PEOPLE
Edited by Beverley Scobell

Philip J. Rock of Oak Park, former president of the Illinois Senate, and Molly D'Esposito of Winnetka were appointed to the Board of Higher Education. Rock, a trustee of both Rosary College and Loyola University, will represent private colleges and universities on the higher education board. D'Esposito, a member of the board of trustees at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale since 1989, will represent public universities on the higher ed board.

Nicholas K. Chambers of Springfield was named assistant director of the Department of Central Management Services. Prior to his appointment, he was legislative liaison for the Lottery. He will be paid $73,772 annually.

Scott D. Clarke of Springfield was named acting Commissioner of Banks and Trust Companies. He replaces Richard Luft, who resigned January 5 to be senior vice president of LaSalle National Bank, Chicago.

Joseph Bonefeste of Springfield was appointed executive director of the Illinois Health Care Cost Containment Council. Prior to his appointment, he had been deputy director for Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities. Bonefeste succeeds John R. Noak, who retired at the end of the year. Scott A. Hamilton of Vernon Hills was named chief of the marketing and research division of the council. Prior to his joining the council, Hamilton was at the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. From 1983 to 1994, he served as press aide and spokesman for Illinois House Minority Leader Lee Daniels.

By executive order, Gov. Jim Edgar created the 34-member Governor's Commission on Gangs in Illinois to recommend ways to combat the growing problem. Attorney General Jim Ryan will chair the panel.

The governor asked for initial recommendations within 90 days and expects a final report in August following 12 public hearings.

Those named:
Associate Judge Robert Anderson, DuPage County.
Tom Baker, executive director, Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority.
Nathaniel C. Banks, assistant dean, University of Illinois.
Steve Brienen, McLean County sheriff; president, Illinois Sheriff's Association.
Bill Burke, chief. Cook County Sheriff's Police; president, Illinois Chiefs of Police Association.
Jim Burns, U.S. attorney, Northern District of Illinois.
Gordon Bush, mayor, East St. Louis.
Gery Chico, CEO, Chicago Public Schools.
Rep. Flora Ciarlo, Steger.
Father James Close, president, Mercy Home for Boys and Girls, Chicago.
William E. Dugan, international vice president, Operating Engineers.
Betty Durvin, president, Illinois PTA.
Associate Judge Robert Eggers, Sangamon County.
Terry Gainer, director, Illinois State Police.
Paul Logli, Winnebago County state's attorney.
Kevin Lyons, Peoria County state's attorney.
Jack O'Malley, Cook County state's attorney.
The Rev. James Meeks, pastor, Salem Baptist Church, Chicago.
Klemm Megia, assistant superintendent of schools, Kane County.
George Murray, chief, Chicago Housing Authority Police.
Dr. Don Patton, Community Health Services, Cairo.
Sen. Edward Petka, Plainfield.
Bill Pollard, chairman, Service-Master.
James Reilly, assistant to Mayor Richard M. Daley, Chicago.
Matt Rodriguez, superintendent, Chicago Police Department.
Ruth Rothstein, CEO, Cook County Hospital.
Frances Sandoval, Chicago, Mothers Against Gangs.
Anthony Scott, chief of police, Rock Island.
Joseph Spagnolo, state superintendent of education.
Irving Spergel, professor, University of Chicago.
Dave Stover, police chief, Aurora.
Master Sgt. Luis Tigera, State Police Gang Unit.
Odie Washington, director. Department of Corrections.

Five years ago the Cooperative Extension Service based at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign was worrying about its finances and its future. It underwent an extensive reorganization during the following year.

Now, in view of more federal budget cutbacks, Michael Aiken, chancellor of UIUC, has appointed a commission to look at CES's structure and programming again and make recommendations for the 81-year-old organization's future.

Heading the commission is John Huston of Chicago, president of the

38 * February 1996 Illinois Issues

National Live Stock and Meat Board and former director and chair of the Illinois 4-H Foundation. Other members include:

John Colgan of Springfield, executive director of the Illinois Hunger Coalition.
Powhatan Collins of Chicago, regional education officer, Chicago Public Schools.
George Cotton of East St. Louis, president, George Cotton & Associates.
Ronald Dodd of Joliet, director of parks and recreation, Joliet.
Douglas Dougherty of Springfield, executive director, Governor's Rural Affairs Council.
Jack Erisman of Pana, farmer and past president of the Illinois Sustainable Agriculture Network.
Jean Finley, Fayette County board member.
Larry Fischer of Pittsfield, director of agriculture program, John Wood Community College, and vice president of the Illinois 4-H Foundation.
Sharnell Jackson of Chicago, elementary school teacher and 4-H leader.
Peter Orum of St. Charles, owner/president, Midwest Ground Cover.
Robert Pritchard of Hinckley, farmer and senior project manager, DEKALB Genetics Corp.
Donna Reifschneider of Smithton, farmer.
John Wayne Rehn of Alpha, veterinarian.
John Reifsteck, Champaign County farmer and president of the board of directors of Illini FS Inc.
Louise Rogers of Crystal Lake, vice president, Northern Illinois Gas Co.
Mary Scheider of Freeport, farmer.
Richard Stiltz of Franklin, general manager and part owner of a fertilizer company.
Bob Thurston, Pulaski County farmer.
Catherine Wolfe of Chicago, coordinator for Child Care Professional Development, Department of Children and Family Services.
Steven Wentworth, agriculture policy advisor, ex officio member representing Illinois Department of Agriculture Director Rebecca Doyle.

