UIS leader co-authors biography on former Illinois senate president Philip J. Rock

Ed Wojcicki, associate chancellor for constituent relations at the University of Illinois Springfield, has co-authored the political memoirs of former Illinois senate president Philip J. Rock.

The biography, Nobody Calls Just to Say Hello: Reflections on Twenty-Two Years in the Illinois Senate, was released on November 28 and published by Southern Illinois University Press.

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.

A native of Chicago's West Side, Rock became one of the most influential politicians in Illinois during the 1970s and 1980s, serving twenty-two years in the Illinois Senate. Fourteen of those years were spent as senate president, the longest tenure anyone has served in that position.

Nobody Calls Just to Say Hello takes its title from the volume of calls and visits to elected officials from constituents in need of help. According to the publisher, the book “perfectly captures Rock's profound reverence for the institutions of government, his respect for other government offices, and his reputation as a problem solver who, despite his ardent Democratic beliefs, disavowed political self-preservation to cross party lines and make government work for the people.”

In addition to his administrative duties, Wojcicki teaches in the Public Administration program at UIS. He is the former publisher of Illinois Issues and had been a staff writer and columnist for several magazines and newspapers. He is also the author of A Crisis of Hope in the Modern World, which was published in 1991.

The new book is available in local stores and online. Additional information on the book can be found here.