Information Beans: Joint Committee on Government Reform

A reform committee assembled to keep Illinois government intact announced their schedule and the areas of controversy it will examine.

The Joint Committee on Government Reform will meet seven times between February 18 and March 31 and hold hearings on four different subjects: open government, outside influences, campaign reform, and procurement issues. The committee is headed by Senate President James Cullerton and House Speaker Mike Madigan.

“We hope that the release of this schedule will help everyone to better understand the scope of the work that the Joint Committee plans to undertake,” Madigan said.

The committee will not only discuss the controversies surrounding the impeachment, but other things that have been proposed through legislation as well.

“We will be reaching out to experts and observers from across the nation who can offer their insights to the Joint Committee,” Cullerton said.

The committee was proposed by Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and was approved by the House and Senate through a resolution. The resolution suggests that the committee bring forth legislation that will carry ethics back into Illinois government.

The committee was formed because of Rod Blagojevich’s recent impeachment and Illinois’ history of corrupt government. Its members will meet weekly and hope to have legislation proposals ready for consideration by April.

The committee will hold its first meetings on February 18 and 24. The subject for these meetings will be open government. These meetings’ topics will include public reporting of governmental waste, accessing information online, and public disclosure of reports. There will also be reforms to the Compensation Review Act and the Illinois Freedom of Information Act.

One issue that was noted in the resolution was whistleblowing, which is alleging misconduct within government. Such allegations are made to government officials, as well as outside parties, and have been a hot topic surrounding the Blagojevich scandal.

The next two meetings will take place on March 3 and 10 and will review the issue of outside influences on government. Various practices will be examined, including the concept of revolving door, which is interchanging jobs between government and industry, thus creating conflicts of interest.

The committee also looks to tackle such issues as lobbyist registration, gift bans, and the roles of special government agents.

Campaign reform will be discussed on March 17. These meetings will include such topics as judicial races, contribution limits, and public finance. Contributions from state contractors and appointees will also be examined.

A good portion of the subjects will be discussed on March 24 and 31, where legislation will be suggested about procurement issues. These issues reflect much of the recent corruption in Illinois. There is currently a Procurement Policy Board in place, and the committee would like to increase its oversight.

Another goal is to eliminate loopholes to competitive bidding within government, which was a controversial topic surrounding the impeachment of Blagojevich. The committee also plans to tighten conflict-of-interest provisions and eliminate gift bans for pension trustees.

These meetings will take place in the State Capitol Room and be available for public viewing with live streaming video on the General Assembly’s website. The link for these videos is www.ilga.gov/house/audvid.asp.

Both Madigan and Cullerton will appoint four members, while Sen. Minority Leader Christine Radogno and House Minority Leader Tom Cross will have two appointees each; 16 politicians will make up the committee.

Madigan has named his four appointees: House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie, Deputy Majority Leaders Art Turner and Gary Hannig, and Assistant House Majority Leader Edward Acevedo. Cullerton’s four appointees are Sen. Majority Leader James Clayborne, Majority Caucus Whip Susan Garrett, and Sens. Maggie Crotty, and William Delgado.

Information Beans: Southern Illinois Regional Social Services

One person’s dreams of helping others have been put on hold because of something out of her hands: a struggling economy and a corrupt governor.

Karen Freitag, the executive director of the Southern Illinois Regional Social Services, has been helping people throughout the community of Carbondale for the last decade.

“At the time, the organization had dived into a hole,” said Freitag,. “I had to rebuild it.”

Freitag did rebuild the SIRSS, but the last few years have been hard financially. As a non-profit organization, the SIRSS relies on the state for almost all of its funding.

“It’s hard when the state doesn’t pay in a timely fashion,” Freitag said.

Getting less money from the state has meant budget cuts, lay-offs bank loans. None of this has been easy on Freitag, who graduated from Southern Illinois University and got her master’s in social work at Arizona State University.

Freitag spent 16 years in Arizona putting others before herself. This meant lots of non-profit work and caring for the mentally disabled.

Although Freitag enjoyed working directly with those less fortunate, she found her real passion on the administrative side.. She found herself better suited for policy-making and dealing with budgets within her non-profit organization.

In 1999, Freitag brought her leadership skills to the SIRSS, along with her drive to make a difference.

“Our top concern, which is our motto, is being ‘the best we can be,’” Freitag said, who feels that her organization can always do better.

Recently this motto has been put to the test: the country’s economic downturn has taken a toll on Freitag, who has had to lay-off 13 employees in the past year.

Although it may not seem like a huge number, it has taken a toll on those who depend upon the SIRSS get better. This includes mental health patients, substance and drug abusers, and children who have grown up in abusive environments.

Some of the lost employees happened to be counselors, which is a big blow to the organization. “Losing counselors makes it harder to help,” Freitag said.

Being a non-profit organization, the SIRSS looks to volunteers for help with such activities as its Big Brothers Big Sisters program. But volunteers can do only so much with patients due to confidentiality problems, and experts are needed for certain situations.

