blog posts

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  Recollections of Springfield

  May 26, 2021 9:00 am136 views

  Being the politics nerd and longtime Springfield resident that I am, I’m always interested when well-known political figures offer their impressions or memories of our capital city.  Two books I’ve read over the last few months include the Springfield recollections of two people on the national stage – President Barack Obama and former White House press secretary and current Fox News host Dana Perino.

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  Reducing the Use of Plastic Bags: Five Lessons from Illinois Communities with Plastic Bag Laws

  Jun 30, 2020 9:00 am1620 views

  This summer, we have been busy interviewing active citizens, elected officials, and public employees in five Illinois communities that have passed laws designed to curb the use of plastic bags to understand why they took an action on the plastic bag issue, how they designed their local ordinances, and what challenges they have faced during implementation.  Our research project is still in progress, but we would like to offer a sneak peek at what we have learned from our interviews - here are five things you should keep in mind if your city is thinking about adopting a plastic bag ordinance.

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  Reform: Restoration, Revitalization, and Representation

  Jun 11, 2021 11:15 am183 views

  You are invited to Reform: Restoration, Revitalization, and Representation, the first in a series of webinars on critical societal issues resulting from social determinant factors directly impacting historically marginalized populations.  The series is sponsored by The Illinois Legislative Black Caucus Foundation, the UIS College of Public Affairs and Administration, and the UIS Center for State Policy and Leadership.

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  Researching the Relationship Between Military Service And Public Service Motivation

  Jun 24, 2021 9:00 am162 views

  As I was preparing to retire from my military career, and focus on my civilian career in Human Resources, I started the Doctorate of Public Administration program at University of Illinois Springfield.  As I began the program and considered potential research topics, I began to focus on a way to leverage my military experience with a relevant human resource-related concept. 

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  Returning to work: Here is one way to focus your energy & attention

  Jun 18, 2020 9:00 am491 views

  As you return to work, I want to invite you to wrestle with an important question. Where should I focus my energy and attention right now?  Better yet, there is a different form of this question that you should use as the starting point for rethinking how you work. On whom should I focus my energy and attention right now?

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  Saving Local News

  May 26, 2020 8:45 am129 views

  Local journalism was in serious trouble before anyone heard of COVID-19, but amid a worldwide shutdown intended to stem the spread of the dangerous virus, the financial struggles of your local media outlet are even more serious now. So how can we fix this?

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  Separate and Unequal: PR in the USA Map Amid Covid-19

  May 5, 2020 7:00 am159 views

  Is a USA map complete in 2020 leaving out America’s populated unincorporated territories - Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, United States Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and American Samoa?

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  September Public Affairs Minute: The Labor Day Blues

  Sep 8, 2020 10:30 am22 views

  The COVID Pandemic has pushed unemployment rates to historic highs (inclusive of swings both up and down).  With sooo many businesses closed or experiencing slowdowns and layoffs occurring across all sectors in response to COVID is this really the time to celebrate Labor Day? Well despite the pain and economic hardships many families are facing maybe there is a reason to actually use Labor Day as a wakeup call to action.

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  Setting Policy in a World of Science

  Nov 24, 2020 9:45 am38 views

  Since COVID-19 debuted in our world, there has been no end to politicians, pundits, and social media sirens crying out something along the line of “we are following the science” or “because the science says so” as they support one new policy or another or to bring down one political view or another.  As professionals who set, guide, and lead public policy, we need to start asking questions of “show me the science” or “where does the science say this” when we are faced with the never-ending barrage of “because science says so” claims in relation to public policy.

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  Seven Tips for Crisis Leadership

  Dec 8, 2020 9:00 am26 views

  While a time of crisis is daunting for any team, strong leadership is needed to help the organization move forward well and perhaps even find a few positive outcomes.  In this blog, we will examine seven tips for crisis leadership that may help lead toward positive results.

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  Some Career Reflections as Graduation and Next Steps Lie Ahead for Our Students

  May 12, 2022 9:00 am95 views

  Send us your advice to new graduates on how to start their career.

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  Statement of Educational Priorities of the Criminology and Criminal Justice Department at UIS

  Jun 8, 2020 9:45 am515 views

  At UIS, the Criminology and Criminal Justice Department works to prepare our students for the challenges they will face in careers that focus less on social control strategies and military tactics and more on critical thinking and understanding world views beyond only their own.

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  Stop Complaining, Stop Blaming Others, & Look in the Mirror

  Apr 6, 2021 10:30 am921 views

  You're the cause of many of your own problems in the workplace.  Ouch! It hurts, but it is the truth. You are the cause of many, if not most, of the problems you experience in the workplace. By the way, so am I.

