| This study explores the participation and influence of Latino groups in the Illinois higher education policy-making process and their relationship with state agencies and local higher education institutions in the 1990s. State agencies are especially a key element in the policy arena because they are constitutionally and statutorily responsible for higher education policy-making in the State of Illinois. Thus, this study addresses the relationship of three Latino groups to four state agencies and their intent to impact policy: the Illinois Board of Higher Education, the Higher Education Committees of the House of Representatives and the Senate, the Illinois Community College Board, and the Governor's Office.;A total of 22 face to face interviews were carried out among Latino and Non-Latino individuals. Officers of Latino professional groups, elected officials, influential Latinos, Latino university officials, and professors were contacted. The interviews gathered information on Latino understanding of the policy process, educational issues, formal and informal strategies used to influence or impact policy making, and their coalition efforts.;The findings suggest that Latino groups face several conditions in their attempt to participate in the policy-making process. Several circumstances affect their participation efforts negatively and shed light on why and how Latinos have been excluded from the policy arena: 1) Invisibility; 2) Policy is politics; 3) Power relations and exclusion; 4) Maturation process; 5) Cultural perceptions; and 6) Class and cultural differences. These characteristics explain part of Latinos subordinated conditions that are intertwined in the social and cultural construction of race, ethnicity, and class in the United States. |