The maximum number of patients a counselor can see in a week is somewhere between 26 and 30. This means, with each counselor lost, the SIRSS is forced to turn away patients..

“Those who can’t get our service have to go somewhere else,” Freitag said.

But don’t other non-profit organizations rely on state funding? Will they have to turn away these patients as well?

The state of Illinois makes up for 90 percent of the organization’s budget. Since the economy has taken a turn for the worse, the state has been delaying payments and the SIRSS has been forced to explore new options.

As for its financial problems, the organization has looked to banks for loans. Unfortunately, during these hard economic problems, banks are less willing to provide them . The SIRSS organization also has to worry about paying interest to these banks when money is not coming in.

Freitag and her service have looked for other solutions, such as going to the media to get the word out. By doing this, they hope to put pressure on the new governor, Pat Quinn, to help with their funding issues. Not much is known of Quinn’s agenda, but Freitag says she sees no immediate end in sight.

“It’s frustrating, but it creates drive,” Freitag said. “We will fight hard.”

Freitag will not only fight hard to keep the organization together for her patients, but for her community as well.

Information Beans: The Future of Coal Part 2

The local level has also been impacted by ongoing concerns about coal and its negative effect on the environment.

The university's Clean Coal Review Board has been a supporter of expanding advanced coal technologies throughout Illinois and locally.

The CCRB stated that it hopes to garner funds from governmental and private institutions to increase clean coal projects in Illinois.

One way it hopes to receive funds is through the Illinois Clean Energy Trust. The trust is a special property tax that values more conventional energy producers, such as coal, as much as newer renewable energy producers, such as wind and solar energy.

From these funds, the CCRB hopes to encourage the distribution of funds throughout Illinois and attract more investors and commercial users to coal.

Along with the ICCI, the local board has noted the negative effects of carbon emissions on the environment and has made it a goal to implement new and better technology for producing coal.

One project has been started by the CCRB that implements the concept of a "coal industrial park," which is aimed at making coal production more environmentally and economically sound.

The new project would make use of by-products of coal combustion and mining for various other purposes. This would increase coal's profitability and make it more environmentally friendly.

But the phrase "more environmentally friendly" implies there are still harmful effects from coal production. This gives renewable energy an edge coal may not be able to match.

With coal production facing such animosity and opposition, accompanied by the fact that it is not renewable and could soon be depleted, it appears as though coal could be on its last leg. What does this mean for the southern Illinois economy?

Since the 1970s, when the CAA was established, coal production has been on the decline, costing some communities many jobs and thousands of dollars. From 1978 to 1996, 46 mines and over 12,000 coal mining jobs were lost in Illinois alone.

Apart from jobs being lost, the slow death of the coal industry will have negative effects on education at Southern Illinois University Carbondale.

SIUC is the only university in Illinois that offers both graduate and undergraduate programs in Mining Engineering.

The university has been recognized nationally for its coal research through its Mining and Mineral Resources Engineering Department. The department has recieved a lot of external funding from research facilities and federal and state agencies, averaging about $1 million in funds every year.

Their research goals include the utilization of coal combustion, gasification development, carbon dioxide sequestration, and improved fine coal cleaning methods. If coal technology dies in the near future, the Mining Engineerng program may as well.

Recently, the CRC received a $100,000 grant that will bring advanced equipment to Parkinson labs and the Coal Developmental Park. In an article with the Daily Egyptian, Ken Anderson, an associate profesor of organic chemistry, said the new research will concentrate on making transportation fuel out of coal.

Anderson also sees a much bigger future for coal than most of his opponents.

“Coal is going to be a resource that is used for the next 300 years, at least,” Anderson said. “Now that petroleum has gotten more expensive, it’s very cost-effective to make transportation fluids from coal.”

However, there are many that disagree with Anderson. One of those individuals is Jeff Green, a board member of the Illinois Renewable Energy Association. He sees a much shorter timeline for coal.

"In the next 20 to 40 years, coal needs to disappear as an energy source," Green said. "In reality of the future, coal is no longer affordable."

Many do not want coal to stick around because the harmful environmental effects of coal may too much when compared to new renewable energy techniques.

While more and more people are becoming anti-coal, there are still a number of proponents who see coal being utilized as an environmentally sound and major energy producer in the future. Understanding both sides is essential because the world's enviromental problems will be difficult to solve until there is one combined effort by all energy sectors.

One argument used by coal advocates is affordability. Coal's cost of production and transportation has been reportedly lower than other natural resources, such as oil and natural gas.

Coal has also become a socioeconomially important factor in Illinois, as it is nearly a $1 billion industry.

However, these numbers do not outweigh the growing concern of the negative effects coal has on land, water, and air quality. This is why advanced coal technology has been heavily pushed and promoted in recent years as a way to save the industry.

Clean coal proponents will note various developments that have kept the coal industry above water.

One such concept is the idea of carbon capture, which has been noted alongside the popular idea of sequestration. Both incorporate the idea of capturing carbon dioxide emissions from large sources, such as industrial plants, and storing them underground and away from the atmosphere.

