People

Shifts at the top

Kenneth Zehnder of Springfield was appointed director of the Illinois Department of Revenue. He had been acting director since former Director Raymond T. Wagner Jr. resigned in June. Prior to joining the revenue department, Zehnder held executive positions in the governor's office and the secretary of state's office.

Appointments

Betty Coffrin of Charleston, Coles County clerk and recorder, was appointed to the State Mandates Board of Review by Comptroller Loleta A. Didrickson. The comptroller appoints two and the governor appoints three of the five-member board that hears appeals from local governments about reimbursement for state- required services.

Democratic candidate for 50th District Senate seat

Tom Londrigan of Springfield announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for state Senate in the 50th District. He is an attorney with Londrigan and Londrigan, the firm founded by his grandfather, the late Joe Londrigan, who was chairman of Sangamon County Democrats. Before entering the family firm, the younger Londrigan worked for the Illinois Senate Democrats as legal counsel. He is married to Betsy Dirksen Londrigan, who has been named director of the newly established Alumni Office of the University of Illinois at Springfield.

Rematch in the 100th

Marylou Lowder Kent, who lost by a slim margin for state representative in the 100th District in 1994, wants a rematch with Rep. Gwenn Klingler. Kent, a Springfield Democrat, received

more than 48 percent of the vote in a year when Republicans swept most races. Kent says she has the support of Rep. Michael Madigan,, Democratic leader of the House.

Leaving office

U.S. Rep. Cardiss Collins said she will not run for re-election in 1996.¦ The Chicago Democrat has served her;7th District for 11 terms, the longest an African-American woman has served in Congress. She was first elected on June 5, 1973, in a special election to fill the seat left vacant when her husband, U.S. Rep. George W. Collins, was killed in an airplane crash.

State Sen. David N. Barkhausen, Republican from Lake Bluff, will not seek re-election in 1996. He said 16 years of service begins to contradict his belief in the concept of the citizen-legislator and that he wants to have more time for his family and his business. He said the federal investigation into his use of district office funds to support his insurance business had no impact on his decision.

Honors

Five Illinois educators won the 1995 Milken National Educator Award, which gives them $25,000 each to spend as they wish. The winners are Barbara Alien of Equality, an art teacher at Harrisburg High School who was also named Illinois Teacher of the Year; Helen Arnold- Massey of Chicago, a physical education teacher at Nicholson Specialty School in Chicago; James Kerr of Troy, a social studies teacher at Triad High School in St. Jacob; Margurite Martin of Richton Park, assistant principal at Rich South High School in Richton Park; and Joseph Wojtena of Champaign, principal at Champaign Central High School.

Southern Illinois University Chancellor Ted Sanders was named policy leader of the year by the National Association of State Boards of Education. Sanders was Illinois' superintendent of education from 1985 to 1989 and was both a deputy secretary and acting U.S. secretary of education in the George Bush Administration.

Joseph Hill, an engineer with the Illinois Department of Transportation, has won a national award for his part in helping the hearing impaired communicate as they travel the state's highways. Hill received the 1995 National Rehabilitation Association's E.B. Whitten Silver Medallion Award for his part in installing telecommunications devices for the deaf (TDDs) at rest areas across the state.

Hugh Gregory Gallagher (below), a Washington, D.C.-based author and Hugh Gallagher activist for people with physical disabilities, has won a national award named for an Illinois physician. Dr. Henry B. Betts is president and CEO of the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and former chairman of the department of physical medicine and rehabilitation of Northwestern University Medical School.

The $50, 000 unrestricted Henry B. Betts Award is given annually to recognize an individual who has improved the quality of life for people with disabilities. Gallagher's latest work focuses on the issue of medical ethics and disability. He is a consultant in the current national healthcare debate.

Voters in 2nd District choose youth over experience in election

Jesse Jackson Jr. turned back three veteran state lawmakers to win the Democratic nomination for Congress in the 2nd District. He will face Thomas Somer, the Republican nominee, in the December 12 special election.

36/ December 1995/ Illinois Issues

People

Governor makes appointments to governing boards at seven state universities

The Illinois Senate confirmed 49appointments made by Gov. Jim Edgar to the newly created governing boards at seven state universities. The governor has not named appointments to the University of Illinois Board of Trustees, pending resolution of a lawsuit challenging the elimination of an elected board.

The members of the seven confirmed boards will begin their duties January 1. They are not paid a salary. The new members are listed below.