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  STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: Jennifer Haegele-Ryterski, 2019 DPA Cohort

  Apr 7, 2022 9:00 am63 views

  Jennifer Haegele-Ryterski is a DPA student in the 2019 cohort who has been working with DPA Associate Director Dr. Sean McCandless on better understanding the experiences of people identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer (LGBTIQ+) in the criminal-legal system, particularly in probation.

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  Survival Techniques: Three approaches to overcoming and managing the panic associated with Covid-19

  Apr 13, 2020 11:30 am349 views

  There are a number myths linked with Covid-19 which create fear, panic, and a false sense of security. Myths are dangerously influential during a public health crisis, often obstructing your ability to make reliable informed decisions. 

  Individuals who quickly adapt to their new normal experience less stress and anxiety during the crisis, and make better decisions while continuing to move forward in their daily lives.

  This post will provide techniques that help to identify and avoid the dangerous myths that increase fear, panic and false hope.

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  Taking Stock of Bostock

  Jul 2, 2020 9:00 am159 views

  Last month, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) handed down a 6-3 ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County. The central finding from SCOTUS was that Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act protects employees based on their sexual orientation and/or gender identity. Put more simply, an employer cannot fire an employee simply for identifying as a LGBTQ+.

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  Team Effort – Interns Win!!!

  Dec 16, 2021 9:00 am294 views

  Celebrating a partnership that marries a passion for social work with policy in the Illinois Legislative Staff Intern Program (ILSIP).

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  Thanksgiving 2020: What It Really Means?

  Nov 25, 2020 9:00 am24 views

  I don’t think there is any way to sugarcoat the fact that this Thanksgiving may not be the best Thanksgiving of record for many people.

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  Thank you to our Veterans

  Nov 11, 2020 9:00 am11 views

  Much can be said to our veterans…but it starts with a simple “thank you” for your service!

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  The $195 Billion Challenge: Facing State Fiscal Cliffs After COVID-19 Aid Expires

  May 9, 2022 9:00 am24 views

  Join an exclusive webinar to discuss the forthcoming issue paper:  The $195 Billion Challenge:  Facing State Fiscal Cliffs After COVID-19 Aid Expires, part of the State and Local Budgeting in the COVID Era Issue Paper Series, on Wednesday, May 11, 2022, at 11 a.m. EDT.

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  The 2022 Midterm Elections and Illinois 13

  Sep 29, 2022 9:00 am205 views

  Election Day is fast approach. This year, many members of the UIS community, those who are registered to vote in Illinois’s 13th congressional district, will have the relatively unique opportunity of electing a new representative to the U.S. House of Representatives.

• The Centerpiece April 2021

  Apr 9, 2021 11:30 am54 views

  The first week in April hails annually as the National Public Health Week where the public health system, practitioners and agencies across the country celebrate and promote public health.  Over the course of the last 15 years serving as a public health practitioner, often times, I remember wanting friends, family and others to better understand public health and my actual professional world.  The majority of those years I spent planning, preparing, and training for public health emergencies and not if but when they would occur.  However, even with experienced public health situations, like H1N1, and knowing the “when” would happen, never did I wish a true pandemic of this magnitude to occur.  What we have now though is a population with better understanding of public health – what it is, why it is important and how the practice of public health impacts EVERYONE.  We need to remember though that public health is more than COVID-19.  

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  The Centerpiece February 17, 2021

  Feb 17, 2021 3:00 pm63 views

  This month we share with you our vision for the Center of State Policy and Leadership (CSPL), describe how we meet our mission and explain what we have done to adapt during COVID-19.  As we evolve and grow, we look forward to delivering to you our strategic thinking and our journey and hope to engage you in our efforts.     

• The Depth of Illinois Debt Problem and its Potential Consequences

  Feb 2, 2021 3:30 pm1233 views

  Most Illinoisans know that the state is in debt, and many understand that it has a large debt. However, few understand just how large the debt is and the potential consequences for the state. At the Institute for Illinois Public Finance, we have been developing measures of states' debt burden over the last year for a research project on the effects of fiscal imbalances like debt on economic growth.  While our larger research project will focus on all states and local governments, the data that we have collected should be interesting to all Illinoisans.

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  The Economic Impact of COVID-19

  Nov 12, 2020 9:45 am15 views

  The coronavirus (SARS-CoV2) and associated COVID-19 disease pandemic have wrought tremendous damage to the world's health. But the pandemic, and the public health mitigation policies brought on by it, have wrought an equally large amount of economic carnage.

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  The Economy at the Start of 2022

  Mar 30, 2022 9:00 am169 views

  The economy at the start of 2022 can be summarized by the proverbial glass-half-full or glass-half-empty scenario. In this blog post, I will attempt to summarize the current data on the national, state, and regional economy, address concerns that continue to plague the economy, and summarize forecaster’s best guesses about what the economy will do for the rest of this year and into 2023.