Carbon capture and storage also uses various other ways of storing carbon emissions, such as the ocean, oil fields, reservoirs, and carbon sinks.

Sequestration has picked up ground lately as President Barack Obama has endorsed the practice and hopes to implement it into coal operations. Notably, two Environmental Protection Agency lawyers, Laurie Williams and Allan Zabel, are opposed to the construction of any new coal plants that do not store their carbon emissions underground. Al Gore, an extremely significant figure in the push for renewable energy, joins the lawyers in promoting sequestration.

Another argument of the supporters is the refinement of coal, which is increasing the efficiency of coal and lowering emissions whenever coal is burned. Prior to the burning of coal, refining is used to alter the characteristics of the coal, thus making it more environmentally sound.

While these arguments are gaining ground and a few supporters, there seems to be a looming and larger number of people who do not support clean coal technology. They see renewable energy sources as the future, such as wind and solar energy, because of their environmental and economical potential.

The decommissioning of coal-fired power plants has already begun, due to reports that show these plants emit higher concentrations of carbon emissions. This has been deemed as "phasing out" coal.

SIUC has its own coal-fired power plant. It has been controversial among local environmental groups and the growing number who see coal as a thing of the past.

Various coal moratoriums have called for actions such as phasing out coal, hoping to rid coal as a major energy producer if the industry fails to become more environmentally beneficial.

Mountaintop removal mining, revealing the coal buried within mountains, has shown to have detrimental effects on surrounding communities and the environment. The practice has also revealed much biodiversity and pollution in surrounding water.

One of the biggest arguments against coal is its cost. While coal may be cheaper than other natural resources, many see it as too expensive when compared to renewable energy. According to Green, the economic potential of coal has all but disappeared.

"To be blunt, coal has only short term gain. The future cost of coal is astronomical. It is the main constituent of global warming and must be the first to go," Green said. "Coal will eventually become the most expensive energy around."

In the end, the overwhelming evidence shows the economic and environmental potential of green technologies may be too much for clean coal technology to overcome.

Information Beans: The Future of Coal Part 1

The Jackson County Coal Company started one of the first coal mines in the midwest, which ran along the Big Muddy River. That was in 1822.

The company no longer exists and is merely known by Carbondale historians.

The Carbondale Coal and Coke Company was more notable to Jackson County, starting operations in 1872. The coal was produced in Carterville but sold in Carbondale for home heating or the production of steam for industrial purposes.

Back then, the mines in Carterville were an important source of jobs and a huge part of the Carbondale economy. In 1882, the Illinois Bureau of Labor statistics said the mines were "the only ones of importance now in active operation in the county."

Today, the Williamson Coal Company exists in Carterville. The only other two running coal mining operations in Jackson County are the Coulterville Coal Company and Knighthawl Coal, located in Coulterville and Chester.

Coal has a high carbon content, which is how Carbondale got its name. In the 1800s and beyond for many years, the town relied on coal passing through their railroads and stores to keep their economy afloat. Even today, Carbondale and surrounding communities have a certain reliance on coal, due to the coal-fired power plant located next to McAndrew Stadium.

So what if coal production dies? What does that mean for our economy and job market?

To bring the argument home, one major factor could be the savior for Illinois coal: gasificiation.

One of the major downfalls of Illinois coal is its unusually high levels of sulfur content. The high sulfur content has led to the shut-down of many coal-fired power plants because the sulfur content of coal is enhanced when burned.

However, John Mead, the director of the Coal Research Center at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, says gasification can be utilized to turn Illinois coal's high sulfur content into a postitive factor. He discussed gasification in an article by Perspectives, a research center for the university.

"Gasification is very attractive for Illinois coal because the high sulfur content is not a disincentive," Mead said. "It is actually a useful byproduct."

The gasification process neither contains nor emits greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide from coal. The waste that results from gasifitication can be beneficial; it can be used for such things as feedstock for animals and is readily available for the market.

"To increase the use of Illinois coal, the challenge is to identify new coal technologies. Sulfur dioxide control technologies are in limited use in Illinois, and so it's not a matter of providing incremental improvements," Mead says. "That's not going to radically increase the use of Illinois coal. Commercializing gasification is going to."

This issue gained some ground at SIUC last year when talks of a gasification plant on campus were in place. The plan, however, failed due to high costs, which were estimated at $1.5 billion.

The new plant was attractive because it was more environmentally friendly and it would produce energy for surrounding communities at a cheaper price than the current power plant. Estimates even showed that the building would create over 2,000 jobs for its construction.

Gasification is a new technology and has not had any fine-tuning; it is too expensive at the moment and requires more research to make it more cost-effective.

In an article by the Daily Egyptian, Andrea Wallace, a member of the Student Environmental Center, expressed her relief that the new plant's fallout.

"I think this will give (the Student Environmental Center) and students a chance to work with them in creating more renewable energy options on campus," Wallace said.

But to understand how coal is being affected in Carbondale, it must first be studied on a national and state level.

The most notable effort by the federal government to improve America's air quality was the Clean Air Act. While the CAA was enacted in 1970, it was revamped in recent years as reports showed environmental concerns were worse than expected.

