News of the Wild

Bills and Budgets

In May, the Illinois House Energy and Environment Committee effectively sank a bill that would have removed protection from certain isolated wetlands in Illinois. Not only would this bill have weakened the existing county wetlands program in northeastern Illinois, it would also have permitted the destruction of wetlands up to half an acre without any mitigation for the loss. Strong opposition from environmental groups, local governments, the office of Governor Blagojevich, and Attorney General Lisa Madigan helped to defeat the bill.

As this issue went to press, the Illinois General Assembly had still not approved a budget for the state. The governor’s budget proposal includes $2.2 million to hire 50 site technicians at state parks, 14 of whom would be recalled from those laid off in January and 36 newly hired. The Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) is slated to receive $10 million, and Conservation 2000 gets $6.4 million plus about $7 million for project grants. Natural Areas Acquisition Fund (NAAF) is receiving about $1.5 million in new funding, while the Open Space Land Acquisition and Development (OSLAD) fund remains at last year’s level. Illinois Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn proposed to eliminate a tax credit for landfill operators and use the money instead to support conservation programs — roughly $25 million.

But, to the consternation of many, Governor Blagojevich also sought to raid funds for OSLAD, NAAF, Conservation 2000, Illinois Clean Water Fund, and the Used Tire Management Fund, among others. Many groups have opposed this raid on dedicated funds for conservation programs and land acquisition.

Also in May, Chicago Wilderness learned that support from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for FY ’05, expected to be approximately $580,000, would be unexpectedly cut in half. Many Chicago Wilderness member organizations rallied to try to restore the cuts and to encourage federal support for Chicago Wilderness in FY ’06.

Related Article:

Coalition Forms to Restore Land Cuts, News of the Wild, Summer 2004

Illinois Protects Funding for Natural Areas Acquisition, News of the Wild, Fall 2004