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Names Gov. Edgar creates job training task force On May 4 Gov. Jim Edgar announced the creation of a 17-member task force designated to "streamline and bolster" state job training and employment programs. It will offer suggestions to implement initiatives that Edgar outlined in his State of the State address in April. One proposal would replace six employment and training oversight councils with a single Workplace Preparation Council. The heads of the existing councils are on the task force, and one is the chair: Barry L. MacLean of Libertyville, chairman of the Illinois Job Training Council and chief executive officer of MacLean-Fogg Company, Mundelein. Other task force members who chair current job training programs or job training oversight programs are Phil Bradley of Springfield, chairman of the Job Opportunities Council (Project Chance) and director of the Department of Public Aid; Ronald J. Gidwitz of Chicago, chairman of the Governor's Task Force on Human Resource Development and president and chief executive officer of Helene Curtis Inc., Chicago; Ronald C. Morehead of Bloomington, chairman of the Illinois Council on Vocational Education, field representative for the AFL/CIO Manpower Assistance Program, Springfield, and training specialist, Illinois AFL/CIO Laborers Local No. 362, Bloomington; Alice E. Phillips of Wheaton, chair of the Prairie State 2000 Authority and director of government affairs for Chicago Title Insurance Companies, Wheaton; and Rosalyn D. Wesley of Barrington, chair of the Private Industry Council of Northern Cook County, Des Plaines, and manager of sector sourcing and development at Motorola Inc., Schaumburg. The task force will also offer other job training advice, including transfer of adult education program administration from the State Board of Education to the Illinois Community College Board (see "Community Colleges put center stage in Gov. Edgar's plan to train future workers," Illinois Issues, June 1992). Legislative task force members are Rep. William B. Black (R-105, Danville), representing House Minority Leader Lee A. Daniels (R-46, Elmhurst); Sen. Doris C. Karpiel (R-25, Carol Stream), representing Senate Minority Leader James "Pate" Philip (R-23, Wood Dale); Rep. Helen F. Satterthwaite (D-103, Urbana), representing House Speaker Michael J. Madigan (D-30, Chicago); and Sen. Penny L. Severns (D-51, Decatur), representing Senate President Philip J. Rock (D-8, Oak Park). Other task force members are Harry L. Crisp II of Marion, chairman of the Illinois Community College Board and chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Marion Pepsi Cola Bottling Co.; Robert J. English of Aurora, member of the Illinois Board of Higher Education and president of PMA Financial Network Inc., Aurora; Mary Gonzalez Koenig of Chicago, director of the Mayor's Office of Employment and Training; Louis Mervis of Danville, chairman of the State Board of Education and president of Mervis Industries, Danville; Ron Perlman of Skokie, director of the Illinois Resource Center, Des Plaines; and Richard J. Walsh of Springfield, president of the Illinois AFL- CIO, Springfield. Illinois Sports Facilities Authority The new chairman of the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority is Alexander R. Lerner, 45, of Glencoe, chief executive officer of the Illinois State Medical Society. Appointed chairman by Gov. Edgar, effective March 16, Lerner replaced Thomas A. Reynolds Jr. Lerner's appointment as chairman was approved, as required by law, by Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley. Also named by the governor to the authority effective March 16 was Thomas Fitzgibbon, 55, of Des Plaines, chief executive officer of Combined Contract Services Inc., Chicago, and director of the Chicago Special Olympics. He replaced Perry Snyderman. Lerner and Fitzgibbon will serve terms expiring June 30, 1994. Their appointments require Senate confirmation; the positions pay expenses only. The Illinois Sports Facilities Authority is closing the books on construction of the new Comiskey Stadium. The $137 million stadium opened in April 1991 and seats 44,177 people. Attendance during its first year was 2.9 million, easily exceeding the annual attendance threshold set by the General Assembly of 1.2 million and the average annual attendence during the last 10 years at old Comiskey Park of 1.5 million. While the authority by law may determine the location, acquire land and contract for construction of any new sports facilitiy in the Chicago metropolitan area, it has no role in construction of the new Chicago stadium for the Bulls and the Blackhawks. It is a joint venture by Jerry Reinsdorf, owner of the Bulls, and William Wirtz, owner of the Blackhawks. Completion date has been set for September 1994. A push to pass a $1.4 billion plan linking a covered stadium for the Chicago Bears with expansion of the McCormick Place convention center failed in the 1990 fall legislative session. In 1991 the McCormick Place expansion was passed minus the stadium. As of June 9, proposals for funding a Bears stadium had not come out of hibernation. Besides its chair, the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority has three members appointed by the governor and three appointed by the mayor of Chicago. Gebhardt assistant adjutant general for National Guard
Paul Gebhardt, 52, of Springfield was named assistant adjutant general for the Illinois National Guard by Gov. Edgar, effective June 15. Previously he was a brigade commander, headquartered in Chicago. A 31-year veteran of the Illinois Army National Guard, Gebhardt began his career as an enlisted soldier. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1963 and has served as director of logistics and batallion commander. He succeeded Maj. Gen. Donald Lynn, who was appointed adjutant general in November. Doherty, Reed, Jones promoted at Department of Employment Security
Three long-time employees of the Illinois Department of Employment Security (IDES) were named to new posts by Director Loleta A. Didrickson. Lynn Doherty of Chicago was named deputy director for administration, effective April 1. Doherty worked her way up at IDES from home services specialist to director of government relations. Before joining IDES, she worked in the Department of Central Management Services, the Secretary of State's Office and the Department of Rehabilitation Services. She has been a teacher of blind and deaf students.