The original purpose of the act was to limit emissions from industrial factories, but it did not take full force until 1990. This was when amendments were made to the act to give the government more authority and control over toxic air pollutants.

Carbon emissions are a concern with coal production, part of the reason why so many are against the aging technology.

The Environmental Protection Agency, which was formed one year after the CAA, established the Advanced Coal Technology Work Group in 2006.

After more amendments were placed to the CAA in 2004, the CAA Advisory Committee gave the ACT Work Group a mission to research advanced coal technologies and what their effect would be on the economy, environment, and state and regional developments.

Their report came out in January of 2008, which consisted of thirteen recommendations to increase production of advanced coal technologies.

Such programs as this have encouraged coal research at a state level, notably in Illinois.

The Illinois Clean Coal Institute was established in 1982 and is dedicated to keeping the production of coal a major energy producer. Their goal is to make coal more environmentally and economically sound while issuing outside contractors to research and develop new coal technologies.

The ICCI has acknowledged that increased carbon emissions have had negative effects on global climate change. Their mission statement is to control these emissions through coal beds, carbon recycling, and sequestration.

All of these efforts have been made to save the dying technology, which has been denounced by many environmental advocates as a thing of the past.

The Illinois Coal Association has reported declining numbers over the past 14 years. From 1995 to 2007, over 2,000 mine employees lost their jobs and the number of operating mines went from 28 to 17. In addition, while 64,000 tons of coal was produced in 1995, the number was down to about 32,000 in 2007.

The ICA also reports over 12,000 Illinois citizens are dependent on the coal industry, with most of those jobs being occupied in southern Illinois.

Beans Wit Attitude: Minorities In The Media

Civil rights for minorities have come a long way over the years, but sometimes it seems society will never get over the “racial hill” and treat everyone equally.

It makes me angry, or should I say sickens me, to hear stories of discrimination and hate among groups based on race, gender, sexuality, or any other form of prejudice. While the blame for these empty-headed individuals can be placed on their parents and peers, some accountability must be given to the media.

For the record, I am not saying that the media is bigoted; but its inability to report on certain stories causes stereotypes among people and leads to their ignorance.
Carbondale Councilwoman Corene McDaniel brings the argument to a local level. She says regional media has not given proper coverage to the African American community in Carbondale.

“The main issue is African Americans and the relationship that we have with the police department,” McDaniel said. According to McDaniel, this has been the biggest dilemma facing the African American population in Carbondale for the last eight years, which she has had first-hand experience with.

McDaniel said her son, Leon, came out of an apartment building where a shooting had taken place and the police automatically thought he was the shooter. He was arrested on the spot.

“Leon didn’t do that! Leon didn’t do that!” a victim that had been shot said, but Leon was still taken to the police station.

So if this has been an issue in Carbondale for at least eight years, then the media has given it a fair amount of coverage, right?

Wrong.

“If you don’t want anybody to know about it, you just don’t have to put it on the news,” McDaniel said. “If you don’t have a relationship with somebody that can give you a tip or whatever, it may not ever get to the news, so you can’t blame the media for not covering it.”

McDaniel is being generous. I’m not.

If I am reading this quote correctly, McDaniel is saying that reporters do not cover important news because they are ignorant…and it is okay? Why are they ignorant? Because they do not care.

If reporters cared, they would mix it up with the community and learn these things on their own. Anonymous tips cannot be used for every story. Reporters need to talk to people on the street, go to local barbeques, or attend a church service; they have to understand the people they are writing about.

McDaniel does not give the media free passes for everything though. She is upset with how the media mentions whether a person is “black” or not when reporting a crime.

“It used to be that’s all that was done by the media. They always identified a black person,” McDaniel said. “I thought, ‘how come you said this was a black person?’”

One may argue that this is just part of the description.

“How come a white person isn’t part of the description?” McDaniel said.

McDaniel is right. Every time an African American is reported for a crime, his or her race will be mentioned. Will it happen every time for a white person? Probably not.

Again, I am not saying that the media is racist, but this shows that the little things make a difference. By mentioning a suspect is black and disregarding it for a white suspect, people will start to think of a black person when they hear the word “criminal.”

I recognize that reporters cannot cover every story, but I will not allow ignorance to be used as justification. Their job is to report on the community and they should treat it like a job. Along with reporting stories, a reporter’s job is to get into the community and learn what the real issues are.

Report the important stories. Show you care. No excuses.

Information Beans: Saving The Newspaper?

In a market where online journalism grows every day, newspapers across the country are downsizing staff, using fewer pages, and revamping their design. Many see this as the beginning stages of extinction for printed news. Why should someone buy the tangible newspaper when they could read it online for free? As an editor, these are things Gary Metro has to consider every day when putting out his newspaper, which stretches across 12 counties that are critical for business. Metro’s paper is unusual because he has managed to maintain a steady circulation during his tenure as editor. How has his newspaper done this while others continue to die out?

