UIS Center for State Policy and Leadership (CSPL)

The Community Voices team moderated the Center for State Policy and Leadership Showcase in September. The showcase featured discussions with the Illinois Innocence Project, Research Director Dr. AJ Simmons, and the Alliance for Experiential and Problem-Based Learning.

Community Voices will moderate the annual Center for State Policy and Leadership (CSPL) showcase, which will feature projects the Center has worked on in the past year. We will hear from the Illinois Innocence Project, the Director of the Alliance for Experiential Problem-Based Learning Dr. Betsy Goulet, and Research Director at CSPL Dr. AJ Simmons. The showcase is Sept. 14, at 8 a.m. To register visit: https://go.uis.edu/CSPLShowcase.

Members of the UIS Center for State Policy and Leadership team discuss ranked choice voting (RCV) in Illinois. The potential benefits and challenges of a system that allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference. This system has gained popularity in recent years based around arguments that it will increase voter choice, promote political moderation, and promote more civil and issue-based campaigns. Evanston voters will use RCV for their local elections beginning in 2025. Other localities here and the Illinois General Assembly are also discussing how ranked choice voting could be utilized in additional races.

The UIS Public Affairs Reporting Program facilitates a review of the 2022 midterm elections from the view of political science and journalism.

A Long and Winding Road: How COVID-19 Has Evolved and How the Current Wave of Infections is Affecting Patients and the People and Institutions Who Care for Them.

The 2021 Sangamon County Citizen Survey is discussed with Molly Lamb and AJ Simmons of UIS Center for State Policy and Leadership who conducted the survey in partnership with the United Way of Central Illinois and the Community Foundation for the Land of Lincoln.

Illinois Department of Public Health Health’s Connie Austin joins moderator Molly Lamb to discuss infectious disease and animals, including recent developments with the deer population around Lake Springfield.

The COVID-19 pandemic has tested the ability of government and public health officials to effectively communicate complex COVID-19 information to a diverse public audience. At the same time, multiple other common sources of information (and misinformation) have caused confusion and mistrust of official messaging. Expert panelists discuss the roles of public health officials, mainstream and social media, and efforts to counter misinformation throughout the population.

The 2021 Sangamon County Citizen Survey is discussed with Molly Lamb and AJ Simmons of UIS Center for State Policy and Leadership who conducted the survey in partnership with the United Way of Central Illinois and the Community Foundation for the Land of Lincoln.

Dr. Ngozi Ezike, Director, Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) discusses how the health system has handled the pandemic and equity in the system.