Edited by Rodd Whelpley
INTERROGATIONS & CONFESSIONS
State's lop lawyer wants tapes
Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan recommended last month that police videotape interrogations and confessions in criminal cases, especially in homicide investigations, arguing it would make the justice system fairer for both police and suspects. In a letter to an Illinois House panel reviewing videotaping in criminal cases, Ryan also called for a change in state law authorizing covert taping of suspects. If a suspect complains of police abuse during questioning, the tape would document the abuse or prove the allegation false, Ryan argued. Currently, a suspect cannot be videotaped without giving consent. Pleased with the recommendation, the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois did voice concern about surreptitious taping. "But it is a logistics issue we can work through as the process proceeds," says spokesman Ed Yohnka. "Videotaping offers a wonderful protection for all those involved."
The bipartisan House panel, led by Chicago Democrats Monique Davis and
Sara Feigenholtz, began meeting in July.
Burney Simpson
Editor's choice
Thinking of a cow? You are now
Chicago media have been milking the public art exhibition Cows on Parade ™for every drop of
"news," boosting their city's bovine buzz. The Chicago Sun-Times went udderly cow crazy, roping
pedestrians into posing with their favorites. But it's summer.
93% ready as of July 31, 1999,
according to the Illinois Technology Office
Y2K countdown
Illinois state agencies are more than
90 percent Y2K compliant overall,
according to the office responsible for
tracking such progress.
The office's monthly report also
highlights those functions considered
essential to public health and safety
and critical to the operations of state
government.
In August, the Y2K. office classified
82 state functions as essential, meaning
they can't be interrupted for more than
a day. Those include operation of
the state's mainframe computers (95
percent ready) and telecommunications
systems through Central Management
Services (98 percent ready), emergency
response services from the Department
of Public Health (100 percent ready),
and the Environmental Protection
Agency's emergency response functions
(65 percent ready). The state estimates
an overall 92 percent Y2K compliance
rate for these systems.
Y2K refers to the date January 1,
2000, when some experts believe
computers could become confused
and cease operation.
For more information, go to
www.state.il.us/y2k
Burney Simpson
8 September 1999 Illinois Issues
THE AFTERWORD
The bills have been passed and the governor has signed them. Now the lawyers and the
regulators are looking at the newest state laws. Here's an update from last summer.
Tuition tax credit
A teacher and a parent filed suit in Franklin County in July, charging the new state
income tax credit for private schooling is unconstitutional because it violates the
requirement to keep church and state separate. The teacher, Keith Griffith, is president
of the local affiliate of the Illinois Federation of Teachers. The union had vowed to
challenge the provision as it moved through the legislature last spring. (See Illinois
Issues, June, page 9.) The law, signed this summer, gives a 25 percent tax credit to
parents to help cover their child's tuition and other school expenses. Opponents claim
children in public schools won't generate the minimum $250 in costs required for
parents to be eligible for the credits and religious schools will get the most benefit.
Liquor
The new law designed to benefit Illinois liquor distributors was quickly challenged
by two large distilleries. (See Illinois Issues, June, page 10.) In separate suits, Jim Beam,
a Kentucky-based bourbon maker, and Kendall-Jackson Winery of California said
the law is unconstitutional because it favors the distributors in contract disputes.
Proponents of the new law, chiefly the state's four largest liquor distributors, claim it
ensures fair contracts. As it stands, distillers will have to show cause before changing
distributors. Beam's suit says the law benefits special interests and harms consumers.
Gambling
Casino operators presented plans in July for a 76,000-square-foot, two-story
gambling barge in Rosemont near O'Hare Airport. H.P. Inc. submitted architectural
drawings to the Illinois Gaming Board for a boat to be called the Emerald Casino. If
approved, it will be the first such casino to operate in Cook County. The Rosemont
Village Board has already approved the Emerald. Gov. Ryan signed legislation in June
allowing the operation to move from East Dubuque, where it had been shuttered since
1996. (See Illinois Issues, June, pages 10 and 12.)
Ethics
Local officials got some advice on handling a new ethics law that took effect July 1.
The law had municipal officials confused as to whether each local government body
— school boards, library boards, zoning commissions and the like — had to name
its own ethics board to monitor the conduct of public officials. (See Illinois Issues,
July/August, page 11.) Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan concluded local
governments have some leeway in writing the procedures to be used to handle
complaints. Further, Ryan said every local body does not need its own ethics officer,
as long there is a designated local group or official who can look into complaints.
