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Question of the Day

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Illinois

Capitol Fax Blog commenters are being asked for their expertise.

The Institute of Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois is looking to tap into the wealth of knowledge, instinct, experience and intuition of Capitol Fax Blog commenters.

Specifically, researchers at our flagship institution are interested in knowing what topics CapFax readers think the University should be focusing on in the upcoming year.

In other words, what policy areas do you think we need to know more about for 2007-2008?

The Institute has provided a short list of possible topics and has suggested that commenters select up to three to help narrow the field, or come up their own. The suggested topics:

-Alternative fuels and energy
-School finance
-Measuring educational achievement
-Medicaid reform and outlook
-Higher education: is there a funding crisis?
-Economic development in high tech world
-Illinois and world global competition
-Ethics regulations around the world
-Regional/metropolitan planning
-Utilities regulation and pricing
-Health care—universal coverage v. affordable care
-Streamlined sales tax and Internet sales
-Demographic projections and public policy
-Other

Please offer your thoughts to help guide the University’s agenda next year. A few randomly selected commenters will receive a copy of Institute Professor Jim Nowlan’s latest book,
The Editor’s Wife

Let’s put on our thinking caps and help out the Institute. Please, no snark. Thanks!

posted by Paul Richardson
Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 9:44 am

Comments

State-wide transit networks: high-speed rail.

Toward a reasonable statewide immigration policy.

How can more state progams become self-funded?

How to practically implement a statewide energy authority to create competition vs. encourage investment.

Comment by pettycoat junction Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 9:56 am
Well, I’m a Hoosier Grad, but I don’t mind giving suggestions to the Illini– I think they ought to focus on government budgeting in general, and how to improve the process in Illinois. They might look at other states as examples. Missouri has had some reform. When I worked for the legislature there, we relied on some ideas from Georgia and Rhode Island in revamping our mess of a system.

Also, school finance is a disaster, and if health care isn’t addressed soon, it will be a complete disaster.

Comment by HoosierDaddy Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 9:57 am
Hmmm there are a few good ones up there I would choose. But I can only choose three.

public school finance
measuring eduacation achievement
regional/metro planning

Comment by Levois Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 9:58 am
1.) Alternative fuels and energy / Utilities regulation and pricing: To me, these tie in together. Civilizations will always need fuel and energy, but the question will really be affordability. Also, the advances made in this field will directly impact industries worldwide.

2.) Higher education: is there a funding crisis?: Without access to higher education, those on a lower socioeconomic scale have greater difficulty with social mobility. If college, especially public schools, become too expensive, it stunts the opportunity for people to advance themselves. Plus, this issue has a special place for me since I love the University of Illinois.

3.) Streamlined sales tax and Internet sales: I picked this one mainly because it deals with Internet commerce. Making money off the Web requires that perceptions in display advertising change dramatically and also how to market to a more diverse audience. Additionally, I’d love to know how online retailers are going to challenge local retailers long term. Will the decentralized nature of online sales mean that more people can enter into the business, drive competition and mean lower prices? Will this spur online banking? And what lessons are still being learned from the dot-com bust? Frankly, this field fascinates me the most.

Comment by Kiyoshi Martinez Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 10:01 am
For over ten years, I have been patiently waiting for public administration to catch up with the Internet and it’s impact on governments. So far, I’m still waiting and watching as state agencies and governments stumble, hand off these responsibilities to “computer guys”, and fail.

What is public information? Who should have the rights to own it, show it, and store it? What rights does the public have in access to it? How about barrier-free web designs? Why are we taxing the visually challenged but failing to program so that they can have access to public information?

THE REVOLUTION FOR THIS CENTURY IS ALL ABOUT PRIMARY SOURCE DATA and the knowledge derived from it. As a matter of fact, I am sick and tired of so-called public adminstrators who cannot understand the basics of data such as what is a primary or secondary source!!

I am tired of public administrators who do not understand how a database works and what impact this has on the questions they need to ask data sources!

Your list of topics is fine - BUT - it doesn’t address the fundamental change facing public administrators today - how the tools they use has changed with technology and what impact this has on their jobs.

