Institute Helps Launch Southern Illinois School Based Dental Clinic
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The newsletter of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute Review& Previewat Southern Illinois University Carbondale Institute Helps Launch Southern Illinois School Based Dental Clinic ast school year, students from SIU in August with a mas- in Gallatin County not ter’s in public administration. “I Lonly had to leave school was able to act quickly because to visit the dentist, they had to of the groundwork that had al- cross county lines to do it. If they ready been laid and because of went to a dentist at all, that is. the overwhelming support for That changed this spring after the project.” an institute-sponsored graduate In less than four months, student began working with the Burke, school and community school district to jump start plans leaders, and students and their for an on-site dental clinic. parents were celebrating the “Many of the key elements clinic’s grand opening. needed to open the clinic were “Now, instead of missing a there when I was asked to help, large part of the school day to but other core components need- visit the dentist, students have ed substantial attention,” said access to oral health care on the It’s all smiles for two students in Gallatin County who have Emily Burke, who graduated school grounds,” said Burke. taken advantage of the on-site dental clinic. Continued on page 4 Search Begins to Replace Institute’s Legislative Redistricting Retiring Institute Director Proposal Passes Widely in Illinois House he Paul Simon Public Policy he alumni who gathered on the was the House Democrats’ point person Institute has initiated the search Carbondale campus two years ago for redistricting in 1981; Carter Hen- Tprocess to find a replacement Twere not educated at Southern Il- dren, long-time chief of staff for Senate for director Mike Lawrence, who an- linois University. They were graduates of Republicans; Republican Eileen Lyons nounced to the board of counselors this the hard-knocks school known as the Il- and Democrat Paul Williams, who were spring his intention to retire on Novem- linois General Assembly, and they agreed well-respected members of the House; ber 1. to help the institute address the most David Gross, who served as a key mem- Lawrence, 66, partnered with Paul contentious, political process in which ber of the Senate Democratic staff, and Simon to launch the institute in 1997 politicians become engaged: the map- MayeBeth Hadfield, who was a lawyer and was named director in 2004. ping of districts from which legislators on the Senate Republican staff. “Greatly appreciative of the sup- are elected. Mike Lawrence, institute director, port given to me by a competent, highly Thanks to their experience and will- chaired the sessions. Other institute dedicated staff, our Board of Counsel- ingness to put statesmanship above par- staffers – Matt Baughman, assistant di- ors and the Simon family, I leave with tisanship during sessions in Springfield rector; John Jackson, visiting professor, the satisfaction that our team kept faith and Carbondale, the institute was able to and Linda Renee Baker, university pro- with Paul’s vision and sense of mission, fashion and advance through the Illinois fessor – were heavily engaged. strengthened the institute and signifi- House a significant redistricting reform Under the current constitution, the cantly enhanced its ability to tackle fu- that would replace a widely criticized lottery comes into play when the House, ture challenges,” Lawrence wrote in his and ridiculed process that has allowed the Senate and the governor are unable to formal announcement to the university. the luck of the draw – literally – to give agree on the new districts required after Several strong candidates already one party control over mapmaking dur- each federal census. That happened in have indicated an interest in applying ing each of the last three decades. 1981, 1991 and 2001. The institute’s pro- Continued on page 17 Among those who worked with the posal, which won overwhelming biparti- institute were Michael McClain, who Continued on page 17 Visit us online at www.paulsimoninstitute.siuc.edu 2 A Message from Mike Lawrence s I prepare to retire in November, I the world: am deeply grateful for the special •Illinois has one of the nation’s most ef- Aopportunity to help Paul Simon fective campaign finance disclosure laws. launch this institute and for the support •Retired physicians can volunteer to from so many wonderful friends. make house calls at no charge without car- But, even as I reflect on the institute’s rying expensive malpractice insurance. substantial impact since I joined Paul in •Legal barriers to providing psychiatric July 1997, we are fashioning an exciting care through telemedicine have been re- fall agenda. moved. Ted Sorensen, whose remarkable run •An overwhelming, bipartisan Illinois has taken him to the