It’s all about change. The news market has changed in the last 30 years, which means newspapers have changed too. One thing that is more important is advertising; making space for advertising is crucial for business, especially in today’s poor economy. Not only are there advertisements in their newspaper, but on their website as well, where they collect revenue for the number of page views their stories get. The stories themselves have changed as well, where there is more emphasis on government and big business. People do not want to just read numbers and figures anymore, but want them broken down and explained. An editor always has to look for new ways to present this information and can’t just do it anymore with a photo and a few lines of text. To make the information more accessible to the readers, newspapers have now implemented various images into their stories: maps, graphs, more photos, and illustrated drawings. It’s all about attracting eyeballs to the page and keeping the reader interested. Metro’s has also turned his newspaper into an “information company.” This means that he puts out not only the newspaper, but also a magazine, a business journal, and even calendars.

Ironically, one thing the tangible newspaper needs to stay afloat is an online website. Today’s news crowd has a thirst for online journalism that must be quenched. A website allows the newspaper to supply unlimited amounts of information and content. If a reader wanted to find a story from a year ago, he or she could search and find it in the website’s source directories. Readers can even comment on the stories and read what other people have to say. A website also allows the paper to provide round-the-clock news. Metro claims his website will have a breaking news story at least once every hour, which means the site is always changing. Keeping up on competing newspapers’ websites also allows an editor to see his competition and find out what their edition could look like the next day. So if a reader has access to unlimited news and gets it all for free, is it only a matter of time until online journalism destroys the printed newspaper?

Newspapers are still the big horse for now and online journalism is the little horse, Metro said. But the little horse is learning and growing every day, and nobody knows how big it will be in a few years. There are some that believe newspapers should begin to charge for their online product. The counter-argument is people have gotten used to the idea of free news and it would kill site traffic. Metro believes his website, if separated from the print product and staffed independently, could potentially be its own business, but doesn’t know if that will ever happen. He maintains that while there will be fewer newspapers in time, the demand for news will always be there. Metro believes every new generation brings more curiosity. And whether it’s with newspapers or websites, he will be there doing his part.

Information Beans: Behind A Newscast

Being the producer of a television newscast is as easy as it sounds. All you have to do is determine what stories will make it onto the show, what order they will be in, and how you will tell those stories. On top of that, you have to learn to fit in the weather forecast, sports news, edit videos, and figure out how to implement those into their respective stories. And, of course, it must all fit into the thirty minute airtime you are granted, including commercials. And you have to do it three times a day. Sound fun?

Well, for Edan Schulz it is. Schulz has been on the WSIL Channel 3 news team in southern Illinois since 1995 and knows a thing or two about producing a television newscast. He loves his job and has been interested in news as long as he can remember. He gave his account of the interworkings of a newscast to a room full of journalism students.

To start his day, Schulz meets with his news team and they discuss what is going on in southern Illinois and the world in general. Their plan is to come up with potential ideas for stories for both the five and six o'clock newscast. They have to consider their viewers and their resources when choosing stories to report on. As far as resources, the news station does not have the personnel to cover too many small things, like city council and school board meetings. Also, it does not interest the public as much, who tend to connect with emotional stories more than technical ones. Their goal is to find stories that can really hit home with the viewers and keep them interested in watching the news everyday.

After this discussion, they will then send out their reporters to record interviews and get shots that will go with those stories. When gathering interviews, it is important to keep interviews short, usually between five and ten minutes, and ask specific questions that will play into the main idea of the story. Also, the shots used in television news are extremely important because it makes the story more accessible to the viewer. Also, each story is about 75 words, so video gives them the best chance at conveying a message.

The staff will meet again in the afternoon for editorial meetings, where they will arrange the essentials: determining the story order, how much time each story will get, and finalize the cast for the show. In an effort to keep viewers for both the five and six o'clock newscast, they will have different lead stories for each edition. They will also write each news story for the anchors. Each story should be short and concise and relay the basic function of news, which is reporting the who, what, where, when, and why.

Then it is time for the show, but things do not end there. During the show, the anchors will be reading over and editing their scripts and videos are being edited in the background. They could also have to omit one of their stories if they receive breaking news and have to cover something urgent. Finally, when the five and six o'clock shows have ended, they have to re-group and prepare for the ten o'clock newscast, where they have to do everything all over again and find new stories.

Beans Wit Attitude: Reporter Relationships

My mom always told me to treat others like I would want to be treated. Apparently, some reporters and public officials missed that lesson.

The key to succeeding in the media is telling the truth. When a reporter lies to a source, or vice versa, it becomes hard to maintain a professional relationship.

This has been a problem in the past with Sergio Molina, the Executive Assistant to the Director of the Illinois Department of Corrections. He said that reporters have lied to him several times and it kills their credibility.

On the other side, it is also common for officials to not be truthful with the press. Sometimes a source may not flat-out lie, but also will not answer the question satisfactorily. In my opinion, this kills the credibility as well; if a source is not giving necessary information, the reporter will go to someone else.

So how do reporters and public officials build trust?

According to Molina, honesty is the key. He says that reporters will lie about talking to sources, which is a dumb mistake. All it takes is one phone call to that source to find the reporter was lying. Why lose a source over something so small? Telling the truth works.