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  “The Election is Over. Now What?” - Nov. 11th Event

  Nov 9, 2022 12:00 pm53 views

  The UIS School of Politics & International Affairs will host a post-election panel discussion on “The Election is Over. Now What?” on Friday, November 11th at 6pm.

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  The Financial Condition of the State of Illinois

  Mar 23, 2022 10:00 am2120 views

  Analyzing the financial condition of a large organization like the State of Illinois is a complex task, to put it mildly.  But in the following few paragraphs, we will try to describe the financial condition of Illinois at the end of the last fiscal year.

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  The Great Dissenters: “Writing not for today but for tomorrow”

  Oct 7, 2020 2:00 pm167 views

  In the last decade of her life, Justice Ginsburg was revered as a genuine American cultural icon.  Her life serves as a testimony of the importance to fight for the equal citizenship stature of men and women in the U.S.

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  The Illinois Economy and Public Finances in 2020: Difficult Challenges, No Easy Answers

  May 8, 2020 12:30 pm95 views

  On January 15, 2020, the World Economic Forum released its 2020 Global Risks Report, which laid out several threats to world economic growth, ranking them on scales of likelihood and impact. Among the most pressing threats were climate change, extreme weather, biodiversity loss, natural disasters, cyberattacks, and manmade environmental disasters. Infectious diseases were ranked #10 on the list of strongest impacts but did not make the top 10 in terms as likelihood (World Economic Forum, 2020). But a few months can certainly change outlooks.

• The Illinois Legislative Staff Internship Program – A Tapestry of Opportunity

  Feb 18, 2021 11:00 am69 views

  The Illinois Legislative Staff Intern Program otherwise known as ILSIP is different from the other internships offered at UIS and from most other universities as well. ILSIP was designed to provide those interested in exploring the legislative process with an opportunity to do so.

  Today, ILSIP interns are sprinkled throughout the legislative arena, state government and beyond as key staff, lawyers, lobbyists, and elected officials. In the fall, ILSIP celebrates its 60th anniversary. As this tapestry of opportunity continues to grow, become a part as an intern or pass this information along to someone who may be interested in becoming a member of the next ILSIP cohort.  

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  The Law of Motherhood in the Gender-Dependent Application of Criminal Responsibility for Failing to Protect Children

  Apr 17, 2023 10:00 am85 views

  When a child is injured or killed by an adult in the home, a marked gender division appears in the application of criminal responsibility against the non-abusing parent. When children are harmed by a man in the home, mothers are regularly prosecuted under statutes criminalizing the failure to protect one’s children, yet men virtually never face charges when the roles are reversed and the mother has harmed the children while the father has failed to protect them.

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  The Path of Least Resistance: A Reflection on the Events of January 6th

  Jan 12, 2021 9:00 am51 views

  I never imagined writing this. But I also never imagined witnessing what unfolded as I prepared for the Spring Semester this past week, working on courses while watching the Senate and the House certify the electoral college votes on the afternoon of January 6th.

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  The Politics of a Virus

  May 27, 2020 11:15 am86 views

  Commentary on the political divide during the COVID 19 pandemic by Dr. Robert Smith, Dean of the College of Public Affairs and Administration at the University of Illinois Springfield on NPR Illinois.
  

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  The Status of Black Lives Matter: A Shift in Policy, Culture, Justice, and Reform

  Feb 25, 2021 9:00 am77 views

  As part of Black History Month, this panel discussion by African-American faculty and staff from the University of Illinois at Springfield, Tessica C. Dooley J.D., Assistant Professor in Legal Studies, Dr. Ty Price Dooley, Associate Professor in Public Administration, Dr. Tiffani Saunders, Lecturer in Sociology/Anthropology and African American Studies, and Justin J. Rose, Director of Diversity and Inclusion, will encourage students and the general audience to learn about societal issues including policing, healthcare, housing, and other economic disparities in the African American community, in twenty-first century America, that inform and led to the formation and evolution of the Black Lives Matter Movement.  

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  THE TRUTH IS OUT THERE…

  Mar 9, 2021 11:15 am21 views

  On top of an ongoing COVID Pandemic, a still confusing response, a mixed up political world, and a new standard of truisms, and of course, just to make things worse, the weather has now turned against us. In particular the Midwest and South was severely impacted. As of this writing I think we all have heard that Texas seems to have borne the brunt of this winter weather.