Ryan warned, though, that the local complaint procedures should be similar to the
state-level procedures that took effect at the beginning of the year.
Burney Simpson
WEBSOURCE
Advances in seed genetics have
dramatically increased farm
productivity. (See page 12.) But
it's unlikely many Illinoisans have
been following the science behind
DNA manipulation of corn and
soybeans.
For a basic background on corn
development, genetics, soil conservation, and even the use of global
positioning systems on the back 40,
click onto the National Corn
Grower's Association's Corn
Curriculum web site at
www.ncga.com/07curriculum/main.
Yes, the site's goal is to teach kids
math, science and communication
skills by using farm-based examples, but it would be hard to find a
clearer explanation of the rudiments, history and goals of genetic
manipulation of corn anywhere on
the web.
For more sophisticated information, start with the Illinois Corn
web site at www.ilcorn.org. Co-produced by the Illinois Corn Growers Association and the Illinois Corn
Marketing Board, it has the latest
news about yield factors, farm legislation and farmers' quality of life.
For soybean information, the Illinois Soybean Association and the
Illinois Soybean Checkoff Board
have put together www.ilsoy.org. In
addition to information on how
bean genes are manipulated to fight
such diseases as white mold, it provides the latest prices with a link to
the Chicago Board of Trade at
www.cbot.com.
Rodd Whelpley
Illinois' charter school experiment off to a slow start
As children head to classes, the state's
struggling charter school program will
get a booster shot. Gov. Ryan agreed to
put $11 million into a pot for the experimental schools, $10 million for start-up
costs and $1 million for building loans.
Supporters hope state funds will entice
more local districts to sign up for
charter schools. Costs to the local
district have kept some communities out
of the program.
Charters, public schools run by nonprofit organizations, are exempt from
some state requirements. The program,
started in 1996, called for 45 such
schools statewide. (See "Charting the
course," Illinois Issues, June 1997, page
32.) But this fall only 19 will open their
doors, though for the first time two are
up and running in the Chicago suburbs.
Of the 21 that had been launched since
the program began, one closed due to
poor performance and another changed its mission.
Peggy Boyer Long
Illinois Issues September 1999 9
BRIEFLY
GOVERNOR'S ACTION
Gov. George Ryan stepped into the
batter's box early, wielding his executive
power before lawmakers left town last May.
By the end of June, he had put his signature
to the most controversial and expensive proposals the General Assembly sent his way,
including financial breaks for the horse
racing industry and tax credits for parents
who enroll their children in private schools.
In the first season of political goodwill
between legislators and the new governor,
much of the suspense was missing from this
summer's game. Yet Ryan's execution was
worthy of note. On more controversial
measures, he chose to go for quiet singles,
signing legislation to help major liquor
distributors, for example, on a day when
lawmakers were approving other big-ticket
items. On his $12 billion Illinois First
building program, though, he decided to
swing for the fences, launching a flyaround
to announce local projects, perhaps as a way
to deflect criticism of increases in liquor
taxes and license plate fees. These are standard strategies for the state's top politician,
of course. Yet this governor managed to
bring new flair to the game by spending
$365,000 from his own campaign kitty on
T V ads touting the plan — and the practical
value of bipartisan cooperation.
Besides the $42.8 billion state budget,
which Ryan also signed in June, he faced 728
substantive legislative proposals. As the
summer wound down, he began to take
action on as many as 70 a day.
Crime
Felons will face tougher sentences
if they use guns. The governor signed
his so-called "15-20-life" anti-crime
proposal. It will add 15 years to a prison
term if a felon carries a gun while committing such crimes as murder, sexual
assault and kidnapping. It will add 20
years if the gun is used. It will add 25
years to life if somebody is hurt or killed.
Ryan signed other measures aimed at
reducing gun violence, as well. Guns
stored at home will have to be fitted with
trigger locks, placed in lockboxes or
stored in secure locations if the owners
have reason to believe a minor under age
14 might have access. And buying a
gun for somebody else, a practice known
as making a "straw purchase," will be
outlawed.
Ryan also signed a measure that
aims for fairer death penalty trials by
creating a pot to more fully cover legal
costs. $10 million was appropriated.
Environment
Owners of large hog farms will face
stricter regulations. The new rules, which
establish zoning and operations guidelines, will require public hearings and
nonbinding recommendations by county
boards before construction. They were
the result of negotiations between the
governor's office and lawmakers from
central Illinois, where the operations
have been controversial.
