I know many of you do not live in Illinois, so you may not have heard of this, but our governor Rod Blagojevich is closing 11 state parks and historic sites across Illinois in order to cut down on spending. Here is a link to a map of the affected parks:
Those of you who live in Illinois or have visited may know how beautiful these parks are, and it would be a great shame to lose them. I apologize if this has been posted already- I looked through and could not find anything, but then again looking for stuff isn't my strong point
Thanks for any and all support!!
Quick edit: The 11 state parks closing is in addition to the dozen or so (I think) historic sites. Many of these are related to President Lincoln, and it would be a shame to celebrate his 200th birthday by closing down these sites.
Thanks I hadn't caught up to this effort to save the parks. I have not been in any of them but would like to keep them anyway.
Posted by Toni Lankerd on October 9, 2008 at 9:49 PM
That is a shame, Nathaniel! Hopefully they are not doing the same in Kentucky, where they are also celebrating Lincoln's 200th. I'll check out the petition...thanks for the heads-up!
If you haven't done so already, I would suggest also posting this topic in the General Discussion. Not everyone who lives in IL participates in the Midwest forum and I'm sure others would also be interested.
Posted by Louis Neal on October 9, 2008 at 9:54 PM
Thanks for the link to the petition. I have signed it and will forward the link to others I know that will sign. I live in IL (Decatur) and I frequent some of these that are slated to close.
Posted by Mitch Erwin on October 10, 2008 at 8:04 AM
Leave it to good ole' Rod our beloved crooked govenor ( my opinion) to implement something like this to help save the state money after he has helped us get into a financial mess. I heard about this on NPR but didn't really know which ones were on the chopping block. I really thought there would be more down in my area seeing how many times Illinois is not recognized anywhere South past Springfield. My name is on this petition and off it goes.......... Thanks for the link Nathaniel!
It's amazing how shortsighted legislation oftentimes is. I hope the land is at least held by the state, even if it's not "managed". Best of luck over there!
I am pretty sure that the land will still be owned by the state, just not open for public use. I don't know why they don't just charge a fee for using the parks like most other states- I would be perfectly fine with spending $30-40 for a yearlong park pass, and with all the hunters and fishers in Illinois it should provide a nice source of income. Ah well, maybe this will turn around in the next month or so...
Discussion
6 replieshttp://standingupforillinois.org/saveourparks/map.php
And here is a link to a petition anyone can fill out to ask that he reconsider this unwise move:
http://standingupforillinois.org/saveourparks/index.php
Those of you who live in Illinois or have visited may know how beautiful these parks are, and it would be a great shame to lose them. I apologize if this has been posted already- I looked through and could not find anything, but then again looking for stuff isn't my strong point
Thanks for any and all support!!
Quick edit: The 11 state parks closing is in addition to the dozen or so (I think) historic sites. Many of these are related to President Lincoln, and it would be a shame to celebrate his 200th birthday by closing down these sites.
If you haven't done so already, I would suggest also posting this topic in the General Discussion. Not everyone who lives in IL participates in the Midwest forum and I'm sure others would also be interested.
I am pretty sure that the land will still be owned by the state, just not open for public use. I don't know why they don't just charge a fee for using the parks like most other states- I would be perfectly fine with spending $30-40 for a yearlong park pass, and with all the hunters and fishers in Illinois it should provide a nice source of income. Ah well, maybe this will turn around in the next month or so...