The Simon Review

Main Content

The Simon Review papers are occasional papers of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute that examine and explore public policy issues.

2023

Ideas Weren't Enough: The Strategies Behind Paul Simon's Run for President, 1987-88
Robert Hartley - November 2023 - Paper #67

Where is Illinois Now and Where is it Going?
Rob Paral - September 2023 - Paper #66

The 2022 Mid-Term elections in Illinois: Unfinished Business or The Wave of The Future?
John Jackson, John Foster - August 2023 - Paper #65

Redistricting in Illinois Judicial Elections: A Once in Five Decades Event
Suzanne Schmitz - March 2023 - Paper #64

2022

The Church and Michael Brown: The Influence of Christianity on Racialized Political Attitudes in Ferguson, Missouri
Tyler Chance - July 2022 - Paper #63

Biden, Trump, Durbin, and Taxes: The 2020 Election in Illinois
John Jackson, John Foster - April 2022 - Paper #62

2021

Exit Essay: A Reflection on More Than 50 Years of Media Coverage in the Illinois Statehouse
Steven E. Brown - October 2021 - Paper #61

The Effects of Legalization of Recreational Cannabis in Illinois
Stephanie Chambers-Baltz - May 2021 - Paper #60

The Politics of Public Budgeting in Illinois (Second Edition)
John Jackson, John Foster - May 2021 - Paper #59

2020

Citizens' Opinions Regarding a Checkout Bag Tax Proposal
Jorden Thomas - November 2020 - Paper #58

The Role of Midwives in Reducing Motherhood Mortality: Implications for Illinois and Beyond
Morgan Christie - October 2020 - Paper #57

2019

The Climate of Opinion in Illinois 2008 - 2019: Gridlock Broken?
John Jackson, Charlie Leonard & Shiloh Dietz - July 2019 - Paper #56

Sexual Harassment in Illinois: Public Opinion and Legislative Action
Seyi Amosu - May 2019 - Paper #55

The 2018 Race for Governor of Illinois: Rauner vs. Pritzker
John Jackson - January 2019 - Paper #54


2018

The Politics of Public Budgeting in Illinois
John Foster & John Jackson - July 2018 - Paper #53

Illinois as a World Provider of Virtual Water and Advocate for Clean Water: How Does Illinois Fit into the Global Water Crisis/Solution?
Kara Lawrence, Celia M. Howard Fellow - March 2018 - Paper #52

State Oversight and Local Government Savings: An Analysis of Illinois County Fund Balance Politics
Dr. LaShonda Stewart, Dr. John Hamman, Dr. Brian Chapman - January 2018 - Paper #51

2017

Governor Rauner’s Turnaround Agenda from a Comparative State Policy Context
Marnie Leonard - May 2017 - Paper #50

The Presidential Election in Illinois: 2016 Compared to 2012 and 2008.
 John S. Jackson - February 2017 - Paper #49


2016

The Illinois Veterans Treatment Court Mandate: from Concept to Success
John Adams, Jaye Hobart and Mark Rosenberg - October 2016 - Paper #48

The Climate of Opinion in Illinois 2008-2016: Roots of Gridlock
John S. Jackson, Charles W. Leonard and Shiloh L. Deitz - June 2016 - Paper #47

Perspectives on the Illinois Healthcare Delivery System: Challenges, Structural Issues and Opportunities for Reform
Dr. Linda Baker - April 2016 - Paper #46

Healthy Communities in Southern Illinois
Shiloh L. Deitz - April 2016 - Paper #45

2015

The Presidential Contests of 1976-2012 and What They Mean for Who Will Win in 2016
John S. Jackson - December 2015 - Paper #44

A Warm Bucket of What? Assessing the Role of Lieutenant Governor in Illinois 
Sheila Simon - August 2015 - Paper #43

Unsupervised, Ensnared, Relational, and Private: A Typology of Illinois' Corrupt Women
Ryan Ceresola - June 2015 - Paper #42 

Disaster and Gender in Southern Illinois
Shiloh Deitz - February 2015 - Paper #41

The 2014 Illinois Governor Race: Quinn vs. Rauner
John S. Jackson - January 2015 - Paper #40

2014

The Creative Economy in Southern Illinois: Opportunities for Reshaping Carbondale and SIU
Kent Dolezal, Nicole Sack and Lindsay Knaus - October 2014 - Paper #39

Partisanship, Representation and Redistricting: An Illinois Case Study
Cynthia Canary and Kent Redfield- September 2014 - Paper #38

The Climate of Opinion in Illinois 2010-2014: A Dilemma of Popular Democracy
John S. Jackson and Charles W. Leonard, Southern Illinois University Carbondale - June 2014 - Paper #37

Voter Petitions for Term Limits in Illinois: A Conflict Between Popular Desire and Constitutional Constraints
Paul Hale, JD Candidate, Southern Illinois University School of Law and Legal & Policy Exter, Paul Simon Public Policy Institute-  April 2014 - Paper #36

2013

There's Nothing Fair About the Illinois Map: An Examination of the Reapportionment Process in Illinois
Craig Curtis, Brad McMillan and Don Racheter -  April 2013 - Paper #35