James E. Reed of rural Centralia was named regional manager of IDES' southern Illinois region, effective March 6. He is responsible for overseeing 14 IDES offices in the region and replaced Jeff Lingley, who took early retirement
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in December. Joining IDES in 1975 as
a claims adjudicator in the Centralia local
office, Reed became employment security
specialist in the southern regional office in
1978. In 1985 he was named manager of
the Mount Vernon local office where he
streamlined the processing of unemployment insurance claims and job service applications.
Hattie Jones, 45, of Chicago was named
manager of IDES
Equal Employment
Opportunity/Affirmative Action Office, effective February 13.
She develops the department's annual affirmative action plan
and investigates discrimination charges filed by employees and clients. She will also
oversee IDES compliance with the new
Americans with Disabilities Act. Formerly
assistant mananger of the office, Jones succeeds Juliette Hurtz, who retired in December. Jones joined IDES in 1971 as a part-time unemployment insurance claims manager.
Illinois judiciary
The Illinois Supreme Court announced
the following appointments and resignations:
18th Circuit
Appointed as associate judges by circuit
judges: Peter J. Dockery of Roselle, Thomas
C. Dudgeon of Glen Ellyn and Rodney W.
Equi of Elmhurst, effective June 1. Dockery
had been a circuit judge in the 18th Circuit,
appointed by the circuit judges. He resigned,
effective June 1, after losing his bid for
election in the March primary. Dudgeon and
Equi were both attorneys in private practice.
Resigned: Associate Judge Philip J.R.
Equi of Wheaton, effective July 4. A judicial
officer since 1977, he and Rodney Equi are
second cousins.
Prisoner Review Board
Gov. Edgar appointed Barbara Hubbard, 43, of Collinsville to the 12-member Prisoner Review Board and reappointed William
L. Harris, 68, of Marion and Rafael Nieves, 60, of Chicago, effective April 29 for terms
expiring January 20, 1997. Senate confirmation is required. Members serve on a full-time basis and receive annual salaries of
$47,137. Members must meet requirements
for experience in correctional work and may
not hold another salaried office.
Hubbard is a former correctional parole
officer; she replaced DeLancey Moore. Harris, who has served on the board since 1990,
was a charter member of the State Board of
Continued on page 33
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Continued from page 29
Elections and served two terms as Republican state representative from the former
59th District, 1977-1981. Nieves was originally appointed in 1973 to the board's predecessor, the Parole and Pardon Board, by
Gov. Dan Walker (when determinant sentencing abolished the old parole system in
1978, the board got its present name and
functions). Previously Nieves was a U.S.
Peace Corps representative in Venezuela,
Illinois representative for Region V of the
U.S. Office of Economic Opportunity and
executive director of Mayor Richard J. Daley's Commission on Youth Welfare.
The Prisoner Review Board considers
cases of prisoners eligible for parole, sets
conditions for parole and mandatory supervised release; revokes good conduct credit
and suspends or reduces the rate of accumulating it; and reviews recommendations for
executive clemency.
Kaskaskia Regional Port
District wants highway
Gov. Edgar reappointed six of the district's 15 members, effective April 29 for
terms expiring June 30, 1994. The appointments require Senate confirmation; members are paid expenses only. The Kaskaskia
Regional Port District, headquartered in
Red Bud, includes all of Monroe and Randolph counties and part of St. Clair County.
