A Conversation with Our Readers

20 years: something to celebrate

Readers:

For some time now we've been planning to celebrate our 20th anniversary. You're invited to join us November 6 at the Chicago Cultural Center for a reception where we will honor 10 individuals with the 1995 Illinois Issues Award for Extraordinary Public Service.

We will publicly announce the names of these people in next month's magazine (November), which will be our anniversary issue.

For more information about attending our November 6 ceremony, see the order form on page 29.

Once in a while we see stories in the newspaper about farm chemicals running off the land into the lakes and streams of Illinois. This naturally leads to questions about the potential poisoning of our water supply.

Our Statehouse bureau chief, Jennifer Halperin, decided to dive into this topic. Because agriculture is a vital aspect of Illinois' economy, it would be too simplistic to conclude that anything potentially harmful to the water supply must be banned outright.

Farmers need to use chemicals to increase their own productivity, and so there must be trade-offs. Halperin's analysis of the perceived problems associated with atrazine, as well as the safety of Illinois' water supply, begins on page 10.

On another farm issue, we're delighted that Edward Field of The Economist provides an update on the Farm Bill now being debated. His analysis of the impact on Illinois of this important bill is on page 17.

Elsewhere in this issue, we feature Ruth Rothstein, director of Cook County Hospital and chief of the Cook County Bureau of Health Services. This month, Rothstein will receive the Motorola Excellence in Public Service Award, which is co-sponsored by the Motorola Cellular Subscriber Group, the North Business and Industrial Council of Chicago (NORBIC), the Aon Corp. and Illinois Issues.

Advice for President Stukel: serve the community In 1990, with safety conditions a big problem at Cook County Hospital, Rothstein took on what many considered to be an impossible task. But her dynamic leadership skills helped to turn the hospital around, and Rothstein has forged a series of new alliances and partnerships in the Chicago area to improve health care services for many people. A Q&A with Rothstein by reporter Paul F. Cuadros is on page 30. Thanks to you readers who submitted nominations for this award. James Stukel became president of the University of Illinois in August. That month, in our Question of the Month, we asked readers what advice they had for the new president. Few readers raised the same issue. Here is a sampling of what you said: • "Don't lead the next campaign for a state income tax hike." • "Maintain your commitment to serve the state of Illinois. Far too often, the U of I pays lip service to its outreach but fails to produce." • "Provide leadership in community education concepts and practice." • "Work to increase cooperation between the U of I and community colleges in Illinois." • One reader, noting that Sangamon State University in Springfield had just been renamed the University of Illinois at Springfield and become part of the U of I system, asked that the emphasis on nontraditional students at UIS be allowed to flourish. A couple of readers used the term "political correctness" in a disparaging way. One of them said, "Try to run a learning institution — not an institution dedicated to affirmative action and political correctness. Times are changing." • "The academic world must build a totally open communication with the private sector to find what is really needed in today's workforce. It is time to quit issuing degrees for attending four years and begin preparing students for the real world." • Another reader wrote at some length about the importance of a well-rounded education. Saying he has two children in college now, he wrote: "Force students to learn everything possible. One never really knows what you will need in the world of work within your lifetime, and on various jobs. ... Stress values, ethics and knowledge, and please do not forget attitudes, motivation and pride in work. I want my two children to have a quality education — and become a productive, informed, concerned citizen — that will last for years." Followers of this column know I always have a favorite response. This month's favorite was from a Carol Stream reader who used the entire response card to write only three words in large red letters: "THE CHEIF STAYS." That's no typo; the reader spelled it "cheif." Ed Wojcicki

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