Illinois Politics: A Citizen's Guide

by James D. Nowlan, Samuel K Gove, Richard J. Winkel

Considered a microcosm of the nation, the state of Illinois stretches almost four hundred miles from its northern limit at the Wisconsin line to its southern tip at Cairo, nestled between Kentucky and Missouri. Its political culture is as intriguing as the state is long. Illinois has produced presidents and leading members of Congress. It also has a long history of political corruption, including, in recent years, the federal indictments of two consecutive governors. The population of the state is exceptionally diverse, with a significant number of new immigrants. Its political allegiance, once firmly Republican, has trended ever more Democratic. Illinois can be divided neatly into three distinct Chicago, the suburban collar surrounding the city, and the ninety-five downstate counties. Based on the research and experience of respected veterans of Illinois politics, this book shows how the government runs, how politics operates, and what obstacles and opportunities exist for change. It explains how power is exercised and how parties compete for it. For engaged citizens, scholars, and students, Illinois A Citizen's Guide is a timely and much-needed roadmap for positive change.

280 pages, Paperback

First published January 15, 2010

About the author

James D. Nowlan is a senior fellow in the Institute of Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He served as an Illinois state representative from 1969 to 1973 and as an aide to three Illinois governors. Samuel K. Gove is director emeritus and professor emeritus of the Institute of Government and Public Affairs. Richard J. Winkel Jr. is the director of the Office of Public Leadership in the Institute of Government and Public Affairs. He served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1995 to 2003 and in the Illinois Senate from 2003 to 2007.

(Barnes and Noble)

Reviews

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Illinois Politics: a Citizen's Guide is an overview of Illinois politics with a strong emphasis on government, reviewing Illinois constitutions, government powers, the legislature, the many governmental units in Illinois, the election of judges, and more. The lack of support for publiu education, the current budget deficit and lack of progress in the legislature are discussed. Most disappointing, for a lifelong resident of the state like me, but probably correct are the conclusions that having a state that feels doing average is just good enough and the continuing course of putting up with corruption seem to be attitudes that will continue for state residents.

[Remic Ensweiler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book caught my interest because I am an adjunct faculty member at a community college, and I saw on LinkedIn that a colleague of mine had written it. As a lifelong fan of history, government, and the state of Illinois, it was a no-brainer.

However, I did have my reservations because how interesting could a book about local government really be? It can be exciting!

This book threads a cursory history of Illinois but focuses mostly on how every aspect of its government works, focusing mostly on the period after the state re-wrote its constitution in 1970.

There are so many things that I learned. I could go on for a while, but my main takeaways are that we have elected judges, and I don't think we should for the sake of democracy. Also, the Governor has robust veto powers, not given to the U.S. President. They can veto entire bills, lines of bills, and even the appropriation of funds for bills.

Engaged, informed electorates are essential in a democracy. More people in the state would benefit from reading this Citizen's guide to our state government.

[Shu Long]

A readable and wide reaching review of Illinois politics on the state and local level. As a new resident to the state, I sincerely appreciated the detailed overview, although it was somewhat depressing with the frequent historical references to corruption and party line politics. However, it is thoroughly researched and comes with helpful graphs and charts. I would recommend this text to the any citizen of Illinois who wishes to be aware of politics. It has made reading news and awareness emails must more informative.