The commission, formerly the Illinois Crime Investigating Commission, is empowered to investigate any matter upon which the State's General Assembly may legislate, including organized crime and official misconduct. It may demand assistance from all State public officials and employees pursuant to an official investigation, conduct hearings, examine witnesses and evidence, request immunity from prosecution for witnesses, and issue reports and recommendations. Investigative reports issued in 1980 and reviewed here were concerned with the impact of self-service gasoline sales in the State; the causes and ramifications of the public health care system's recent financial crisis; and incidents of abuse and neglect in nursing homes which care for State-supported residents. Other reports dealt with allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse of children; the extent of child molestation; and the potential impact on the State of a proposed railway merger. Pending investigations focus on the selling of museum works; hazardous landfills; and policies, practices, and patterns of insurance carriers in providing homeowners' insurance in older Chicago neighborhoods. Other pending investigations are concerned with abuse and the effectiveness of the State's regulation of residential schools for the mentally and physically handicapped. Updates on previous investigations, information on personnel and expenditures, the law establishing the commission, and the commission's rules of procedure are also covered. Appendixes contain a list of previous major investigations and a list of 74 commission publications.