President Obama's Victories in Illinois: 2012 Compared to 2008
John S. Jackson, Visiting Professor -  February 2013 - Paper #34

2012

Lessons Learned: What the successes and failures of recent reform efforts tell us about the prospects for political reform in Illinois
Cynthia Canary and Kent Redfield -  October 2012 - Paper #33

The Illinois Presidential Primary: How Romney Won and What It Meant
John S. Jackson, Visiting Professor -  August 2012 - Paper #32

How Schools Can Promote Civic Education
Suzanne Schmitz, Professor of Law Emeritus -  May 2012 - Paper #31

Redistricting in Illinois: A Comparative View on State Redistricting
Joseph A. Cervantez and Logan Fentress - April 2012 - Paper #30

Alexander Lane - From Slavery to Freedom: The Life of Alexander Lane, Educator, Physician and Illinois State Legislator, 1860-1911
Pamela Smoot, Research Assistants:  Andrew Barbero and Michara Canty -  February 2012 - Paper #29

The 1977 Illinois Senate Presidency Fight
Ken Buzbee -  January 2012 - Paper #28

The Movement of Opinion Toward Spending Cuts, Revenue Increases, and Political Reform In Illinois: Results and Analysis of The Fourth Annual Simon Poll
Charles Leonard, Ryan P. Burge, and Emily S. Carroll -  January 2012 - Paper #27

2011

Friends and Neighbors in Government: Partisanship in County Government in Illinois 1975-2010
John Jackson -  August 2011 - Paper #26

The Climate of Opinion in Southern Illinois Continuity and Change 
John Jackson and Charles Leonard -  April 2011 - Paper #25

Results and Analysis of The Third Annual Simon Poll: A Statewide Survey of Illinois Voters, Fall 2010 
Charles Leonard -  March 2011 - Paper #24

Alternatives to Illinois’ Budget Deficit: An Analysis of Proposed Solutions by Gubernatorial Candidates, Elected Officials, and Public Policy Organizations
Christopher Baughman and Adrian M. Velazquez -  January 2011 - Paper #23

The 2010 Elections: Illinois Still Blue Despite the Red Wave that Swept the Nation
John Jackson - January 2011 - Paper #22

2010

The Man and the Land: The Politics of Paul Simon and Southern Illinois, 1950-1973 
Eugene Trani -  July 2010 - Paper #21

Results and Analysis of the Inaugural Southern Illinois Poll 
Dr. Charles Leonard -  June 2010 - Paper #20

Institutional Reform and State Government Corruption: An Analysis of Institutional Reforms Proposed by the Illinois Reform Commission 
Travis Taylor and John Hamman -  May 2010 - Paper #19

Higher Education Funding in Illinois: 1997-2010 
Dr. John Jackson and Carol Bedar - April 2010 - Paper #18

Ethical Reforms, the Budget Crisis, and Perceptions of Quality of Life In Illinois: Results and Analysis of The Paul Simon Public Policy Institute 2009 Statewide Poll 
Professor Charles Leonard -  February 2010 - Paper #17

2009

Reforming Health Care: The Paradoxes of Cost
Professor Edward A. Zelinsky - November 2009 - Paper #16

Selecting Judges: Merit Selection and Other Matters
Stephen L. Wasby Professor Emeritus of Political Science University at Albany – SUNY -November 2009 - Paper #15*

*The Wasby paper is the first one under our new series title, The Simon Review.

On Public Capital Investment and Economic Growth in Illinois
Subhash C. Sharma & Basharat Pitafi - March 2009 - Paper #14

The Anatomy of President Barack Obama's General Election Victory in Illinois
Dr. John Jackson - February 2009 - Paper #13

Confronting the State Budget and Establishing Quality of Life Benchmarks in Illinois:
Results and Analysis of the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute 2008 Statewide Poll
Dr. Charles W. Leonard - January 2009 - Paper #12

2008

The 2008 Presidential Nominations Process, a Marathon and a Sprint: 
An Analysis of What Happened and Why 
Dr. John Jackson - July 2008 - Paper #11

Ball Fair? A Quantitative Examination of Which Universities Succeed In the Men's NCAA Tournament
Wilfred T. Reilly - March 2008 - Paper #10

Presidential Nominations and Regional Primaries: An Analysis of Proposals for Reform
Dr. John Jackson - January 2008 - Paper #9

2007

Tom Eagleton and the "Curse to our Constitution"
By William H. Freivogel - September 2007 - Paper #8

Competition in Illinois
Dr. John Jackson and Paul Gottemoller - June 2007 - Paper #7

Publishing National Security Secrets - The Case for "Benign Indeterminacy"
William H. Freivogel - February 2007 - Paper #6

2006

Still the Wild West? A 10 Year Look at Campaign Finance Reform in Illinois
Ed Wojcicki - September 2006 - Paper #5

The Making of a Senator: Barack Obama
Dr. John Jackson - August 2006 - Paper #4

2005

Illinois Water Policy
Dr. Christopher L. Lant - September 2005 - Paper #3

Redistricting in Illinois
Dr. John Jackson and Lourenke Prozesky - April 2005 - Paper #2

2004

Illinois Politics in the 21st Century
Dr. John Jackson - January 2004 - Paper #1