The port district is promoting construction of a new highway, possibly a tollway,
from metro St. Louis to Carbondale (via
Randolph and Monroe counties) to entice
light industry into the region. Business people in the area have also formed a group
called SWIFT (Southwestern Illinois Freeway Transportation), which is seeking state
and federal support.
Reappointed to the Kaskaskia Regional
Port District were Edwin Cockrell, 32, of
New Athens, a lease collection manager
with Northwest Financial Leasing, Bridgeton, Mo., and a member of the Kaskaskia
Industrial Development Corporation; Mascoutah City Councilman George Donner,
65, retired both as a state meat inspector and
district manager for Ralston Purina, St.
Louis; Robert Keller, 63, of Waterloo, retired general manager of Monroe Service
Co., Waterloo; Elmer Prange, 71, of Waterloo, retired from the Secretary of State's
Office as a regional manager for driver
services; Norman Rieso, 63, of Freeburg,
retired senior quality engineer for McDonnell Aircraft Co., St. Louis; Clyde Trexler,
39, of Columbia, production manager with
Columbia Quarry and board member of the
Mississippi Valley Society of Explosive Engineers.
Illinois Gaming Board
Named to the Illinois Gaming Board by
the governor, effective March 4, were Robert Vickrey, 47, of Peru, vice president of
sales and marketing for the LaSalle News-Tribune, and transportation chairman of the
Illinois Valley Chamber of Commerce, and
Michael Zaransky, 37, of Glenview, president of Airways Rent A Car, Schiller Park,
and chairman-elect of the Chicago Convention and Tourist Bureau. The positions pay
$300 per diem plus expenses. Vickrey filled
the unexpired term of Robert Gibson. Zaransky replaced Raymond Niepert to serve
a term ending July 1, 1994.
The five-member board regulates riverboat gambling. As of June 9, there were
three Illinois riverboats up and running: two
on the Mississippi River — based in Alton
and Rock Island — and one on the Illinois
River based in Peoria. By the end of June
two more were scheduled for opening: one
on the Des Plaines River based in Joliet and
the other on the Mississippi operating out of
Galena in Jo Daviess County.
The Gaming Board licenses operators
and gaming equipment suppliers. It may be
assigned supervision of Las Vegas nights,
bingo and pulltabs (also known as pull-jar
tickets which you get from a jar and open up
to find out what you've won); currently,
however, these are under the jurisdiction of
the Department of Revenue. The board must
have a member with law enforcement and
criminal investigation experience, an attorney and a certified public accountant.
Members or their immediate families cannot
have an interest in the gambling activities
supervised by the Gaming Board or the
Illinois Racing Board.
NIU Education Center
ready for business
The new $6.2 million Northern Illinois
University Education Center at Hoffman
Estates will open for classes August 22. Part
of Sears' 786-acre Prairie Stone development, the center is designed to serve the
educational and cultural needs of people
living along the I-90 corridor. Facilities at
the new center will also be available for
rental to business, government and other
universities.
Sears and the village of Hoffman Estates
donated the land for the center. Construction is financed by certificates of participation (similar to bonds) at a fixed price over a
25-year period. At the end of this period the
center will be owned by the Board of Regents, NIU's governing board. The center is
expected to be supported by income from
tuition and fees, donations from corporations, rentals by other institutions and reallocation of funds NIU previously used to rent
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sites scattered throughout the area.
Kathleen A. Gilmer of Palatine was
named center director by NIU President
John La Tourette and vice presidents of
academic affairs, development and university relations, and finance and planning; her
appointment was confirmed by the Board of
Regents May 21. She will be responsible for
the center's management and marketing.
Since 1984 Gilmer was a corporate services
administrator and economic development
specialist at William Rainey Harper College
in Palatine, working with two public/private
partnerships - Northwest 2001 and the
Golden Corridor Council.
Chicago's police superintendent
Mayor Richard M. Daley named Matt L.
Rodriguez, 56, of Chicago as police superintendent, effective May 20 (the day the
tunnels flooded in Chicago's Loop). Rodriguez, the city's first Hispanic police superintendent, replaced LeRoy Martin, who retired. Rodriguez was one of three finalists
recommended by the Chicago Police Board.
A deputy police superintendent since 1980,
Rodriguez had applied previously for the
position and was a finalist in both 1983 and
1987.
Kurish director of
finance research center
James B. Kurish of Chicago was named
director of the Government Finance Research Center in Chicago by the Government Finance Officers Association, effective
April 27. The association, headquartered in
Chicago, represents more than 12,500 local,
state and provincial government finance officers in the United States and Canada. The
25-member research center does original
and applied research, consulting, contract
and grant work for the association.
