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gate m SECTION 2 - PAGE 12 - PLAINPEALER - WEDNESDAY. JUNE 11,1«84 State m«$ Lawmakers face 'international' problems wiimette residents among By II UPI Rick Pearson Illinois Political Editor SPRINGFIELD - State lawmakers, who have a hard enough time solving Illinois crises, find themselves facing two problems with international ramifications: dealing with plans to aid a troubled bank and a world's fair. The issues of Continental Illinois Bank and the 1992 Chicago World's Fair are likely to be stick­ ing points that could hinder chances for an unheard of on- time, June 30 adjournment of the Legislature. What began as a rumor-inspired lack of confidence in Continental's liquidity has rapidly turned into a crisis of complicated maneuver­ ing by the state's two largest banks in the halls of the Illinois Capitol. Continental, Illinois' largest bank with $41 billion in assets, wants to have state law changed to give it more merger options and, preferably, to stave off an ac- qusition by the First National Bank of Chicago, the state's se­ cond largest bank with $36 billion in assets. Continental, the nation's eighth largest bank, wants to have the option of merging with an out-of- state bank. State law currently limits mergers of Illinois banks to another Illinois banks or a foreign bank. First National, meanwhile, wants to be kept in the best posi­ tion to acquire Continental. Such an acquisition would create a huge Midwestern force in financial af­ fairs, while also eliminating com­ petition between the two banks. « First National also wants "reciprocity" -- a term that means if an out-of-state bank ac< quires Continental, the First could acquire another bank from that state. New York is the likely reciprocity-agreement state. I l l ino is l awmakers f ind themselves locked in the struggle* between the two banking forces and a federal government that has not said how far it will go to help ^bolster Continental. At a higher level, the legislators find themselves the unwilling par­ ticipants in what many feel is the first stirrings (4 an international crisis due to loans made to developing countries, high in­ terest rates and the oil glut. Some lawmakers say the pro­ blem is Continental's alone. If the bank fails, they say, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Federal Reserve Bank will step in because of the effect on the inter­ national financial community that a Continental collapse would have. Others believe Continental should unload its non-producing loans from developing countries while keeping currently non- performing energy loans that could have some value if oil availability from the Persian Gulf becomes a problem. Such a plan would not please stockholders, but would end up leaving Continental a smaller -- but independent -- bank. Still others perceive the situa­ tion as a traditional Chicago- downstate split. Many downstate lawmakers, following the Illinois Bankers Association, are looking for a narrow way to solve Con­ tinental's problem without open­ ing the door to interstate banking the largest fear of small banks. First National has more friends in the Legislature than its troubl­ ed rival. But First National is seen by many to be too "rigid" in its current posturing, giving Con­ tinental's position the edge. State officials hope an ac­ comodation can b4 worked out between the banks, but observers say the two are far apart. A scheduled Senate Finance and Credit Regulation Committee meeting this week should shed some light on the issue. Another topic on which an ac­ comodation is being sought is a funding plan for the Chicago World's Fair. For those conceited with economic development, the fair is a shot in the arm. But for others -- specifically lawmakers -- the pro­ blem is which vein to tap for revenue to keep the fair on track* Fair supporters estimate nearly $500 million in taxes will be generated by the event as well as a nebulously-defined $7 billion ex­ pansion of the state's economy. It is with that in mind that the fair has become linked with ex­ pansion of Chicago's McCormick Place exhibition hall and increas­ ed funding for statewide tourism to bring together Chicago §and downstate lawmakers. On the table for a likely legislative summit this week is in­ creased statewide hotel-motel levy and a special lottery or ^bik< on parimutuel wagering on M>rs< e rse taxes, a Chicago-area restaurant ell racing to pay for the projects Some lawmakers, however, do not see the need for long-term state