Chicago State

Mary Denson of Chicago, owner, Charles D. Murdock Institute; Jacoby Dickens of Olympia Fields, chairman, Seaway National Bank; Gary Edson of Chicago, president, ECG Inc.;Elizabeth Hollander of Chicago, executive director, Monsignor John J. Egan Urban Center; Dr. Niva Lubin of Chicago, South Side Health Consortium; Peggy Montes of Chicago, former chairperson of DuSable Museum; Felicia Norwood of Chicago, attorney, Aetna Life and Casualty.

Eastern Illinois

Nate Anderson of Rock Island, principal. Rock Island High School, assistant superintendent. Rock Island/ Milan School District; Keith Branson of Mattoon, broker, Coldwell-Banker Classic Real Estate; Susan Gilpin of Park Ridge, vice president, The Northern Trust Co.; Dr. Mack Hollowell of Charleston, physician; Thomas Johnson of Rockford, attorney/president, Williams and McCarthy; Carl Koerner of Effingham, CEO, Koerner Distribution; Betsy Mitchellof Champaign, director of public affairs, Devonshire Realty.

Northeastern Illinois

Carole Balzekas of Chicago, co- owner/general manager of an automobile sales company; Keith Brown of Naperville, president. First Midwest Bank, Joliet; Ed Dykla of Chicago, president, Polish Roman Catholic Union of America; Daniel Goodwin of Oak Brook, chairman/CEO, INLAND Co.; Nancy Masterson of Barrington, chairperson/CEO, Moose Lodge Ltd.;Luz Maria Solis of Chicago, early childhood education facilitator, Chicago Public Schools; Willie Taylor of Chicago, vice president, Sonicraft Inc.

Northern Illinois

Robert Boey of DeKalb, president/ co-owner, American Bare Conductor Inc.; Susan Grans of Rockford, vice president, William Charles Ltd.; George Moser of Barrington Hills, chairman, Charter Bank and Trust N.A.; James W. Myles of Chicago, labor consultant; David Raymond of Glen Ellyn, vice president/general counsel, Sears Merchandise Group; Manuel Sanchez of Lisle, managing partner, Sanchez and Daniels; Myron Siegel of Deerfield, attorney, Siegel Lynn and Capitel Ltd.

Governors State

Maria D'Amezcua of Chicago, broker, D'Amezcua and Associates; Kristi DeLaurentis of Homewood, director of special projects. Cook County Republican Central Committee; Bruce Friefeld of Frankfort, executive counsel, Will County; Fran Grossman of Chicago, vice president, Bank of America; Sally Jackson of Chicago, president/CEO, Illinois State Chamber of Commerce; Bill McGee of Chicago Heights, superintendent, Chicago Heights School District 170; Bobbie Jo Peterson of Beecher, retired president, Peterson Heating and Plumbing.

Illinois State

Thomas Andes of Belleville, chairman/CEO, Magna Group Inc.; Jaime Flores of Chicago, managing director, INROADS, Southwest Michigan Inc.; Nancy Froelich of Hudson, selfemployed, Froelich Memorial Home; Diane Glenn of Chicago, president/ CEO, Community Bank of Lawndale; Jack Huggins of East Peoria, president, Pekin Energy Co.; Carl Kasten of Carlinville, attorney, Phelps, Carmody, Kasten and Ruyle; William Sulaski of Bloomington, managing partner, Sulaski and Webb CPA.

Western Illinois

Marjorie Bordner of Canton, retired teacher; Lorraine Epperson of Macomb, real estate broker/owner, Century 21-Purdum-Epperson; Robert Leininger of Springfield, senior vice president, Magna Group Inc.; Maureen Schuering of Quincy, principal, St. Dominic School; Dan Webb of Chicago, attorney/partner, Winston and Strawn; Gretchen Winters of Deerfield, Baxter Healthcare; Dexter Yarbough of Chicago, Chicago police officer.

Convicted

Robert Russo, who worked for former U.S. Rep. Dan Rostenkowski, was convicted in U.S. District Court on one count of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice. He was charged in April with withholding evidence from a grand jury and lying about the amount of time he spent working for Rostenkowski. He will be sentenced on February 7.

Sentenced, again

D. Sharon Grant, former Chicago School Board president, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for evading state taxes.

Grant was sentenced in October for not paying federal income taxes since 1977. Cook County Judge Themis Karnezis ruled Grant can serve the two sentences concurrently.

Died

Michael Bruton, 59, of Chicago, president of the Chicago Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, died November 12. Bruton began active participation in the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers in 1954. He was a member of the advisory board of Illinois Issues.

Beverley Scobell

December 1995/ Illinois Issues/ 37

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