White House as one House majority this spring approved an of President Kennedy’s top advisers and to institute-crafted reform of the legislative Egypt as an international lawyer counsel- redistricting process. ing Anwar Sadat, has agreed to join us for •At least 2,400 disadvantaged kids from a lecture on October 8. our region have received preventative den- Daschle, Julie Eisenhower and Brian Mul- A week later, we will sponsor a forum tal care at a center we launched with the roney. spotlighting the important decision fac- university’s dental hygiene department. We recently secured a most generous ing Illinois voters in November: Whether •Nearly 2,000 high school and commu- donation – from one of the finest people to call a constitutional convention that nity college students have had their interest I have known – that allowed us to reach could yield remedies for a dysfunctional in public service rewarded and re-enforced Paul’s goal of at least a $10 million endow- state government or become an overflow- at our annual Youth Government Days. ment. ing cauldron of witches’ brews concocted •Hundreds of young African-American The momentum is unmistakable and by pandering populists and superbly orga- males from the East St. Louis area have must be seized upon. Challenges in the nized, heavily bankrolled interest groups. learned leadership skills, benefited from public policy arena command attention. Those events and others will inform mentoring and helped not-for-profit groups We must continue asking our friends to the campus and the entire southern Illinois in their community. augment our financial base. Paul Simon region. Meanwhile, we will build on our •Some three dozen students have landed never – ever – rested on his accomplish- gains in improving access to health care internships in state government agencies ments. Neither should his institute. It must in rural and underserved areas, boosting through the Demuzio Internship Program remain true to Paul’s remarkable humanity, employment among college graduates with we help administer. vision, sense of mission and work ethic. significant disabilities, fostering biparti- •One of our graduate assistants, Edith I am confident that those charged with sanship in the drawing of state legislative Ng’oma of Zambia, spoke everywhere selecting my successor will do so wisely, districts and encouraging more civic en- from the southern Illinois to South Asia and I am equally confident he or she will gagement among youths. about our strategy for stirring greater in- lead a first-rate staff in enhancing the liv- As I reported to the university’s Board volvement by American citizens in the ing legacy of the truly extraordinary public of Trustees recently, the institute has made HIV/AIDS pandemic. servant who allowed me to help build it. its mark on several fronts since Paul found- We have hosted scores of speakers, ed it in 1997. Because we engaged elected including Maya Angelou, Gwendolyn and appointed public officials, community Brooks, Walter Cronkite, Coretta Scott leaders, a diverse group of organizations King, Martin Luther King III, David Brod- and experts on the campus and throughout er, Barbara Bush, Mike Huckabee, Tom Please join us to celebrate the retirement of Mike Lawrence during a “Come and Go” reception on Wednesday, October 29 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. SIU Student Center, Corker Lounge Look for this logo throughout the newsletter—it Carbondale, Ill. indicates videos of events that are now available for free, online viewing at: For more information, contact Matt Baughman at (618) 453-4001 or [email protected]. www.paulsimoninstitute.siuc.edu. Paul Simon Public Policy Institute 3 Pulitzer Prize Winning White House Correspondent Talks Global Competitiveness he United States is losing ground on its hold as the most powerful nation Tin the world, according to David Sanger, the New York Time’s White House correspondent. Sanger focused on the development of David Sanger pauses to listen to a question from the audience following his speech. China, Japan and India into much more pow- erful nations in the last decade, making them remain stagnant over the next 20 years, but itself back by continuing to focus on the strategic competitors to the U.S. He said over he doesn’t have any solutions. terrorist attacks of September 11 because the past few years the focus of Asian countries “The Chinese have managed to do the rest of the world is moving on. has turned from catching the United States, to something that nobody would have antici- “We should never forget about what worrying about one another. pated,” Sanger said. “They have been com- happened on 9/11, but the rest of the world “Japan no longer worries about the ing down a rushing river on a raft, and have is not sitting around waiting for us,” Sanger economic competition with [the United avoided every boulder that has been cast in said. States], but now they worry about the Chi- front of them.