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  The Value of Education in Public Affairs for Balancing Truth and Emotions in the 21st Century

  Aug 5, 2021 10:00 am100 views

  Our courses and degrees prepare students for careers where they analyze problems, develop policies, serve citizens and provide leadership in Illinois, the nation and even worldwide.

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  The Workers’ Rights Amendment Passed in Illinois. How?!

  Mar 6, 2023 9:00 am352 views

  On November 9, 2022, the Illinois Constitutional Amendment 1, also known as the “Workers’ Rights Amendment,” was approved by the majority of the 4.1 million voters who cast a ballot in the election, however, the passage of the amendment was not a foregone conclusion.

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  Time for a social media break?

  Sep 27, 2022 9:00 am70 views

  Many of today’s college juniors and seniors report opening their first social media account (usually on Facebook, with a parent’s help) when they were around 10 years old. That means they’ve spent half of their lifetimes on the app!

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  Time for the State of Illinois to Stop Using Debt to Finance Current Services

  Feb 9, 2021 9:00 am80 views

  One of the basic tenets of governmental budgeting is that current services should be paid for with recurring revenues rather than one-time funds, such as debt. In a study of state budgeting practices, the Volcker Alliance rates Illinois as one of the three worst states in terms of relying on one-time budget maneuvers (Volcker Alliance, 2020). This practice pushes a portion of the costs of current services onto future taxpayers and makes it more difficult to balance the budget in future years.  This blog describes the types and magnitudes of debt that the State of Illinois has used to pay for current services and calls for a plan to stop this practice.

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  Time to Create an Illinois Academy of Politics?

  Feb 8, 2022 9:00 am79 views

  There are many concerns surrounding our current political discourse in our nation today. I would like to change course a bit in my past reflections about the nature of our disappointing and curious political environment in 2022. In fact, I’m hoping to interject a sense of hope and optimism at a time when that seems hard to identify.

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  Time to stop hating on journalists for reporting facts

  Jan 18, 2021 10:15 pm36 views

  I didn’t get into journalism to be liked. But I didn’t get into it to be hated, either. After the last four years of President Trump’s attacks on the media, his followers feel more emboldened than ever to direct hateful language and dangerous threats toward journalists trying to do their jobs.

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  To China and Back: A Student’s Air Pollution Study Leads to Adventures beyond the Academic

  Jun 2, 2020 9:00 am147 views

  Before I began my research project “Investigation of Indoor and Outdoor Air Quality in China and United States: Volatile Organic Compounds”, I had never experienced the feeling of holding a project so near and dear to my heart that I would fall asleep thinking about it and wake up in the morning having the project on my mind.

• Together We Thrive, Fifty Years of NPR

  May 10, 2021 11:45 am31 views

  Last week marked the 50th anniversary of NPR. The first broadcast of All Things Considered with the founding mothers (Cokie Roberts, Susan Stamberg, Nina Totenberg, and Linda Wertheimer -- at the time precedent breaking as the assumption was the news audience preferred a deep, authoritative make voice) has led to one of the largest networks of journalists in modern media.

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  Top 5 Reasons to Get a Degree in Environmental Studies at UIS

  Aug 10, 2021 11:00 am64 views

  Do you want to make a difference? The Department of Environmental Studies provides students with the advanced interdisciplinary training necessary for solving environmental problems.

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  Trump Controversies Raise Journalism Ethics Questions

  Sep 15, 2020 9:15 am102 views

  An analysis:  two recent news stories that make President Trump look bad have launched important discussions about journalism ethics. 

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  Trump targets Twitter; what will happen to free speech?

  Jun 16, 2020 9:00 am67 views

  "No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider."  Back when I was the online editor of The State Journal-Register, this sentence went through my mind often as I kept track of the flood of reader comments that appeared under the online version of our journalists’ news stories.

• Two-Generation Solutions Can Empower Healthy Families

  May 25, 2021 10:00 am35 views

  Here at Innovate Springfield, we are always looking for evidence-based solutions to community problems. Two of the largest topics we tackle center around early childhood education and development and local workforce development. These two topics are intrinsically linked, not only because children who are supported in early life often have more positive career outcomes, but also because parents’ successes so often become their children’s successes as well. If we want to enable the success of both parents and children, we need to invest in Two-Generation solutions.

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  UIS Model United Nations Program - A Standout Experience

  Jul 1, 2021 10:15 am247 views

  A stand-out experience that I have had while studying Global Studies at the university has been being a part of National Model United Nations, a simulation of the United Nations.

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  UIS to host Midwest Public Affairs Conference

  Jun 1, 2022 9:00 am133 views

  On June 23-24, the UIS College of Public Affairs and Administration is hosting the 2022 Midwest Public Affairs Conference (MPAC) and this year the theme is “Designing and Running the Innovative Public Service Agency.”