articles by topic

This index includes every article in First Reading since its inception in 1986, organized by subject matter.  Issues of First Reading from June 2000 to the present are available for download and linked.  Contact the Research Unit for availability of articles from older issues.  Abstracts of reports required to be filed with the General Assembly, which are included in each issue, are not included in this index.

general assembly; government

1994 Proposed Session Schedules-Jan 94, p. 15

1994-1995 Legislative Staff Interns-Nov 94, p. 11

1996-1997 Legislative Staff Interns-Dec 96, p. 12

1997-1998 Legislative Staff Interns-Nov 97, p. 7

1998-1999 Legislative Staff Interns-Nov 98, p. 12

2005-2006 Legislative Staff Interns-May 2006, p. 3

2006-2007 Legislative Staff Interns-May 2007, p. 3

2012-2013 Legislative Staff Interns-Nov 2012, p. 20

2014-2015 Legislative Staff Interns-Nov 2014, p. 12

2016-2017 Legislative Staff Interns-Nov 2016, p. 16

93rd General Assembly House Members-Dec 2002, p. 14

94th General Assembly House Members-Nov 2004, p. 8

95th General Assembly House Members-Dec 2006, p. 9

96th General Assembly House Members-Nov 2008, p. 7

93rd General Assembly Senate Members-Dec 2002, p. 7

94th General Assembly Senate Members-Nov 2004, p. 10

95th General Assembly Senate Members-Dec 2006, p. 8

96th General Assembly Senate Members-Nov 2008, p. 6

Abolished Boards-Jul 2002, p. 23

African American Legislators in Illinois, 1876-2005-Feb 2006, p. 1

Appointments to Fill G.A. Vacancies [Judith Myers, Lawrence M. Walsh, Richard T. Bradley, Dan Reitz, Michael Brown]-Aug 97, p. 27

Balthis, Marinaro, and Stepan Appointed to Fill Vacancies-Apr 91, p. 12

Beginnings of Women’s Vote in Illinois-Mar 94, p. 14

Bio of Justin Slaughter (D-27, Chicago)-Jun 2017, p. 5

Biographies of Members Appointed to 92nd G.A.-Dec 2001, p. 4

Biographies of New House Members-Dec 90, p. 4; Nov 94, p. 3; Dec 96, p. 4; Nov 98, p. 4; Nov 2000, p. 5; Dec 2002, p. 8; Nov 2004, p. 4; Dec 2006, p. 2; Nov 2008, p. 2; Nov 2010, p. 2; Nov 2012, p. 2; Nov 2014, p. 2; Nov 2016, p. 2; Nov 2018, p. 2; Nov 2020, p. 2

Biographies of New Appointees-Mar 2015, p. 8

Biographies of New Legislators-Dec 86, p 1; Oct 87, p. 23; Dec 88, p. 1; Jan 2006, p. 4; May 2006, p. 3; May 2007, p. 3; Mar 2009, p. 6; May 2011, p. 6

Biographies of New Senate Members-Nov 94, p. 2; Dec 96, p. 2; Nov 98, p. 2; Nov 2000, p. 3; Dec 2002, p. 3; Nov 2004, p. 2; Dec 2006, p. 5; Apr 2008, p. 15; Nov 2008, p.5; Nov 2010, p. 7; Nov 2012, p. 9; Nov 2014, p. 6; Nov 2016, p. 6; Nov 2018, p. 9; Nov 2020, p. 8

Book Review: Nobody Calls Just to Say Hello: Reflections on Twenty-Two Years in the Illinois Senate by Philip J. Rock-Jun 2012, p. 14

Bowhay Institute for Legislative Leadership Development-Feb 2010, p. 2

Butler and Hoffman Appointed to Fill Vacancies-Mar 91, p. 12

Can Legislative Terms be Limited by Initiative?-Dec 90, p. 3

Career Opportunities for Legislators-Mar 89, p. 16

Cecil Partee Biography & Oral History-Feb 2006, p. 2; Feb 2017, p. 6

Chinese Visit General Assembly-Mar 88, p. 12

Clerk of the House-Apr 87, p. 11; Jan 88, p. 11

Corneal A. Davis Biography-Feb 2018, p. 6

Current Members Not Returning to G.A.-Apr 94, p. 9; May 96, p. 8; Apr 98, p. 11; Apr 2000, p. 9

Democrat Lead Narrows Slightly-Nov 2004, p. 1

Democrats Sweep State Elections-Dec 2002, p. 1

Dems Gain More Seats in General Assembly-Dec 2006, p. 1

Dissatisfaction is High in Congress-Dec 88, p. 8

Emil Jones, Jr. Biography-Feb 2006, p. 5

General Assembly Primary Winners, March 15, 1988-Apr 88, p. 12; March 20, 1990-Apr 90, p. 11

