Nobody listens to Bob Leininger Donald Sevener 12 Changing Illinois' car culture to reduce air pollution Jennifer Halperin 16 The Illinois delegation: Where each member fits in the pecking order of the U.S. House Jack R. Van Der Slik 18

Columns Politics Budget's first casualty: truthfulness Charles N. Wheeler III ______ 6 Guest Column Tax caps undermining open space preservation Lawrence B. Christmas ______ 8 The state of the State Edgar lays claim to revenue from surcharge Caroline A. Gherardini_______ 10 The Pulse Why family values didn't sell Deserrie Ruptash, Kristal Brazaitis and Richard Schuldt________ 30 Chicago Maryville Academy's alternative for kids Paul M. Green __________ 32 Departments Letters ________________ 4 Esprit de Pol 'Toilet wars' along the Senate corridor __________ 7 Legislative Action Agendas of campaign-driven politicos: Will anything really change? Jennifer Halperin _________ 23 Judicial Rulings F. Mark Siebert __________ 25 Names James Pollock ___________ 26 Book Reviews Harold Washington phenomenon and 'politics of change' Alton Miller____________ 28 State Reports Anna J. Merritt ___________ 29 State Stix Minorities on campus: slow progress in Illinois Donald Sevener __________ 34 Cover illustration: The classroom of kids in the photograph are apparently enthralled with their teacher-for-a-day, none other than state school Supt. Robert Leininger. Donald Sevener's article explores Leininger's role in education leadership in Illinois, beginning on page 12. Kids also were central to Gov. Jim Edgar's theme of "kids vs. concrete" in his budget message. For a political analysis of that theme and the budget, see Charles N. Wheeler III's "Politics" column on page 6. The cover photograph is courtesy the State Board of Education.

April 1993/Illinois Issues/5

Readers:

How officials explain any highly visible public policy issue may not be the real issue at all.

Nearly every politician pontificates on behalf of education, for example. Yet every year, many people say that government efforts to push education forward have fallen way short of desired goals.

Our cover story by Don Sevener examines leadership and K-12 public school financing in Illinois. This article has some bite. Rather than repeat the usual spin about taxes and tax caps and the oft-trumpeted phrase "quality education," it describes why Illinois is still struggling to find a long-term solution to educational problems. Have we had an education governor? No. Has the legislature done all it can do? Hardly. Does the state superintendent of education have the clout to make significant changes independently? Not really.

The spin control, trial balloons and vague pronouncements in support of education often leave me wondering: Is anyone really addressing this issue effectively?

One of my favorite parts of this magazine is our section of letters to the editor. You may recall that last fall, as the new publisher, I inserted a response card into the magazine and asked for your feedback. You provided it — thank you! And this month we publish more letters than usual, including one from Atty. Gen. Roland W. Burris. It is vital for public policy issues to be always open to intelligent discussion. Illinois Issues provides one forum for this dialogue.

Finally, we welcome Phil Rock, the former Senate president, to the Board of Illinois Issues. In my first conversation with him after he joined the Board, he said of Illinois Issues, "I'm a fan of the magazine and I want to help." Rock is universally recognized as one of Illinois' few statesmen, and his contributions are certain to help sustain Illinois Issues, reputation as the state's leading public affairs magazine.

April 1993/Illinois Issues/3