Molina also relates that he must be honest with reporters to keep his job. When officials are exposed for lying, they lose integrity with the media and their communities. Losing both of these will ruin their career.

Another factor that is important to Molina is a reporter’s ability to explain their article. If a reporter can lay out what story they plan to tell, he can answer questions in a way to help the reporter. He says he also respects a reporter who asks a lot of questions because it shows that they did their homework.

This is a problem with many reporters: they don’t ask the right questions. They do not do research and settle for the quick quote. I say dig deeper. Find out something worth knowing and challenge officials to do better. Make the story worthwhile to your reader and ask the question no one else is asking.

This, unfortunately, leads to another problem. Some reporters think a scandal lies at the bottom of every story. Instead of asking the important questions that affect the community, they instead look for a deeper meaning behind simple stories.

This can also kill reporter-source relationships. If an official is constantly on the defensive, how will they ever be comfortable answering questions? While the official is obligated to answer questions, they should be questions that the readers care about.

Citizens care about how a new sewage system will affect their taxes. They do not care if the mayor is possibly helping out a friend in the sewage business. While it may be a plausible theory, it does not attack the readers’ main concern, which is a clean sewage system that will protect them and their family.

There is also a question of whether or not reporters and public officials can become friends while maintaining a business relationship.

It is possible. The only problem is knowing where to draw the line. If a reporter becomes too close with a source, they may be more resistant in asking the hard questions. But if a source is upset with a reporter, it may be hard to get any answers at all.

It all comes back to the golden rule. Being friendly is important, and it is possible to write encouraging stories instead of scandalous ones. Molina says reporters are beneficial when they write about a program that is helping the community. If you help out your source, they will likely help you in return.

Reporters and public officials are not enemies. But, by nature of their jobs, they tend to be competitors. While this may create bad blood, it also challenges them to do their jobs better. They do not have to get along, they just have to tolerate each other by being professional and helping one another.

My mom was always pretty smart.

Poetry Corner: Visionary Creation of the Imagination

You tried not to notice me
As I gazed at you from across the room,
But eventually you smiled and came to see
What was the inevitable doom.

You approached me and no words were spoken;
We stared and we both knew:
That those things were in the past and broken;
Now its fixed, we could start anew.

And onto the porch we enroached;
The sky filled with a red and orange hue.
And as the ominous night began to approach,
Our feet bid the ground adieu.

We watched below as the landscape grew;
Why did gravity no longer apply?
It didn't matter, because it was me and you;
Nothing was going to go awry.

It was not out of the ordinary
When the scene changed to a dance;
It felt too perfect, on the contrary;
Something that was buried under the romance.

We jumped and smiled and did not care
About the people who were around us,
For it was ours and no one else's to share,
And suddenly we were in the back bus.

We were close together and holding hands,
Something we had come accustomed to;
And I let you go as if gripping sand;
There was nothing I could do.

You were running away and Death was gaining;
You were going to leave without me.
I grabbed your arm as it started raining,
And awaiting you was a pitch black taxi.

I looked over my shoulder and you looked scared,
For things were looking rather grim;
And neither of us moved, neither dared,
for it was him and she. She and him.

It took a while, but I gave you the nod,
And you looked at me with that face;
I no longer needed to find a God,
I trusted you; it was all I could brace.

And you got in and drove away,
As exhaust and smoke filled the air;
I was blinded by the new day;
I ran my fingers through my hair.

So ended my visionary creation of the imagination,
And I stared at the vacant spot next to me;
I felt the familiar sensation.
I felt so empty.

I had you once again,
Only to be stripped away!
It was a battle I would never win;
It was the start to an awful day.

Brushing my teeth felt like a chore
As I strode through the hallway;
You weren't there; I wanted more!
Oh only if you could have stayed!

I awoke our daughter and hid to cry;
I did not want to appear weak.
She was a constant reminder of you by my side:
Watching her with joy and mystique.

Dropping her off school,
It was something we used to share;
We smiled as she ran, our shining jewel,
As the wind blew through her long brown hair.

Now only I saw the progress,
And I wept as I kissed her goodbye;
And nobody but Julia saw this,
And she smiled as she gave me a sigh.

I drove to work and parked far away,
You made it too hard to drive;
I would be taking a walk this day:
Anything to make me feel alive.

On my trip I thought of our journey;
The times we shared that last forever;
Like the time you said you'd always be with me:
"I promise I'll never die honey, never."

Or the time I questioned your beliefs,
And it was almost our final hour;
But in time we realized each other's needs;
Our love always seemed to empower.

Or the time I cried in your arms,
As my silver-haired mama passed away;
Or the time we visited your farm,
And watched the sun go with the day.

But the fondest memory I hold in my heart,
Is the simplest one of them all:
Is knowing that we'd never be apart,
As we laughed and danced at the ball.

Then I walked by a homeless man,
Who was dressed in brown and grey;
And he was saying something in a trance:
Something I remember to this day:

"Not everything makes sense;
Our lives are too far apart.
But our dreams tell us what's over the fence,
And what's closest to our heart."

