June 11 , 2007 -UIS Center for State Policy and Leadership to present forum
The Center for State Policy and Leadership at the University of Illinois at Springfield will present a Forum on State Government and Citizen Participation from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, June 20, in conference room C/D in the Public Affairs Center on the UIS campus. The forum is open to the public, however advance registration is required.
The event, which is co-sponsored by Public Radio WUIS 91.9 FM, will feature presentations by Alan Ehrenhalt, executive editor of Governing Magazine, and by Richard Schuldt, director of the Survey Research Office at UIS.
Ehrenhalt's topic, "The States in the 21st Century," will focus on the expanding role of the states in public policy formation and innovation. Schuldt's topic, "Citizen Views of State Government: New Survey Findings from Illinois," will present findings from a new statewide telephone survey on the public's knowledge and opinions of Illinois state government, the grade they give the job performance of state government officials, and the public's participation in politics and state government policy making.
Executive editor of Governing since 1991, Ehrenhalt has also served with the Associated Press, The Washington Star, and the Congressional Quarterly. He is a regular contributor to the New York Times Book Review and op-ed page, Washington Post Book World, and the Wall Street Journal. His three books are The United States of Ambition (1991), The Lost City (1995), and Democracy in the Mirror (1999). He was the creator and editor of the first four editions of Politics in America, a biennial reference book profiling all 535 members of Congress. In 2000 he received the American Political Science Association's McWilliams award for distinguished contributions to the field of political science by a journalist, and in 2007 he received the Donald Stone award, presented by the American Society for Public Administration, in honor of significant continuous contributions to the field of intergovernmental management.
Schuldt has directed the UIS Survey Research Office since 1984. The SRO provides a full range of survey services to public and nonprofit agencies and periodically conducts statewide public opinion polls.
The cost of reservations for the forum is $7, which includes lunch. Call 217/206-7163 by June 13 to register.
The Center for State Policy and Leadership identifies and addresses public policy issues at all levels of government, promotes governmental effectiveness, fosters leadership development, engages in citizen education, and contributes to public dialogue on matters of significant public concern. For more information, go to the center's website at www.cspl.uis.edu, or call 217/206-6576.