TEN YEARS! I am getting really tired of waiting!

Wake up and look at the damn calendar, people!

Comment by VanillaMan Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 10:07 am
What a shopping list!! I’d pick 1) regional/metro planning and be sure the topic includes both passenger/vehicular and freight movement considerations –including barges on the Illinois and Miss. Rivers; 2) economic development, which is reliant on better schools (hence addressing level statewide funding thereof), venture capital sources for high tech and nanotech companies and then aggressive approaches to being globally competitive; 3) fuels and energy, including looking at every aspect from sources to regulation of suppliers, emissions, etc. Great topic for commenters … and a tribute to capitol fax that the U of I people came here first. Congratulations Rich!

Comment by jaundiced eye Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 10:11 am
Here’s a bonus one that’s not on the list above: Broadband and wireless development.

Without access to broadband technology, business development will probably be stunted. Imagine Chicago without access to high-speed Internet and what would happen to the business climate there. Or even suburban areas. This is the challenge lots of rural areas are facing. And it has an impact on politics, too.

It’s funny to watch all the big news organizations report on the 2008 presidential election and how the Internet is changing the way these candidates are going to do their campaigns (ie: Obamagirl video). But what’s often forgotten is that without access to broadband, you’re never going to watch YouTube or really be a “typical” Internet user. This means in areas where there isn’t broadband, traditional paid media strategies still apply.

Comment by Kiyoshi Martinez Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 10:13 am
I don’t see any bad topics in the group. The three topics I think are best:

Utility pricing - Clearly this is a big issue downstate and impacts jobs.

Alternative fuels - Illinois is going hard towards corn based Ethanol, but its not a “slam dunk.” For instance it is causing a rise in milk prices and is not the most efficient plant. U of I is in the right place and has the right prestige to give a honest assessment that will have impact.

I would add the issue of Criminal justice system. It strikes me as a non-expert that we are putting too many people in jail and then tunring them into hardened ex-felons without any attempts at rehabilitating them.

Comment by Objective Dem Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 10:17 am
I think there needs to be a big deal made about how we plan in Illinois and in the United States and how we set our priorities. Most of the initiatives you mention fall under this to some extent. FYI:

-Alternative fuels and energy - YES! Petroleum is old tech and fading fast.

-School finance - How can we authorize $90 billion dollars for defense spending and tell our schools to hold bake sales to save their kids’ fingerpainting.

-Medicaid improvements - How are we preparing for our low-income elderly coming down the pipe and more immigrants? How are we making spending decisions that cost us more in the long run (denying dental work, only to lead to expensive bowel obstruction surgery, for example - a case from my own life)

-Higher education - If we want to compete globally, we have to ensure that more people can afford higher education.

-Ethics and corruption fighting in ILLINOIS - This is where the priority/planning problems begin in many cases in our state.

-Regional/metropolitan planning - Especially mass transportation. We can’t keep avoiding this forever.

Comment by Ferdy Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 10:19 am
The alternative energy category is a subset of a larger theme of modernizing the state’s networks in energy, transportation, material flows, and communication.

Other subsets within these networks:
High-speed rail.
Providing infrastructure for alternative fuel cars.
Tax incentives for renewable energy use.
Net neutrality.
Public Wi-Fi access.
Providing incentives for closed-loop manufacturing processes in-state.
(Stretching the definition a bit to reduce food transportation costs), providing incentives for community-supported agriculture statewide.
Improving the efficiency of industrial and household recycling systems statewide.
Modernizing state IT, getting more government services and reports on-line.

Comment by Boone Logan Square Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 10:20 am
crime. it’s not on the rise in Illinois, but it
is elsewhere. and, with so much traffic on the
gun thread, we know that there is much discussion
in Chicago on murders of children. if it is
rising in other places, it will catch up here. what can we do to prevent that?

delivery of services, overlaps and needs measurement. some areas underserved, some
overserved. how do we regularly measure use and
make decisions for openings and, more difficult,
closure of facilities. once you build something,
even a tiny constituency can be loud and impede
action. not a sexy topic, but very important
across many areas of government.

