UIS hosts "Legendary Illinois Legislators" book discussion and signing event

WHAT: The University of Illinois Springfield presents “Legendary Illinois Legislators”, a noontime brown bag presentation that will feature authors David Joens and Ed Wojcicki discussing their new books on major figures in Illinois history and politics.

WHEN: Wednesday, April 25, 2012, Noon to 1:30 p.m.

WHERE: Public Affairs Center, Level 1, Conference Room G, UIS

DETAILS: Joens, a UIS alumnus, is the author of From Slave to State Legislator: John W. E. Thomas, Illinois’ First African American Lawmaker (SIU Press, 2012). As the first African American elected to the Illinois general assembly, John W. E. Thomas was the recognized leader of the state’s African American community for nearly twenty years. The book traces Thomas’s trajectory from a slave owned by a doctor’s family in Alabama to a prominent attorney believed to be the wealthiest African American man in Chicago at the time of his death in 1899.

Wojcicki, associate chancellor for constituent relations at UIS, is the co-author with former Illinois Senate President Philip J. Rock of Nobody Calls Just to Say Hello: Reflections on Twenty-Two Years in the Illinois Senate (SIU Press, 2012). The book draws on dozens of interviews conducted by Wojcicki to present Rock’s story in his own words. It takes readers through his legislative successes, bipartisan efforts, and political defeats, giving a rare insider's perspective on Illinois politics over the last three decades of the twentieth century.

The event is free and open to the public. No reservation is required. The authors’ books will be available for purchase. Sponsors include the UIS Department of Political Science, Center for State Policy and Leadership, and College of Public Affairs and Administration Brown Bag Series at UIS. For more information, contact Barbara Ferrara at 217/206-7094.