I stared and he stared back,
And finally I walked away.
And slowly a smile began to crack,
For it was now a glorious day!

I felt a new life creeping over me;
It felt like the time we flew!
Because life was nothing, and I began to see
How I would get over you:

Though losing you was like being stabbed with a knife,
It wasn't as bad as it seems;
For even if I can't have you in my life,
At least I can have you in my dreams.

:)

Beans Wit Attitude: Earth Hour

In Sydney, Australia during 2007, 2.2 million homes and businesses turned off their lights as part of Earth Hour.

And in case you have been too busy writing your “Global Warming is a Hoax” essay and missed the news, here is an update: over 4,000 cities in 88 countries participated on Saturday, and the number will likely continue to grow.

Over 60,000 people showed up for an Earth Hour festival in New Zealand, the stadiums used for the Olympics in China went black, and the world’s tallest tower in Dubai was lost in the darkness.

Yes, Earth Hour has hopped on the media train and is gaining speed and support.

Its popularity, however, has unfortunately garnered some criticism as well.

It is inevitable the cynics jump on anything that begins to unite people. How could someone have such contempt for a project with such heart?

Alas, I have heard their complaints and actually found one piece of constructive criticism: what is one hour going to do?

The World Worldlife Fund has recognized it cannot determine how much energy is saved during Earth Hour. To say it does nothing is ridiculous, but I cannot see how it has any significant effects on energy consumption.

During Earth Hour in 2008, I remember looking outside to see if anyone was participating; it looked as though nobody on campus knew anything of the campaign.

Environmental policy does not appear to be a prevalent issue among young people. In the 2008 presidential election, according to the Pew Research Center, energy policy ranked fifth as an issue among voters aged 18-29, right behind health care and terrorism.

While I believe that the new generation recognizes the environmental harm being done, I bet if you asked your average college student what the Kyoto Protocol was, he or she wouldn’t know.

So how do we make them care?

I would compare this dilemma to the 2008 presidential election. There was a big push for the young vote last year and Obama was at the forefront. He attended hip-hop concerts, spoke at college universities, and sent out mass e-mails to his supporters, catering to the new generation.

Why does my vote matter? This was a question many young voters probably asked themselves. I know I did. Rationally, especially in Illinois, it made no sense to bother voting in the presidential election. Obama was projected to win from the start and everybody knew it.

But still, 2.2 million more young voters showed up to vote in 2008 than in 2004, showing that America’s youth is finally starting to care. It has not become a question of "does my vote matter?" but instead a question of "does caring matter?"

This generation does care about the environment, and the young population must be mobilized into caring about energy policy.

Caring about energy policy may not put up any hard numbers in the short-term, but I believe this is only the beginning. As Earth Hour gains momentum, the young can jump on board. If it became a regular event, say monthly instead of yearly, it would have more of an effect.

2008 was the year young people finally had a say in the presidential election, so let us make 2009 the year they show support for energy policy.

Earth Hour may be over, but we can still help: turn off your lights if necessary, shut off your computer when it is not in use, and instead of watching television, read a book. Instead of making a change for an hour, we should be making life changes and doing our part to protect the environment.

Just by showing that we care, we can prove the critics wrong.

Beans Wit Attitude: Concealed Carry Part 1

As of March, 2009, I was totally against guns: owning them, buying them, whatever. I just wanted them off the street.

Then I read a sixteen-year study performed by John Lott. The study found that areas where concealed carry was allowed had lower rates of crime. In 1992, this was the first comprehensive, lengthy study done on the issue. I was totally convinced, did a 180, and started to think concealed carry was a good thing.

Then I ‘googled’ John Lott. He has been a huge NRA supporter his whole life.

Can I get someone to do a study that isn’t emotionally involved or politically tied?
This continued to happen as I searched other concealed carry studies, getting mixed results. But again, I continued to find that the only people performing these studies had ties to gun laws in the past. Doesn’t that affect what you will put in the study and what you leave out? I found no middle ground in any of the studies; guns were either good or bad.

Wanted: an old, grizzly, hard-nosed professor from some boring Ivy League university that will conduct an unbiased study and include anything and everything they find. Put it all into a big, fancy equation and give us an answer. You will receive a hefty salary.

Since we don’t have any legit studies with any uncompromising conclusions, I am forced to nit-pick and deal with crazy scenarios people dream up when debating concealed carry laws. And living in Illinois, where it has become a more pressing issue at the Capitol recently, the debate comes up a lot.

Even further, there is talk of concealed carry being allowed on university campuses. In my Public Relations Reporting class, where half of the students work at the school newspaper, it has become a hot-button issue of discussion.

First, let me start with concealed carry laws. I am in moderately in favor of concealed carry, but I am still very torn on the issue. I do believe, in most cases, that concealed carry would deter crime. Although John Lott is a gun-nut, there are facts from his study and others like his that cannot be ignored:

In states where concealed carry was allowed in 1992, an average of less than 2% actually obtained permits. In Florida, only 444,000 were granted in 10 years. By 1997, only half of those people were still licensed because they failed to renew their permit. Of those 444,000, only 84 lost their permits due to a felony of using a firearm.