Comment by amy Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 10:22 am
I’d put school financing and K-12 educational attainment into the same category. Let’s look throughout Illinois, comparable states across the country, and comparable nations around the world to find out what policies and investments in education are most effective.

Ditto on health care.

Ditto on criminal justice.

Comment by Yellow Dog Democrat Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 10:38 am
Good question & glad to hear U of I is making strides to making their study topics focus on recent & topical issues in Illinois.
At U of W-Madison, there is a very strong tie between the state legislature & the University…

My suggestions would be the following:

1) alternative fuels & energy/ utility pricing & regulation (tied together)

2) medicaid reform — to save the state $$

3) healthcare - taking a look at universal health care - is this the best option for IL?
Does it make sense to tackle such a huge undertaking, or is it more of a federal issue?

Comment by dupage progressive Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 10:44 am
Pension and Health Care Reform. These two areas are drastically impacting both the public and private sector and if left unchecked will become the major isues effecting Illinois families.

Comment by JW Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 10:50 am
For alternative fuels, etc.: We could really benefit from a wide-ranging cost-benefit analysis, especially of ethanol. There’s a rush to boost ethanol production in the corn-growing states, but I think we need to know more about its viability with tax breaks, the cost of those tax breaks, the impact on the larger economy (food prices, in particular), transportation issues, environmental concerns and alternatives.

I agree that somebody really needs to sit down and look at urban planning, especially transportation. Highways and railroads around Chicago are choked up. Midway and O’Hare are bursting at the seams. The CTA is slow, inefficient, dirty and expensive. Pace seems pretty worthless. Metra seems to run well most of the time, but it doesn’t run often enough or to enough places (without first going to Chicago) to make it anything more than a feeder to the CTA or the tollways.

If people are serious about covering all the uninsured in Illinois, they need more data on who the uninsured are, why they don’t have coverage, how much they make, where they work, how old they are, etc. This is the first step Massachusetts took, three years before the legislature there passed the universal care law.

I may be an outlier here, but I think school funding has been studied quite a bit already — and will continue to be without any additional effort. I think the issue is pretty well understood. The reason it hasn’t changed all these years is not because people don’t get what’s going on. The reformers have a political problem, not an information problem.

Comment by Dan Vock Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 10:50 am
School finance.
Utilities regulation and pricing.
Funding existing state pension obligations and revamping the entire state pension system.

Comment by State Contractor Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 10:57 am
-Alternative fuels and energy
-Utilities regulation and pricing
-Streamlined sales tax and Internet sales

Comment by Reader Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 11:07 am
-Economic development in high tech world
-Regional/metropolitan planning
-Demographic projections and public policy

-Other (The Governor’s not so secret plans to kill the 3rd Chicago airport.)

Comment by metal medusa Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 11:07 am
I assume all of these answers are coming from Dr. Nowlan’s relatives
Hey its summer…The big U should focus:

— better recruiting for football, and
— teaching scholarship athletes not to drive drunk.
Let us know when they hae mastered those task…then we can move on to ethanol fueled nuclear powers plants, etc.

Comment by Reddbyrd Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 11:14 am
Do:
1. Alternative energy. Is there any hope of buring Illinois coal in a safe manner? Could it be converted to fuel for cars and trucks? Get busy in that lab!

2. Electronics and computer science. This is the future. Get those chips fired up and make better ones!

3. To keep the public policy studies students occupied study corruption and graft in state government. There is enough material here for tens of thousands doctoral dissertations not to mention tons of entertainment.

Don’t:

1. Waste time and money on “measuring educational achievement”. This has been done for the past century and intensively since 1985. If we do not know the best practices and methods by now, we never will.

2. Waste money on rail transportation other than freight. If high speed rail were workable, it would succeed in the market place without subsidies.

3. Develop a sports management program devoted to the study of the Cubs franchise. This could provide tons of material regarding how not to run a franchise of any type. All one has to do is look at the other side of town.

