That many? According to a random telephone survey of 340 Chicago-area blacks and bilingual Latinos, “Only 35% think their race or ethnic group is accurately portrayed on local TV news,” report Cynthia Linton and Robert LeBailly of Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism (Institute for Policy Research “Working Papers,” Spring).
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Next year state legislatures will consider more than 140,000 separate bills, according to estimates on a chart recently published by StateNet, which collects information about such things. Illinois is the seventh most prolific bill-generator with 4,300 bills likely to come up, running well behind New York (14,000), Massachusetts (7,300), Texas, Hawaii, Tennessee, and Louisiana. The fewest new laws will be contemplated in Kentucky–which has no 1999 legislative session scheduled. Next fewest are Wyoming (450) and Alaska (600).
More lanes mean faster-moving traffic, at least on a seven-mile stretch of North Avenue between Addison Road and Gary Avenue in the western suburbs. According to “Transportation Facts” (May), in 1994, before an extra lane was added, it took an average of 15 minutes and 12 seconds to traverse (average speed 27 mph); in1996, after the construction, it took 11 minutes and 47 seconds (average speed 35 mph). Now if only there were somewhere to go…
