Jim Nowlan began his career as a very young member of the Illinois legislature representing a conservative district in central Illinois. He left that world behind in 1973, returning in the late 1970s to help with several campaigns, including Chuck Percy's 1978 U.S. Senate campaign and for a short time, John Anderson's campaign for the presidency. For the rest of Nowlan's career, he has been thinking, teaching and writing about Illinois's politics. He spoke at length about the root causes of Illinois's severe pension crisis, and the negative burden that has placed on Illinois's budget and fiscal situation.
Interview Links
Feature Excerpt
Union vs. Non-Union
Abstract
Interview Session 4 - Audio
Nowlan’s books and discussion on pensions, corruption, and redistricting
Interview Session 5 - Audio
Illinois’s economic decline, demographic and journalistic changes
Photos
Caption
A young Jim Nowlan sits at the linotype machine working on his father’s newspaper in Toulon.
Where:
Toulon, Illinois
When:
1960s
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
A student of Bill Campbell, Jim’s friend and former 82nd Airborne Ranger, drew this cherished picture of Jim.
Where:
Unknown
When:
Unknown
Ownership:
May be restricted. Patrons desiring to use this photograph should contact the ALPL Audio-Visual Curator.
Caption
Nowlan is shown here campaigning in a Latinx neighborhood in Rock Island during the 1972 campaign of Ogilvie-Nowlan for governor and lieutenant governor.
Where:
Rock Island, Illinois
When:
1972
Ownership:
Narrator’s photo
Caption
While in the last year of Edgar’s administration, Gov. Jim Edgar signed this photo of himself with Jim during a private dinner. Following Edgar’s time as governor, they worked together at the University of Illinois Institute of Government and Public Affairs.
Where:
Unknown
When:
1998
Ownership:
This image is considered to be in the public domain.
Caption
This photo appeared in the the Peoria Journal-Star on April 13, 2003. The caption read “Political guru Jim Nowlan peers out of the blinds from inside the Start County News, where he serves as editor and publisher in his boyhood home of Toulan.”
Where:
Toulan, Illinois
When:
2003
Ownership:
May be restricted. Patrons desiring to use this photograph should contact the ALPL Audio-Visual Curator.
Caption
Jim holds up a portrait of Abraham Lincoln during an event at the county courtroom in Toulon.
Where:
Toulon, Illinois
When:
Unknown
Ownership:
May be restricted. Patrons desiring to use this photograph should contact the ALPL Audio-Visual Curator.
Caption
Jim holds up a portrait of Abraham Lincoln during an event at the county courtroom in Toulon.
Where:
Toulon, Illinois
When:
Unknown
Ownership:
May be restricted. Patrons desiring to use this photograph should contact the ALPL Audio-Visual Curator.
Caption
A photo of Jim Nowlan at the time he was publishing a local newspaper, the Stark County News.
Where:
Toulon, Illinois
When:
2010s
Ownership:
May be restricted. Patrons desiring to use this photograph should contact the ALPL Audio-Visual Curator.