The governor enacted his "Open Land
Trust" initiative to help communities
acquire and protect open space. The
program establishes grants and loans.
And he authorized creation of park and
recreation districts connecting hiking
and hiking trails with similar districts in
Missouri. Under legislation approved by
each state, the Metro-East Park and
Recreation District is subject to local
approval in an upcoming referendum.
Truckers will have to get emissions
systems on larger diesel rigs checked
every year if they are registered in the
Metro-East or Chicago metropolitan
areas.
Meanwhile, developers will now be
able to seek permission from the state to
build on endangered species' habitats.
Education
Teachers will have to keep learning
if they want to keep their jobs. The
governor signed legislation requiring
elementary and secondary teachers to
create lesson plans for themselves in
order to get certified to teach in the state.
The plans will be reviewed by local committees. Teachers will be required to be
recertified every five years, beginning
early next year.
10 September 1999 Illinois Issues
PRESSBOX:
Stalling on public records; saving the world's plant life
The Illinois Associated Press
Editors Association discovered how
hard it is for Illinois citizens to get basic
information about local governments.
In an investigation in all of the state's
102 counties, The Associated Press and 14
member newspapers found that in most
cases local officials are either ignorant of
Illinois law or are willing to violate it by
denying access to public documents.
The project, conducted in April and
May and published in July, sent 56
reporters to city halls, jails, school districts
and county offices throughout Illinois to
ask for information. To determine how
requests from the public are treated, and to
ensure they weren't given special treatment,
reporters didn't initially identify themselves
as journalists.
Dana Heupel, Statehouse editor for
the Springfield State Journal-Register,
coordinated the data gathering. He noted
Illinois law requires public agencies to
keep lists of documents under their control. Reporters asked to see those lists at
the largest city and school district in each
county and at county government offices.
They also asked for copies of minutes
from city council meetings, travel
vouchers from school superintendents
and logs of prisoners held in county jails.
The law allows anyone to look at that
information. Yet almost two-thirds of the
requests were denied or not complied with
on the initial visit.
Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan
told The Associated Press he'll consider
ways to improve the state's 1984 Freedom
of Information Act, including creation of
an open records commission to handle
disputes over public records.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch
detailed the debate among the world's
botanists over bioengineering and the
preservation of rare or endangered plants.
The week-long package of essays
and reports was pegged to the 16th
International Botanical Congress in St.
Louis the first week of August.
A central controversy at the congress, as
captured by the series, was the ethical
implications of research into plant gene
manipulation. Proponents argue it
promises to increase and improve the
world's food supply; critics argue it
endangers humans and threatens the
environment. (See page 12.)
But the nearly 5,000 scientists from 80
countries appeared to agree on this: The
earth's ecology is under threat, and that's
important because plants provide
food, shelter and medicine, clean the air
we breathe and control the world's
temperature and humidity.
Peter Raven, director of the Missouri
Botanical Garden, argued that one-third of
the plant species on Earth could become
extinct in 50 years. He recommended,
according to Post-Dispatch reporter Robert
Steyer, better international coordination on
conservation efforts and greater financial
resources for developing countries so they
can protect indigenous plants.
"We should be able to find the necessary
resources," Raven is quoted as saying. "In
fact, anything else would be neither intelligent nor Worthy Of us."
Illinois Issues September 1999 11
And the exhibition, which runs
through October 31, was designed to celebrate Chicago's whimsical side. To that end, life-size
fiberglass cows, created by hundreds of the city's artists, have taken to grazing all over town,
thanks to support from individuals, businesses and nonprofit groups. Kathryn Trumhull Fimreite's
"Herd Instinct" (below) was put out to pasture at Pioneer Court and the Wrigley Building at
the south end of the Magnificent Mile. Adrienne Levatino's photograph came to us courtesy of
the city, which has an information line (312-744-6630) and maps. The exhibition is expected to
generate $300,000 for the cultural community. "Most of all." says Mayor Richard M. Daley,
Chicago's most serious booster, "art can he fun." Even appropriate. It's been alleged, after all, that
a cow sparked modern Chicago. And these cows will he auctioned off, a reminder of the fate of so
many beefy predecessors who paraded through the long-gone Chicago Stockyards.
Peggy Born Long
Ag genetics and markets
Peggy Boyer Long
Peggy Boyer Long