This part of the study found that crime went down in Florida, but I see a deeper meaning to these numbers: if only a small number of people are actually taking advantage of the permits, then why not have them? The people getting these permits are not felons with a criminal record, for they cannot buy guns anyway. They are law-abiding citizens who feel they could benefit from having a weapon. How many of them actually used those guns to defend themselves? I would say not very many.

So let us say that 1 in 100 Florida citizens bought guns. That would mean that 1 out of 100 citizens that get mugged would have a gun in the rare occurrence, pending they bothered bringing their gun that day. Now, how many criminals do you think know that number? Again, very few.

The fact: we don’t add many more guns and still scare the criminals. People have this idea that there would be shoot-outs in the street every day. But the fact is that not many will actually buy a gun. Would you personally buy a gun if you could? I know I wouldn’t. I don’t have enough time or money to care that much, and I reside in a town a high rate of crime.

This is a limited amount of information, and without a sufficient study, I cannot come to an accurate conclusion.

The next part of this series will deal with hypothetical situations and all-out bans on guns.

Information Beans: Anna Jackson

Anna Jackson makes an imaginary circle in the air with her finger as she explains how she perceives the ups and downs of life.

“We feel great when we are at the top,” Jackson said as her finger slowly creeps downward, “but eventually things are going to be hard and we hit rock-bottom. Then we have to pick ourselves up again.”

Why was she saying this? It was part of her response to a problem that has plagued American education for decades: the academic achievement gap among African American, Latino, and American Indian students. Studies have shown for years that these students have shown significantly lower math, vocabulary, and reading scores than white students upon entering school.

“It’s not new, it’s existed for a long time,” Jackson said. “And it’s more than a gap; it’s a huge problem that is plaguing our education system.”

Jackson taught at Carbondale Community High School and has been teaching in Southern Illinois University’s English Department for 15 years. She is a stern woman who will point a firm finger at her students, but breaks into a smile that lights up a classroom. Her style is in no way threatening, but she demands respect.

Jackson’s small office is packed with shelves of teaching guides and multicultural books. She has everything from antique teapots to a Pittsburgh Steelers helmet. She also has many portraits of famous African American leaders and pictures of her family. In each of these pictures, Jackson is wearing traditional African garments with a modern spin.

She also has various teaching awards scattered about the room. She has been recognized at local, state, and national levels, most notably winning a National Educator’s Award from the Milken Family Foundation. Jackson was recognized for advocating multiculturalism in her teaching methods and encouraging students to read and study with their parents.

Jackson believes fixing the education gap has to start in the homes.

“Parents don’t read to their kids,” Jackson said. “I am prone to believe that a lack of exposure may be the cause.”

Environmental factors have been cited as the gap’s major problem, most reputably in the Hart-Risley 30-Million Word Gap Study. The study investigated children that came from professional, working class, and welfare families. The results found that 3-year-olds with professional parents had a vocabulary twice as large as children from families on welfare.

A similar study, conducted by Valerie E. Lee and David T. Burkam of the University of Michigan, showed kindergarten students in the highest socioeconomic group had cognitive scores 60 percent higher than those of the lowest group.

These kinds of studies lead many, including Jackson, to believe poor economic conditions are a major cause of the gap. According to studies, these conditions are jointly associated with race and ethnicity.

Jackson said that it has become a problem in Carbondale as well.

“Carbondale Community High School had 60 percent of its African American students fail the reading component of the state testing, and 70 percent failed math,” Jackson said.

This statistic was discovered by Voices of Illinois Children, an organization aimed at helping children lead better lives in Illinois. Jackson is a board member of VIC.

The organization studied schools throughout the state and concluded the lack of resources among financially inferior districts is leading to the academic gap.

In an article by The Southern, VIC revealed the results of their studies. Some districts, it noted, will spend up to $20,000 per student, while poorer districts can spend as low as $7,500 per student. Jackson believes these numbers reflect the resources children will get at their schools.

“Imagine your teacher tells you to turn to chapter five of your algebra book and it’s missing the first eight pages,” Jackson said with wide eyes and a hard stare. “Or imagine that you’re in chemistry class and you didn’t have the right equipment to do the experiment. Just think; use common sense.”

Jackson acknowledges economic conditions can only explain so much, and that some blame must go to the teachers themselves.

Throughout her teaching career, Jackson has seen teachers become consumed by the pressures of state testing and what their students should study.

“Teachers rush their assignments as opposed to actually teaching the students,” Jackson said.
“Soon you have to recognize that it has become a responsibility of the education system to fix the problem.”

Jackson also cites tracking as becoming a major problem in schools. Tracking, also known as ability grouping, is putting students together based on test scores.

“Kids get put in slower classes and can never get out,” Jackson said.

So with all of these problems looming, will the gap ever be filled?

“You’re not going to immediately close it off,” Jackson said. “You have to work every day.”

And that is what Jackson will do.