Comment by Big Al Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 11:26 am
#1 Education, #2 Ethics, #3 Alternative Fuel and Energy. Would like to add that we need to encourage our youth at all levels of education to engage in the electoral process and to vote. Apathy will eventually destroy our country. As to the ethics issue, I say we concentrate on Illinois and work our way down from there to DC and the worthless UN. That should take a generation or two. Based on what I’ve seen lately Hell must be temporarily closed because we have lots of liars and thieves afoot in government. But I digress…Of all the choices, Education appears to me to be the most critical to all our objectives.

Comment by Justice Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 11:50 am
Health Care - National Issue, not for the state to waste Billions when it can’t pay its own bills.

Ethics Reform/ Time for a Constitutional Convsntion in Illinois? WE need a convention to redistibute power in Illinois. Quins supposed reform (doing away with 3 member districts was a complete debockle). New convention could tackle a lot of these problems, with a new way to draw district maps every ten years (a hat isnt the way to go, maybe have a computer do it), and its been so long, the landscape in Illinois has changed.

Education Funding Reform - Its been talked about to death. There is so much research out there, you can support about any position you want. The climate may have been right this year, but the GOvernor overshadowed everthing with Illinois COvered. Its a shame, the year we could have (maybe) done something in a 750 form is now lost. Thanks Gov. Blago.

Higher Education - The socio- economic gap continues to grow thanks to the GOv. Study showing how Illinois has sliped form the front of the pack for affordability (including options for financial aid) to the middle, thanks to the GOv.

To the Don’ts:

as quoted above, Don’t waste money on rail transporation. If high speed rail worded, it would succeed without subsidies. Really? Like the airline industry? Its working so well. Although, this may be a national issue.

I don’t mind putting money towards alternative fuels, but come on coal, to burn in cars? That is a waste of money, it can’t be done in a clean, cost efficient way. Ethanol, thats fine if we continue to get subsidies, but its already been proven that sugar is the best way to go. It can be grown cheaper and refined cheaper than corn or soy, not to mention it burns over 3 times longer. If you are going to earmark dollars for research, do it with high tech incubators. Thats the future.

Comment by Moderate Repub Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 12:03 pm
- net metering of electricity to encourage rooftop solar panel installation
- use of treated wastewater rather than groundwater in ethanol production
- crime reduction techniques in urban planning

Comment by Warrior Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 12:16 pm
I think a discussion of a proposed constitutional convention (given the timeliness of the 2008 ballot question) with a series of papers on the parts of our constitution that work well and those parts that do not work very well is perfect for the IGPA.

Comment by Dan Johnson-Weinberger Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 12:24 pm
I would like to see U of I look at public school financing…and maybe even moreso their spending. Various subtopics: school consolidation, redistricting instead of building more schools (where there is an urban decline and suburban/rural increase), and removing levels of governmental units since there are currently about 1000 units of government. Union contracts and governmental bureaucracy probably also play a role.

Also should look at the balance of funding. Historically, schools in Illinois have been funded by entire communities, but there seems to be a shift: more of a shift toward builders, developers, and newcomers without a voting voice (charging impact fees, transition fees, etc.). All of these shifts toward segments creates a division in the community — for example, existing versus new residents. It also artificially drives up the costs of homes for both new and existing residents. (If new homes cost more due to fees, the assessed value increases. Higher assessed value affects existing homes’ assessed values, which means higher property taxes.) There is also a shift toward school fees — if you want to participate in sports or the arts, you’ll have to pay in some districts. This creates a divide between those who can afford that and those who can’t.

Utilities would be another another area of interest.

Comment by Metro-East Reader Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 12:27 pm
tenure and teaching effectiveness - i.e. does tenure impact the quality of education in grades k-12

Teacher quality, does it need to be improved? If so what needs to be done to attract and keep better teachers in k-12?

Diesel Fuel and Bio-diesel - should the automakers move away from gasoline and ethenoyl? engines

Comment by Ghost Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 12:33 pm
1) Education, communication, technology and economics are all tied together as Freidman discussed in his World is Flat books. Other countries are slowly picking off skilled services we have taken for granted and we ain’t winnin’.