taxes Jor the fair ftie* they do not yet know what private financing for the event will be. Others would like to see feparate funding plans for the three pro­ jects or an added component -- an operating subsidy for downstate civic centers. n Fair proponents see the need for a long-term financial plan, with the projects linked, to achieve suppor t f rom downsta te lawmakers who question the value of supporting state taxes for pro­ grams that will mainly benefit Chicago. Another factor is the lack of stability! in Chicago city government. Legislative observers look for some form of short-term financing for the projects, while lawmakers hold off on a full-fledged financial plan for a couple of years to better gauge estimates on fair atten­ dance and revenue. National news Computer crime called significant and growing By Elisabeth Olson United Press International WASHINGTON - Computer crime costs American business at least $1 billion a year and the pro­ blem threatens to become one of the "most significant" types of crime in the next century, the Amer ican Bar Assoc ia t ion reported Sunday. The association surveyed 1,000 private and government ex­ ecutives, half of whom said they believe annual computer-crime losses exceed $1 billion. Of those,, 14 percent believe the<• yearly losses are more than $10 billion. The survey done earlier this year focused on use of computers to embezzle money, destroy or alter computerized data and defraud consumers, investors or other computer users. Richard Kuh, chairman of the special ABA computer task force, sa id computer c r ime "may become one of the most significant areas of crime in the 21st cen­ tury." There are more than 9.1 million personal computers in the United States. Of those, 3.5 million are us­ ed in businesses. The federal government uses more than 16,000 large computers, and the private sector uses more than 56,000 large computers. "This proliferation of machines and knowledgeable users, along with recent concrete examples of the damage that can be caused by one personal computer, provide d is turb ing and undeniable evidence that the scope and significance of computer crime, and its potentially devastating ef­ fects, are broad and deep," the report said. I The ABA, which represents more than half of the nation's 500,000 lawyers, called on Con­ gress in 1979 to adopt federal com­ puter crime legislation. It says there is an even more acute need for it now. In part, that is because "there is a failure to recognize various forms of computer abuse and misuse as illegal and improper," the report said. The survey cited the experience of the youthful Milwaukee "414 gang," that used a personal com­ puter to infiltrate the computer records of the Sloan-Kettering Cancer Clinic, the government's Los Alamos Nuclear Weapons Research Laboratory, and more than 50 other computer systems. "One of the teenagers involved admitted that the first time he felt he might have done something il­ legal or unethical was when the FBI knocked at his door," ac­ cording to the report. The 50-page nationwide survey disc loses tha t par t ic ipa t ing businesses reported average year­ ly losses of $2 million to more than $10 million a year. the nation's best educated WILMETTE - Wiimet te residents are the most highly educated in the country, ac­ cording to data from the 1980 U.S. census. More than 50 percent of the nor­ thern suburb's residents over the age of 16 possess college degrees. Another 25 percent have at least some college education. The education data was compil­ ed in a report bydhe International City Management Assn., compar­ ing 1,029 cities with populations of 25,000 or more. Second in line in the brains department was Palo Alto^Calif., near Stanford University. Fifty percent of Palo Alto's residents also have college degrees, but of the remainder, only 23 percent have some college education. In Davis, Calif., 42 percent of the populace own college degrees and 33 percent have had some col- training. In contrast, only 13 percent of Chicago's residents have college degrees. Another 15 percent of the city's population has some college education. Wilmette's newly discovered status as an intellectual communi­ ty adds to the village's reputation as the community with the fifth highest per capita income in the nation, $41,358. Per capita income in Beverly Hi l l s , Cal i f . , l ags behind Wilmette's at $40,362. The ranking includes ohly com­ munities with populations of more than 25,000. Nntional news World.financial stability * also victim of Gulf