Gov. Edgar ruffled a few GOP feathers when he commuted Guinevere Garcia's death sentence last month to life in prison. Senate President James "Pate" Philip pronounced the move "the worst decision [Edgar] has made since he was governor. Now we have to pay this woman to be incarcerated for $30,000 a year so she can watch cable television and knit. Certainly this won't help him with conservatives."

However, Garcia was pleased with Edgar's decision. Her reaction surprised some because she had waived her appeals. She was sentenced to death for the 1991 murder of her husband, George. Garcia was eligible for execution because she had been convicted of a previous murder. In 1977 she suffocated her 11 -month-old daughter.

But Edgar said it was "not the kind of case I had in mind when I voted as a legislator to restore the death penalty and acted as governor to expand it. The evidence in the case indicates Guinevere Garcia did not have murder on her mind when she went to the home of her estranged husband." Some see irony in this, given Edgar's repeated portrayal of opponent Dawn Clark Netsch during the 1994 gubernatorial campaign as "soft" on the death penalty.

Jennifer Halperin

Among others, Bianca Jagger argued that Guinevere Garcia's life should be spared. Jagger, the ex-wife of rock star Mick Jagger, came to Springfield representing Amnesty International. While in town she spoke with writer Tara McClellan McAndrew. The interview, conducted for the BBC, took place the night before the state clemency hearing. The following is an excerpt. Q:Why did you become involved? A: Because I felt that I had been very involved in issues pertaining to battered women. And Guinevere seemed to me the quintessential case of an abandoned child and a battered woman. Q: Have you had any personal experience knowing battered women? A: I witnessed the abuse of a woman that was very close to me when I was a very young child. Q: Did your [Catholic] religion at all play into your choosing to become involved? A: Yes. It is not only my religion, but my sense of the respect of human rights. ... And you know, for the last 20 years of my life I have been dedicated to fighting human rights violations. I believe that — as a battered woman — [execution] will be a human rights violation against Guinevere Garcia, and all those Guineveres that have been battered.

Photo of Bianca Jagger by Terry Farmer.

Q: Sounds like you feel so strongly about this. You're not concerned other people think you're being selfish and self-righteous?
A: Of course I am! But I am concerned with what's right and wrong.

McClellan McAndrew says that after she met with Jagger she got lots of questions. Among the most asked questions: Is she beautiful?

Illinois Issues February 1996 * 39

The Libertarian Party will appear on the March 19 presidential primary ballot, the first time since 1988 that a third party has appeared on the primary ballot in Illinois. The Solidarity Party ran candidates in the primary that year.

Two Libertarians, as well as three Democrats and eight Republicans, filed in the state's preferential presidential primary. Harry Browne of Franklin, Tenn., and Irwin A. Schiff of Las Vegas, Nev., filed as Libertarians. President Bill Clinton will be joined on the Democratic ballot by Elvena E. Lloyd-Duffie of Westchester and Lyndon LaRouche Jr. The Republican presidential list includes Lamar Alexander, former governor of Tennessee; Patrick Buchanan, political commentator; U.S. Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole of Kansas; Malcolm "Steve" Forbes Jr., president of Forbes Inc.; U.S. Sen. Phil Gramm of Texas; Alan Keyes, radio talk show host and former assistant secretary of state; U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana; and Morry Taylor of Quincy, president of Titan Wheel International.

But the real contest will be the election of delegates committed to each candidate. A total of 796 filed for seats as Illinois delegates or alternates to this summer's political conventions. Republicans will meet in San Diego August 12. Democrats will meet in Chicago August 26.

Thomas R. Lament will serve a second stint as chairman of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees, at least until the status of the trustees is settled by the Illinois Supreme Court. The court will rule on whether the members of the board, who were elected before higher education reorganization, can finish their terms.

D. Sharon Grant, the former president of the Chicago School Board, has been assigned to boot camp. Grant, who entered the federal prison system last fall to serve a 20-month sentence for tax evasion, will spend six months at the camp, providing she passes initial screening that includes medical and psychological testing. According to Linda Sanders, administrator for the Intensive Confinement Center of the Bryan Federal Prison Camp in Bryan, Texas, Grant will join other inmates doing manual labor in the Sam Houston National Forest three days a week during her stay. She will spend another three days each week in educational classes and counseling. If she completes the boot camp, which Sanders characterizes as "shock incarceration," Grant will be eligible to serve the remainder of her sentence at a halfway house near her home.

Former state Rep. Taylor Pouncey, 73, of Englewood died January 9 after a long illness. Active in the 16th Ward Regular Democratic Organization, he served four terms in the Illinois House of Representatives, from 1975 until he resigned in March 1983.

George Painter, 49, nationally recognized Lincoln scholar and historian at the Lincoln Home National Historic Site, died in Springfield after a four-year battle with cancer.

Norman Parker, 89, the first chancellor of the University of Illinois at Chicago, died in Sun City, Ariz. Parker helped plan and oversee construction of the Circle Campus west of downtown. He retired in 1972.

40 * February 1996 Illinois Issues