2) Healthcare - medical, Medicaid - How to advance it, pay for it, keep it affordable, and provide coverage. This includes community services that keep people living independently.

3)Energy, utilities, and regulation - What options are available and what really works at different cost points - solar, nuclear, ethanol(corn, sugar, and other plant based options), wind, coal, oils(petroleum, vegetable, and others), water, geothermal

Comment by zatoichi Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 12:38 pm
I forgot

The pros and cons of leasing the State Lottery

Comment by Ghost Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 12:39 pm
There are two crucial issues that are not on the list:

1.) criminal justice that focuses on locking up people without the faintest thought of rehabilitation. As a result people reenter society unable to cope and become prime candidates for more crime and recycling in poverty.

2.) poverty remains an oppressive issue. ever since the disater of Clinton’s “welfare reform”, which so many rushed to embrace the focus has become to ignore the situation people are caught in - insufficient income, high expenses and no way out. the universities are at as much fault by creating the impressiuon the poverty issue has been handled.

The relationship between poverty and crime is a no brainer the universities should be teaching about to awake our political society that ignores this reality.

Doug

Comment by Doug Dobmeyer Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 12:56 pm
This is my first official post on capitolfax, but I can’t help but put my two cents in this time.

1) school finance
2) higher education: is there a funding crisis?
3) economic development

Comment by hollyringo Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 12:56 pm
1. Consolidation of school districts and the cost savings of the combined districts. Skokie is an excellent example. What will happen though is high school district teachers will say no way as their salaries are mingled with elementary districts. This isn’t necessarily about south of I-80, it’s the exhorbitant way inwhich, and i don’t know how it got so bad, districts are monitored.

2. Also, not done yet, evaluate accross the nation the dollar amount per student to test grades using NAEP numbers. It should show revenue sources and state administration along with spending requirements. If there are 50 students in the public policy group, give them each a state with a set of guidelines - Per pupil spending, type of revenues streams - (example property taxes, exise taxes, lottery, sales and income, services taxes, luxury taxes), test scores for 3 thru 12, exit requirements, special education, average teacher salaries, average administrator salaries, poverty counts, forumulas, oh I could go on….

Then take a look at the best. Have conversations with each state board of ed.

Comment by game plan Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 1:11 pm
To Warrior,

Net metering legislation passed this year. See SB680.

Comment by Anon Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 1:25 pm
#1 - Infrastructure improvements
Roads
Bridges
Water
Sewer
Electricity
Natural gas
Internet
Inland waterways (locks & dams)
Rail

Here are the reasons why - without roads and bridges, the economy will grind to a halt. Huge amounts of goods are transported on the highways. Rail and water will get the products so far. Trucks take it the rest of the way.

Water and sewer are public health issues. More and more water and sewer systems are coming under pressure from over use and poor maintenance. Clean water is critical to a health public.

Electricity and natural gas infrastructure is aging. Fewer companies are putting in new lines to feed the power hunger society that we have become. Nowadays there isn’t an appliance or personal device that doesn’t run off of electricty. Think of a power line as a water hose - there is only so much water (electricty) that can get through the hose (power line) before it bursts. The same goes for natural gas.

The internet - enough said.

Water transportation - With increasing drought durations, water levels of the inland waterways are declining. More needs to be done to maintain the shipping channels and locks. Larger locks are needed to reduce transit delays through the locking systems. If you have never seen how a lock and dam system works, on your next trip to Starved Rock, go by the Starved Rock Lock and Dam on Dee Bennet Road east of Utica. The barges have to break the tow in half and lock through twice because the locks are too small for a modern tow. Barges carry huge amounts of materials when compared to rail or truck.

Rail - as previously mentioned by other writers, high speed rail should not have any money spent on it. Rather the money should be spent on ways to improve railroad crossing safety with grade separation structures. Improve how freight goes through the Chicago area. Chicago is the cross roads of America when it comes to rail road traffic. A significant portion of ALL railroad traffic goes through Chicago. The CREATE project is to streamline rail operations through Chicago.

