying positions have been white and 77 percent have been men. And of the 112 appointees who could expect annual compensation of $1,000 or more, only 10 have been minorities. Reporters Dave McKinney and William Hatfield tracked more than 1,000 Ryan appointments. A spokesman for the governor said the racial makeup of the boards is a work in progress. Last year, Ryan issued an execu-tive order calling for greater diversity in state government. Chicago Tribune reporter Ryan Keith found that the plan
to streamline state government by abolishing or consolidat-ing
some boards and commissions could end up costing an
additional $500,000. Keith learned that most of the positions
being eliminated were nonpaying, while members of newly
consolidated boards would see raises. UPDATES The first all-Internet Illinois university, approved last month by the state Board of Higher Education, will offer graduate degrees in business and computer technology beginning this fall (see Illinois Issues, February 1999, page 22). The Chicago Mercantile Exchange voted last month to move from a membership organization to a for-profit business led by a management team, a response to competition from all-electronic trading (see Illinois Issues, April 1999, page 24). Missouri became the fifth state to outlaw the suspected police practice of racial profiling when Gov. Mel Carnahan agreed last month to legislation requiring officers to record the race, age and sex of all motorists they stop and to indicate whether a search was conducted (see Illinois Issues, June, page 18). Pan American Airways will become the first air carrier to provide passenger service from the heavily subsidized MidAmerica Airport near Mascoutah (see Illinois Issues, March, page 28 and September 1997, page 18). The U.S. Supreme Court handed down a unanimous decision last month that Cynthia Herdrich, formerly of Bloomington, could not sue her HMO under federal law (see Illinois Issues, April, page 10). Illinois Issues July/August 2000 | 11---Also available in PDF
|