war *r4*k "It takes little imagination to realize the magnitude of the an­ nual losses sustained on a nation­ wide basis," said the Computer Crime Task Force report. Many of the problems, Kuh said, stem from the enormous growth in the manufacture and use of com­ puters in recent years. The survey showed that most of those responding viewed com­ puter crime as more important than many other types of offenses, such as shoplifting or illegal im­ migration. Most ^of those surveyed about atamli tbrp** 12 months wem/? unable to identify the offenders in known incidents, but 78 percent said culprits who were identified were individuals within their organization. * Most of those responding to the survey said they had no available system to monitor or estimate the value of their computer crime losses. 25% COOLERS! Sunday Dads deserve a little pampering after work or a golf game. Reg. 8.00 for one to go, 16.00 for two to go. These clever glasses from the idea Source® will reflect his personal­ ity. glasses and swizzle sticks in these entertaining de­ signs: Screwdriver, Martini, Scottie (scotch). Bloody Mary, Margarita and Bowling. Duck and Gotf not shown. Gift boxed or open stock. SPRING HUt CRYSTAL LAKE ST. CHARLES CHARGE IT! We welcome your Spiess Charge, Visa, MasterCard and American Express! By Mark Z. B United Press International r LOS ANGELES - The Persian Gulf war has freed oil-producing nations from a year-old OPEC agreement that limited produc­ tion and held petroleum prices steady, imperiling vjprld financial stability, an analyst Said Sunday. In the short term, however, domestic overproduction has been good for U.S. consumers, with the overall average price of gasoline falling slightly in the last two weeks to $1.20.9 a gallon. Dan Lundberg, publisher of the authoritative Lundberg Letter, said in an interview Sunday the downward trend in gas prices should continue into the heavy summer driving season because of "plenty of gasoline, strongly in­ creased production and strongly increased imports." , In March 1983, the 13 members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries agreed to a 1""? Pj^uc;l0"...c£'g°'LiL 17! Imuran uoXTrlo. ntHH/tTSvX tries abided by the accord, aimed at preventing a plummet in oil prices and stabilizing a per-barrel cost of $29. "Wor ldwide voluntary adherance to reduced production and the $29 benchmark objective provided the world with con­ siderable stability and a basis of much economic recovery," the Lundberg Letter said. "When Iran and Iraq began attacks on shipp­ ing in the Persian Gulf in the mid­ dle of April, they scuttled OPEC. "Iran dropped its price by $3 a barrel. No nation in a potential oil shortage crisis is now bound to re­ cent reduced quota and some are at work right now to increase pro­ duction." OPEC production has slowly creeped up as high as 19 million barrels a day, Lundberg said. The threat of the vital Persian Gulf being sealed off to shipping is remote, he said. Instead "the likelihood of overproduction is the biggest single threat to economic and financial stability in the world." The consequence, Lundberg said, could be "a worldwide free fall in oil prices," which could ultimately result in debtor nations -- such as Mexico and Venezuela, both heavily dependent on oil revenues -- defaulting on billions of dollars in loans. That could set off a chain reac­ tion throughout the world finan­ cial community and "bring the whole roof down," Lundberg said. He said circumstances have forced President Reagan, "the WtoBSftt oi Jhe, free m the Persian Gulf and seek to "save the remnants of OPEC." By provid ing mi l i ta ry assistance to Saudi Arabia, OPEC's biggest producer, Reagan is "trying to save the world finan­ cial structure," Lundberg said, by shoring up OPEC's economic authority. "OPEC is the only instrument in the world that'can enable all oil producing nations to rally around a restrained production schedule. Only restrained production can hold up the price," he said. Moo., Tues., Wed.. Thurs., Sat. 9 AM to 6 PM Fn 9 AM to 9 PM 3" PAINT BRUSH R e g QQ ( I 1.95 SPECIAL \J 40 Piece SOCKET SET 14 A 3 8 Dr SAf A Metric Reg RWS 5il QQ 39.95 price H.*/*/ J-WAX SUPREME CAR WAX 14 ai. R.W. LIQUIDATORS \ ci | ̂ 63 N AYER ST. HARVARD IL > / W. ELM ST., McHENRY, IL > HUUKb / Of Ti l l FBS f lF f t fKF f i l l ! UF RfHlNmSF 96 -A RETAILERS Of CLOSE OUT ME RCHANDISE "I t i t i s n o t a B a r g a i n W e d o n ' t h a » e i t 1 T r Sanyo Solar 16 Piece Set CALCULATOR*. 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