Unfortunately there are a few people who will do anything to stop projects - HSP (Highly Sensitive People), CAVE (Citizens Against Virtually Everything) BANANA (Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything) NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) NIMFY (Not In My Front Yard)

Technology can do many things. But it takes infrastructure to make it work.

Comment by Huh? Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 1:26 pm
I would be interested in learning if government subsidies to business are worth what they cost. I started out thinking of the huge subsidy to ADM on ethanol, but then skipped to the developers getting huge Tax Increment Financing district subsidies at the expense of local schools and other tax districts.

Comment by Cal Skinner Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 1:43 pm
They should look into how the legal system changed in the political circles. Rutan Law, the trouble with George Ryan, Blago. What use to be considered legal and just good back room deals are now illegal and sending people to jail.

Another great topick would be to conpare the current Leg. System to the old system and determine which one was more effective.

Comment by He makes Ryan look like a saint Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 1:46 pm
What Huh said. Although HSR has limited potental to serve part of the airlines’ short haul market, it must be done right to compete (Like Europe or Japan with completely separate infrastructure). Not sure if the taxpayers have the stomach for the multi-billions this will cost, when they hesitate to fund the modes we already have.

Alt energy is important, but how much does a state influence what should be national policy? That being said, IL can do things to promote wind power and clean coal technology. I predict the ethanol boom will go bust as soon as electric cars become more economical…fast charge batteries will make electric recharge stations the infrastructure need of the next decade.

Health care issues - this is being played out in the court of public opinion from SiCKO to Blago’s universal coverage. With an aging group of semi-wealthy Boomers who will demand the best of care, how will the underserved and less fortunate working poor fare?

Comment by Six Degrees of Separation Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 1:59 pm
The intersection of school finance and Illinois’ place in the global economy. If we don’t fix it, we’re toast.

Comment by Sage Observer Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 2:21 pm
Alternative fuels, metro planning (that captures a lot of stuff), utilities regulation

Comment by Jerry Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 2:30 pm
1. Alternative Fuels & Energy
Take a look at what Chelan County, Washington (Economic Development) is doing with rechargable vehicles (solar/electric). We all know there isn’t a whole lot of sunshine in the Northwest, so if they can make a go of this then it should work elsewhere.

2. School Finances
This country is already in trouble with low scores in this area. Wake up and realize our children are the future of this country. Not everyone can afford a private education - so make the public one quality.

3. Healthcare
Everything in this area costs TOO MUCH. Maybe instead of financing every needy, & many not so needy, countries in the world, the U.S. can start funding some home grown healthcare. Stop foreign aid for just one year and let’s see how we can fix our problem. Or, here’s an idea, let’s get our army out of Iraq and use that money.

Comment by Independent One Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 2:32 pm
Alternative fuel/energy are no-brainer issues for Illinois, with its vast agricultural resources, strong industrial base and need for new/replacement manufacturing jobs. Tied in with Illinois’ mega-employers like Cat, Deere, and ADM, to name a few, Illinois should be the national leader on these issues. Instead, it seems like the state’s Chicago-based elected officials think that casinos will better solve our problems.

This is not meant to be an endorsement of ethanol.. There are certainly plenty of downsides to ethanol that need thoroughly weighed. But there is, of course, more to alternative energy than ethanol.

Comment by winco Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 2:47 pm
Six degrees, for short haul, I don’t even think that HSR is needed. Underutilized lines need to be appropriated. Make them dedicated Amtrak lines. Traditional rail, if utilized correctly, could easily replace short haul flights. You can board in more locations, and you don’t have the big problems with passing through security. And it can drop you in the middle of downtown, rather than on the fringes. And you can cab it from there, or rent a car.

I think HSR would be better for competing with middle and long distance air travel. But I can’t claim to be an expert. I have taken a ride on Amtrak, and it was a pleasant experience, except for the return trip when my train was heavily delayed due to being stuck behind a freight line.
Then you need a sustained PR blitz to convince people to ride. If its successful, Amtrak could even be privatized, but you’ve got to give it a chance.