Governor Cuts Agencies by Executive Order-Apr 2002, p. 20

Harold Washington Biography-Feb 2006, p. 4

History of Legislators’ Pay and Allowances-Jan 94, p. 16

Hoffman, Righter Appointed to Fill Vacancies-Nov 97, p. 1

Home Rule in Illinois-May 2014, p. 4

Home-rule Units in Illinois as of May 2014-May 2014, p. 6

House and Senate Chambers are Renovated-Mar 2007, p. 1

House Members-Apr 87, p. 10; Jan 88, p. 10; Nov 92, p. 5

House of Representatives 91st General Assembly-Nov 98, p. 10

House of Representatives 92nd General Assembly-Nov 2000, p. 8

House of Representative Candidates-Apr 2000, p. 5

Jesse White Biography and Interview: A Lifetime of Public Service-Feb 2017, p. 3

Laws on Legislative Conflicts of Interest-May 94, p. 11

Leader’s Views: State of the State-Mar 88, p. 1; Mar 89, p. 1

Legislative Commissions Get New Directors-Jun 91, p. 1

Legislative Party Division: Past and Present-Nov 86, p. 1

Legislative Salaries Since 1947 in Current-Year and 1993 Dollars-Jan 94, p. 8

Legislators Could be Liable for Newsletter Statements-Jan 95, p. 20

Legislators’ Job Description-Dec 88, p. 7

Legislatures’ Turnover Drops-May 89, p. 16

Local Governments in Illinois-May 2015, p. 1

Mary Flowers Biography and Interview-Feb 2018, p. 4

Members Elected to 89th General Assembly-Nov 94, p. 1

Members Elected to 90th General Assembly-Dec 96, p. 1

Members of the 88th General Assembly-Nov 92, p .14

Members of the 89th General Assembly-Nov 94, p. 9

Members of the 90th General Assembly-Dec 96, p. 9

Members Not Returning to Current Office-Dec 2002, p. 15; Nov 2004, p. 9; Dec 2006, p. 10; Nov 2008, p. 8; Nov 2012, p. 17; Nov 2014, p. 10; Nov 2016, p. 12; Nov 2018, p. 16; Nov 2020, p. 14

Munizzi Replaces Daley in House-Jul 89, p. 14

Partisan Division Clear-Nov 86, p. 1

Partisan Division of Statewide Votes & General Assembly, 1920-1988-Nov 88, p. 8; 1960-1992-Nov 92, p. 14; 1960-1993-Nov 94, p. 11; 1960-1996-Dec 96, p. 11; 1960-1998-Nov 98, p. 11; 1960-2000-Nov 2000-p. 1; 1962-2002-Dec 2002, p. 2; 1968-2017-Nov 2016, p. 13; 1968-2018-Nov 2018, p. 13; 1962-2020-Nov 2020, p. 15

Pension Laws Commission Director Appointed-Nov 97, p. 12

Percentage of Partisan Votes and General Assembly Division 1920-1988-Nov 88, p. 9

Persons Elected to the 98th General Assembly House-Nov 2012, p.15

Persons Elected to the 99th General Assembly House-Nov 2014, p.8

Persons Elected to the 100th General Assembly House-Nov 2016, p.10

Persons Elected to the 101st General Assembly House-Nov 2018, p.14

Persons Elected to the 102nd General Assembly House-Nov 2020, p.12

Persons Elected to the 98th General Assembly Senate-Nov 2012, p.14

Persons Elected to the 99th General Assembly Senate-Nov 2014, p.7

Persons Elected to the 100th General Assembly Senate-Nov 2016, p.9

Persons Elected to the 101st General Assembly Senate-Nov 2018, p.13

Persons Elected to the 102nd General Assembly Senate-Nov 2020, p.11

Precedents on Partisan Division Shattered-Nov 88, p. 1

Primary Election Winners-Apr 94, p. 1; May 94, p. 14; May 96, p. 1; Apr 98, p. 4 [Senate]; Apr 98, p.6 [House]

Record Number of New Members Elected To 88th G.A.-Nov 92, p. 1

Remembering Dawn Clark Netsch-Mar 2013, p. 3

Samuel K. Gove Illinois Legislative Internship Hall of Fame-Nov 97, p. 6

Secretary of The Senate-Apr 87, p. 11; Jan 88, p. 11

Senate 91st General Assembly-Nov 98, p. 9

Senate 92nd General Assembly-Nov 2000, p. 4

Senate Candidates-Apr 2000, p. 4

Senate Members-Apr 87, p. 10; Jan 88, p. 10; Nov 92, p. 1

Seven Legislators Have Been Appointed to Fill Vacancies-May 2003, p. 6

State Employees Fluctuates-Jan 88, p. 1

State Employment Declines-Apr 92, p. 18

State Employees Suggest Ways to Save Money-May 92, p. 16

State Pension Systems Update-Apr 92, p. 1

State Redistricting Procedures Vary Greatly-Dec 91, p. 1

States Seek Savings on Public Pensions-Mar 2012, p. 1

Study Sheds Light on Women in State Legislatures-May 2013, p. 4

Survey on Ethics in Public Contracts-Nov 93, p. 10

Tenhouse and Noland Fill Legislative Vacancies-Apr 90, p. 18

Three States Limit Legislative Terms-Dec 90, p. 1

Township Functions, and Options for Dissolution or Consolidation-Apr 2016, p. 3

Twenty New Members Seen-Nov 86, p. 1

Two Appointed to Fill Vacancies [John T. Doody, Jr. & David Luechtefeld] -Sep 95, Part III, p. 19

Two Named to Fill Vacancies [Louis I. Land & John Philip Novak]-Oct 87, p. 23

Undecided Races-Nov 2018, p. 12

Update on Conference Committee Use-Jun 92, p. 5

Vetoes Could Cause Controversy Again-Oct 89, p. 11

Voters Elect Divided State and National Governments-Nov 2014, p. 1

Woolard Replaces Rea in House-May 89, p. 15

Women in Local Offices, 1980 and 1993-Mar 94, p. 13