Today, Governor Quinn signed into law SB 1042, an important bill to protect private landowners and conservation land trusts who wish to allow public access for outdoor recreation and education.
For years, private landowners were exempt from liability, but a 2005 lawsuit over a sledding accident led to the loss of these protections. For fear of getting sued, landowners all over the state stopped providing access to lands that were once open to fishing, hiking, biking, birding, and other activities. Thanks to the hard work of our partners, these protections will soon be restored.
We would like to congratulate and thank our partners at Openlands and The Nature Conservancy for their tireless work on this issue. Because of them, landowners can re-open their gates, and Illinois residents will be granted access to more of the special places we work so hard to protect.