Comment by Jerry Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 2:51 pm
Examination of the revenue structure in the state - identify streams, identify trends, what are each funding, are they stable and adequate. Many issues identified - internet, sales tax, utilities, etc. - are symptoms of a larger problem that is greatly impacting the overall revenue structure and leading to shortfalls against expenditures. Also, examination of programs and intended goals/outcomes - better balance between state program expenditures and performance measurement. Illinois needs to look into the sound fundamentals of public finance.

Comment by City Voter Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 2:56 pm
winco - we need to quit talking about corn based ethanol though - its just not very efficient. There’s something called cellulosic ethanol, which is even more efficient than sugar cane (what Brazil uses to great success) ethanol.

I don’t know much about it - it requires an extra step (more $$), but it is made using leftovers of other agricultural activities. Instead of using ears of corn, you’d use the corn plant and eat the ears. It is something that should be researched, and I think corn farmers would support it, as it would be an opportunity to get more $$ from their land.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellulosic_ethanol#Economic_importance_and_viability

Comment by Jerry Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 2:57 pm
Jerry - I agree with Chicago to Milwaukee being served with conventional rail…look at the success of the Hiawatha Route. How many people actually fly from Chicago to Milwaukee…I guess it makes some sense if you’re in the western or NW burbs, rather than driving downtown or to Lake Co. to catch the train. Not so sure about Chicago-Detroit, Chicago-Indy, Chicago-St.Louis. If it’s a 4 or 5 hour train ride, you can drive it in nearly the same time and have your car available at the destination, or fly and be there within an hour.

Comment by Six Degrees of Separation Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 3:03 pm
Listen -
All these topics so far have been pretty good, but I sit in meetings where good conversations and leadership take place, yet when it comes to getting the work done, the entire plan starts to unravel because these geniuses don’t understand how to make data work for them. They don’t understand how to do research using tech tools. They don’t understand how to query a database in order to get a needed answer. They are 20th Century minds failing to function in the 21st Century office.

This isn’t about knowing how to use a computer. This is about the need for most public administrators to understand how to take data, mine data, organize work loads, and basically know how to do their jobs in today’s office. I am certain that the number of posts I see here are sincere, but really don’t get it when it comes to this huge problem.

Too often I see public administrators relying on staff support for work they should do themselves, quicker, and with better understanding and execution. Their inability to understand data tools are forcing important decision makers to rely on 20 year old computer programmers. These guys work hard to decifer what the intention of public adminstrators and often failing.

We are not seeing the benefit of new data technologies within public administration because public administrators think of data as separate from decision making. You cannot have good decisions with bad data. You cannot analyse for good results without understanding the source of data or the query and databases behind the results.

The biggest challenge we face as public administrators is understanding how new data tools are making our jobs easier and different from in the past. I do not see new graduates understanding how to do their jobs with the tools now available to them.

So, it doesn’t matter a fig if you want to address alternative energy, new tax sources, school reform or infrastructure. If you do not know how to handle the massive amount of data cascading from everywhere and available everywhere, you will flounder.

Public administrators also utterly fail to understand how to discriminate against data. They do not understand how to collect data from primary sources or how to clean data from secondary and other sources.

Big woo, so you want to make government work better? Then start teaching our future public administrators how to ride our new data tools in order to make better decisions on whatever issue we are addressing today or in the future.

GIGO - a huge problem in government today, with few understanding the extent of the damage.

Comment by VanillaMan Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 3:14 pm
VanillaMan,

Two words — Shared Services. It’s going to completely overhaul state HR, finance and personnel systems so they’re brought into the 21st century. You rightly point out that the system is inefficient and broken at best. From what I hear, the state is making good progress on this program.

Speaking of inefficiencies, I think U of I should focus on what the state can do to consolidate the number of local governments in Illinois and adopt more efficient ways of runnign their operations –we have more local units of government than any other state in the nation. Let’s start with the 900 or so school districts that each have their own bureaucracy of finance, personnel, hr, purchasing, etc. systems in place. Consolidating many districts or at least having them share some of the day to day operational services needed, rather than each having their own, could save a lot of dough.