Most recently Kurish was an investment
banker with the First Boston Corporation.
Previously he was assistant dean and director
of graduate studies at the University of Hartford in Hartford, Conn., and executive director of the university's Master of Business
Administration Program in Paris, France.
Duff new president
of Columbia College
Former Chicago
Public Library Commissioner John B.
Duff, 60, of Chicago
was named president
of Columbia College
of Chicago by its
board of trustees effective September 1.
He replaces Mike
Alexandroff, who is
retiring as president in
August after 30 years. Duff was Chicago
library commissioner for the last six years,
and previously he was chancellor of the
Massachusetts Board of Higher Education,
president of the University of Lowell at
Lowell, Mass., and president of Seton Hall
University at South Orange, N.J.
Columbia College is an urban undergraduate and graduate institution emphasizing
the arts, media and public information. The
student body reflects the racial, economic
and cultural diversity of the urban area it
serves.
Nanophase Technologies
awarded $1 million
Nanophase Technologies Corporation of Darien was the first Illinois firm to win a
federal Advanced Technology Program
award. Nanophase will receive approximately $1 million over three years to improve production and to study uses for ultra-fine or "nanophase" ceramic powders (an
individual grain of one of these powders has
a diameter of about 10 nanometers — ten-billionths of a meter or one-thousandth the
diameter of a human hair). The award was
one of 27 announced by U.S. Secy. of Commerce Barbara Hackman Franklin on April
21.
Advanced ceramic materials are extremely hard and resistant to heat and corrosion. Shapes made with traditional ceramic
powders shrink during the firing process,
allowing little control over final dimensions.
The use of ultrafine powders minimizes
shrinking and allows manufacturers to control the quality and final dimensions of
ceramic parts. With its award, Nanophase
plans to find ways to make larger quantities
of the powders at a lower costs and to
evaluate their characteristics and potential
applications in diesel engine parts. Caterpillar Inc. of Peoria will do the evaluation.
Founded in 1989, Nanophase is one of a
handful of firms pioneering the commercialization of a technology developed at a national laboratory under provisions of the
1984 amendments to the federal Bayh-Dole
Act. The amendments allow the awarding of
proprietary rights for technologies developed by national laboratories. Under the
new law, the ARCH Development Corporation, a not-for-profit organization affiliated
with the University of Chicago and Argonne
National Laboratory, was created. ARCH
founded and supported Nanophase Technologies to transfer the ceramics technology
developed at Argonne to the private sector.
The Advanced Technologies Program,
with a fiscal 1992 budget of $67.9 million,
helps businesses research and develop technologies with potential applications. The program is administered by the National
Institute of Standards and Technology, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department's
Technology Administration.
SIU Professor Barton
receives national award
H. Arnold Barton,
62, of Carbondale received one of 125
Ellis Island Medals of
Honor at ceremonies
in New York City in
April. The awards are
presented by the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations
(NECO) to individuals who make "significant contributions to our nation's heritage." Barton, a history professor at
Southern Illinois University in Carbondale,
is a Swedish American whose greatgrandfather immigrated to the United States
in 1867. He is the author of 11 books and
numerous articles on Swedish and Scandinavian history.
NECO was established in 1984; its award
memorializes the role that Ellis Island
played from 1891 to 1954 when 20 million
immigrants entered this country.
Mother Jones elected
to Labor Hall of Fame
Once described as "the most dangerous
woman in America," Mary Harris Jones
(1830-1930) was elected to the Labor Hall
of Fame in May by the Friends of the U.S.
Department of Labor. Known as Mother
Jones, she spent nearly 60 years organizing
and advocating for working people and was
in the thick of some of the most violent
labor/management conflicts in U.S. history.
She is buried at The Miner's Cemetery in
Mount Olive, a national historic monument
and the burial place of coal miners killed in
the 1898 Virden massacre.
Friends is an organization composed of
labor and business leaders, scholars and
politicians. Each year it inducts two outstanding individuals into the hall of fame,
which is located at the U.S. Department of
Labor's headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Since 1988, 14 people have been inducted.
This year the other honoree was Sidney
Hillman (1887-1946), president of the
Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America and one of the shapers of the New Deal.
Ceremonies will be held late this fall when
portraits of Mother Jones and Hillman will
be placed in the hall.
Staff contributors include
Margaret S. Knoepfle, Jennifer Smith
and Kirk Hendricks.
34/July 1992/Illinois Issues |
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