With just five weeks left to go before 11 state parks will close for lack of funding, Gov. Blagojevich has yet to sign SB 1103, a supplemental appropriations bill that would direct $2.1 million to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to keep those parks open. On Oct. 7, Blagojevich signed SB 790, a sweeps bill that restored $220 million in funds he originally cut from the state’s budget in July, but he took no action on the companion appropriations bill that directed how the funds should be allocated.

As the Nov. 30 deadline for the unprecedented park closings draws closer, groups as diverse as Partners for Parks and Wildlife (PPW) and Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn’s office are taking action. PPW, a grassroots coalition of environmental and outdoor recreation groups, is working on a strategy to raise awareness of the impending closings and force action to prevent them in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, the Lieutenant Governor’s office has collected thousands of signatures in an online petition to be submitted to the Governor. To add your name to the list, visit www.saveourstateparks.org.

And a group called POP Illinois (Pack Our Parks) is urging residents to head to their nearest state park on Saturday, Nov. 1, from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. to voice opposition to the Governor’s inaction on this issue. For details, visit http://www.ilparks.org/cde.cfm?event=234206.

While the current best hope for the 11 endangered state parks is for the Governor to sign SB 790 before Nov. 30, this legislative solution to the state's budget crisis exacts a huge toll on the IDNR even if it keeps the parks in its charge open. The $2.1 million to save them will come from nearly $19 million in sweeps of designated environmental and conservation funds, the majority of which will go to help plug the $220 million gap in the state budget rather than to protect Illinois’ natural resources.

In addition, some of the fund transfers would involve federal money and sweeping them could mean the loss of matching federal dollars. Examples include the Wildlife and Fish Fund and the Abandoned Mines and Land Reclamation Set Aside Fund, each of which is federally funded and is being targeted for $5 million in sweeps. In other cases, such as the Illinois Habitat Endowment Fund that is being tapped for $2 million, the monies derive from license or hunting fees that are explicitly restricted by federal law.