Institute for Legal and Policy Studies' Publications
The Institute produces two publications on a periodic basis: Almanac of Illinois Politics, and Lobbying Illinois: How You can Make a Difference in Public Policy. Both may be purchased.
The Almanac has been published biennially since 1990, and is a leading source of information on the key players in Illinois government. It is considered an invaluable resource by legislators, governmental staff, lobbyists, reporters, teachers, students, and citizens. The most recent edition reflects the changes in Illinois government and politics over the past two years, including updated information for each legislative and congressional district, the latest top contributors to political campaigns, and thoughtful assessments on current policy issues. For information on ordering this publication, click here.
Lobbying Illinois was originally published in the fall of 2002 and is a 144 page, soft cover book, authored by Christopher Mooney of the UIS Political Science faculty and Barbara VanDyke-Brown of the Institute. It is a primer on how to lobby state government in Illinois. It is written especially for people and groups with public policy goals, but little or no experience in the policymaking making arena. It explains the basics of the legislative process and lobbying, how to work strategically within the legislative processes, how to build coalitions and grassroots, and the basic rules and ethics of lobbying. For information on ordering this publication, click here.
The Institute also collaborates with UIS Professor of Political Science, Chris Mooney, on the State Politics and Policy Quarterly periodical. For additional information about this periodical, click here.
A variety of other publications have also been produced by the Institute over the years. Generally these were produced under contract to a particular funder. Some were publicly released and may be viewed on the Research page of this website. Please click here to access the Research page.