Illinois State Parks Are Open!

Dear friends,

Glynnis Collins with Governor Quinn

This morning I had the pleasure of attending a press conference where Governor Pat Quinn and Department of Natural Resources Director Marc Miller announced the opening of the seven state parks that were closed by the Blagojevich administration last fall. This is a day that we at Prairie Rivers Network and a host of other partners have been working for since the closures were initially announced in July 2008. In their remarks, Miller and Quinn emphasized the value of these (and all) state parks for Illinois families, the state economy, and overall public health.  We applaud the Governor and DNR Director for moving so quickly to address a real problem and for making natural resource protection and promotion of outdoor activities a priority of the new administration in Springfield.

It was quite a scene over at the beautiful DNR building on the State Fairgrounds in Springfield. The podium where Quinn and Miller spoke was on the lowest floor of the 4-story atrium, and three stories worth of open balconies and stairways surrounding the atrium were crowded with DNR employees. It looked as if they were hanging from the rafters. When Quinn and Miller approached the podium there was a huge and long round of applause, and the same happened several times during their remarks. Quinn mentioned that he and Miller are rebuilding the agency, which has suffered budget and personnel cuts and a lack of strong leadership for several years. Several times he spoke of the hard working, passionate DNR employees and
what an important job they have. I spoke with a few people after, and there does seem to be a sense that new and good things are happening for the first time in a long time.

You can read more about today’s action here: http://standingupforillinois.org/saveourparks/

Glynnis Collins, Executive Director