There have already been way too many task forces on education and health care. I’m not sure what other ideas they can come up with that others have not already focused on. Instead, their focus should be on issues that can help state/local governments be more efficient and utilize 21st century technologies and systems.

Comment by demgrrl Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 4:35 pm
How about the huge waste in local goverment with county and township. This is a huge duplication of services and payroll?

Comment by NIEVA Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 5:31 pm
The risks and rewards of de-institutionalization–reducing the prison, mental health and dd institutionalized populations as well as reducing the number of kids in foster care. We know that there are perverse incentives for keeping all these individuals in controlled environments but it would seem that getting them out of those environments and into community settings would be far more humane. Such efforts would also free up monies going to sustain huge state and private bureaucracies (and patronage armies) and improve the quality of the actual services the recipients actually get.

Comment by Cassandra Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 5:56 pm
How about:

1.Sunshine laws which apply equally to state and local governments
2. Ethics regulations- not around the world, just here in Illinois.
3. Public transportation systems and infrastructure

Comment by one of the 35 Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 6:31 pm
Utility Regulation - the public (residentials)needs to be informed on what choices they may eventually have regarding which suppliers they can choose for cheaper prices. Education with sound public policy may bring in competition. Doubtful in this climate.

Comment by Grace's Mom Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 9:14 pm
Never thought I’d agree with Dan Johnson-Weinberger, but here goes.

We need all sections of the Illinois Constitution studied and analyzed for fiscal impact in anticipation of a much needed Constitutional Convention.

Comment by Gun Guy Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 9:59 pm
Thanks Jerry. I know there are valid arguments against corn (kernel)-based ethanol, and other ethanol alternatives. these are exactly the things that U of I should examine. I would certainly hope that the Institute, whatever topics they choose (e.g., alternative energy), does not decide to just not talk about a major component of that topic, especially when there are billions of dollars (from the feds, at least) in subsidies currently going to that component (corn-kernel based ethanol).

Comment by winco Monday, Jun 25, 07 @ 11:42 pm
THE UPCOMING VOTE ON THE CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION!

Comment by Scratchy Tuesday, Jun 26, 07 @ 7:25 am
Utility Regulation and Pricing: Deregulation was a fraud perpetrated on the public because compettion is a myth. We probably need to move back to some form of modified public utility model for electricity. Presumably,it’s going to be very complicated to move back towards a regulattory model for utility services.

Higehr education - is there a funding crisis: I am very concerned about the high cost of getting a college education in our public university system. It seems to be getting prohibitively expensive for the average person/family. I’m also very interested in maintaining/improving the quality of our public college education systems.

School fianance has been studied to death: We know waht to do. We just lack the political will to amke the necessary state funding reforms.

Economic development in a high tech world: This issue seem critical to maintaining the economic prosperity of the State. I am convinced that an abundant supply of fresh water in Illinois and the other Great Lakes states could give us a significant competitive advantage later in the 21st century.

Comment by Captain America Tuesday, Jun 26, 07 @ 8:10 am
Shared services is not a solution. Shared services is what happens when people who haven’t a clue how to do their jobs at an optimum, who believe it is someone else’s job to keep them informed, updated, and organized, hire outside consultants who hire college-age programmers to create systems to work around the massive ignorance found in most of our public administrators.

Our universities must recognize the new tech tools available to public administrators and teach them in order to open new doors in our field. The impact our new data systems are having on our public administrator’s abilities to work data is swamping their abilities to do their jobs.

Who owns the data we use? How is it maintained? How is it cleaned? How is it stored? What good are the results our reports indicate when we do not have a knowledge of the data behind it?

Welcome to the 21st Century. The field of public administration is less gray, and more black and white than before thanks to data technologies. Guys who think they can just wing it, are going to find themselves plowed under by others who have their facts in order, checked, and provable.
A pretty face, a nice suit, and contacts will not get your foot in the door anymore.

Either public administrators master data or they will be mastered by computer programmers telling them what needs to be said without any insight as to the specific needs of public administrators. That is what is happening now in our governments.

Comment by VanillaMan Tuesday, Jun 26, 07 @ 9:26 am