THE MAKING OF
"AFTER THE WHIRLWIND"

Nearly a thousand persons at the Illinois Municipal League's 75th Annual Conference listened and watched as the lights dimmed in the ornate grand ballroom of the Chicago Hilton and Towers. As the music slowly crescendoed, a series of indistinguishable lines gradually became more clear, to ultimately display the familiar sky-line of a great city. This was the premiere showing of "After the Whirlwind," a multi-media presentation produced by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Community Affairs, which pays tribute to municipalities for their involvement in the social and industrial development of Illinois.

The making of a presentation such as this doesn't come easy. There is, first, the idea. Then, the deliberation to choose the contents and nature of the presentation. The research and the collection of memorabilia, the sifting and selection of usable material, the writing, rewriting and editing of the script, and composing and recording of the musical score, the shooting of video and still photographs, and finally, the blending of all of these components into a smooth, informative and interesting presentation are the processes that must be laboriously completed.

Several months before the annual conference, DCCA's Deputy Director Dennis Whetstone and staff met at the League office to discuss producing a presentation depicting the impact of municipal government on our everyday lives.

Would it be a viable project for DCCA to produce such a presentation geared to the historical progress of Illinois? The proposal was made to Director Jay R. Hedges. As a former assistant city manager in a suburban Illinois community and as assistant to Governor Thompson for Economic Development, he had become familiar with the League and the important function of municipal government in Illinois. Consequently, the proposal received Director Hedges' enthusiastic support. The decision was made to "go for it!"

Under the direction and supervision of Michael Ellis, staff of DCCA's Office of Marketing Presentations and Packaging wrote the first rough draft of the script. Concurrently, the Office's slide and video files and those of the State of Illinois' Library were searched for material that could vividly portray the text and theme of the production. Staff also painstakingly inspected hundreds of past issues of the Illinois Municipal Review to identify the problems and challenges which have confronted municipalities during several decades.

To name all of the persons whose talent and efforts were unselfishly directed into the endeavor is virtually impossible. At least fifteen rewrites of the script were necessary before the final version was completed. Location photography (video and 35mm slide) throughout the state began in early June, and post-production work (editing, sound recording, musical scoring, etc.) extended from August until just four days before the premiere presentation.

"But behind the steam and steel that swept across Illinois, came the whirlwind of industrialization, at a speed, and of a scope, that the world had never known. And after the whirlwind of industrialization, came population and economic growth that was to challenge and temper every city, town and village of Illinois."

Just thirty minutes after the lights had dimmed for the first presentation, the show was over. Then, as the lights slowly returned to their full brilliance, the applause grew to a higher intensity, loudly expressing the approval of an appreciative and enthusiastic audience.

This presentation is available on loan, in its original, widescreen multi-media format, and in all video tape formats, from the DCCA Office of Marketing Presentations and Packaging, 620 East Adams Street, Springfield, IL 62701 (telephone: 217/785-6359). •

November 1988 / Illinois Municipal Review / Page 5