Materials to help you be a better advocate for parks,
forest preserves, conservation districts and recreation agencies

You've put legislators on your mailing lists, invited them to board meetings, had them tour your facilities, maybe given them awards. Building that goodwill means a lot. But winning friends is only half the battle. Sooner or later, you're going to have to try to influence lawmakers to support initiatives that will help your district or oppose legislation that will hurt it. This is when you become a grassroots lobbyist.

If you envision lobbyists as high-powered pros who can buttonhole lawmakers in the hallways outside the houses of Congress, the state legislature or the council chambers, you're only partly right. There are more than 2,500 people registered to lobby members of the Illinois General Assembly. But you're mistaken if you think policymakers will only listen to that limited number of professional lobbyists. In fact, lawmakers generally will listen to any constituent who can:

• Provide technical information and background

• Help them pull together opposing interests to reach a compromise

• Represent citizen groups concerned with an issue.

When it comes to policies involving park districts, forest preserves, conservation districts or recreation agencies, you are the expert, and you can and should lobby your lawmakers. You owe it to your profession and your public to step up your advocacy efforts.

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It's a daunting task, especially if you haven't had much experience. But there are a number of resources out there that will help you.

First, Know the Score

Before you can lobby you've got to know the issues. Your job demands that you be on top of all the local issues. City or county ordinances affecting your district too often fall right into your lap. But what about Springfield? How do you figure out what those 59 state senators and 118 representatives may be up to?

Sandy Gbur, the executive director of the West Suburban Special Recreation Association in Franklin Park says, "I rely on all the resources that the IAPD and IPRA offer. The web site, legislative conference, the golf outing and the wealth of advocacy materials available at the IAPD."

The web is a great up-to-the-minute resource for legislative information. Both the IAPD and the IPRA have devoted special sections of their web sites to the subject. At the IPRA's site (www.il-ipra.org) click into the "About Us" section and choose the "Legislation" option. The IAPD site (www.ilparks.org) has a plethora of easy-to-use legislative information. Just click into the "Public Policy" section.

Prior to a legislative session of the Illinois General Assembly (which usually lasts from mid-January to the end of May) both sites will outline the legislative platform for park districts, forest preserves, conservation districts and recreation agencies. You'll find a list of bills that have IAPD-IPRA support along with the bill's sponsor, who is the representative or senator that will introduce the bill to his or her chamber. When the legislative session gets under way, you're going to find an up-to-date listing of these bills and other pertinent measures that the state legislature is considering. You will also see the last action on the bill, so you'll know whether the bill has been assigned to a committee for study, has been passed by one chamber of the legislature, has been passed by both chambers, is awaiting the governor's signature, or whether it has died an ignominious death somewhere along the way. (If you need a refresher on how a bill becomes a state law, click the "Communication Tips" option on the IAPD's public policy page.)

For other measures, you may try the state legislature s web site at www.legis.state.il.us. Here you can search for every bill that gets introduced during the session. You. might also try LEGInfo.org (www.LEGInfo.org). An organization called the Center for Neighborhood Technology puts this site together with the help of 17 coalition partners who write analyses and track major bills pertaining to their areas of

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special interest. To help you find the just the bills you want, the web designers have sorted the information by such topics as "Environment/Energy" or "Land Preservation/Growth Management." One caveat about this site: Be sure you understand which group has provided the bill analysis for any issue you research on this site and make sure you agree with that group's political stance. (The site clearly indicates which group has provided the analysis.)

At the federal level, the "Public Policy" section of the National Recreation and Park Association web site (www.nrpa.org) offers you briefings, research and breaking news that can help you make cogent arguments. Also check the U.S. Senate web site at www.senate.gov or the U.S. House of Representatives web site at www.house.gov for instant access to the committee schedules and the schedules of floor debates for measures in both houses of Congress. Other handy online sources include Project Vote Smart (www.vote-smart.org) at which you can track congressional voting records and Thomas (www.loc.gov/thomas), an incredibly user-friendly she that keeps up with the daily happenings on Capitol Hill.

Regardless of where you find your current information, the main point is this: Know the bill numbers of the measures you want to talk to your legislators about and know where in the

Lobbying the Illinois General Assembly by Letter Letters from home have become a legislator's primary form of contact with the voters. As a result, they are the main source lawmakers use to assess the views of their constituents. Your letter can and should be part of that input. Here are some tips to make your letter stand out. Time your letter - If you have some ideas that you would like to see included in legislation, write early in the session before bills have been introduced. If you are writing for or against a bill and your legislator is a member of the committee to which it has been referred, write when the committee begins hearings. If your legislator is not a member of the committee handling the bill, write him or her just before the bill is to come to the floor for debate and vote. State your position - Explain how a bill would affect your community, your district and the families and businesses in your community. Thoughtful, sincere letters on issues that directly affect the writer get the most attention. Such letters are often quoted in committee hearings or in debate on the floor. Be brief and to the point - Discuss only one issue in each letter; identify a bill by number and title if possible. Use facts - Be sure of your facts, but don't overload the letter with them. Facts tend to validate your letter and illustrate that you have given a lot of thought to your position. Use your own words and your own stationery - If you are writing as the representative of a group, use the organization's stationery. Be reasonable - Don't ask for the impossible. Don't tell a legislator to vote your way "or else." Be firm, confident and positive about your position. Use human terms - Make the letter your own. Write in your own style. Avoid using lingo and jargon. Ask for a reply - Indicate to your legislator that you would appreciate a reply containing his position on the issue. As a constituent, you have a right to know how your representative feels on an issue. Write when your legislator does something of which you approve. Legislators hear mostly from constituents who are against something; this gives them a one-sided picture of their constituency. A note of appreciation will make your legislator remember you favorably next time you write. Write the governor - If a bill you favor passes both houses of the state legislature, write the governor to urge him to sign it. You can also write to ask the governor to veto measures you don't want put into law. Adapted from the IAPD web site and Lobbying Illinois. The book is available by calling the Institute for Legislative Studies ar the University of Illinois at Springfield at 217-206-5747.

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lawmaking process those measures stand before you contact any legislators. As IAPD general counsel Peter Murphy cautions, it does no good to contact a member of the Illinois House about a bill that has already passed from the House to the Senate. What's more, if you do contact a representative after she's already cast a vote, you've signaled to her that you haven't done your homework and you've lost some credibility when you next need to contact her.

How You Can Make a Difference in Public Policy
by Christopher Z. Mooney
and Barbara Van Dyke-Brown

Hit the Books on How to Do It

You're an expert. You're current on the information. And now it's time to lobby. So where can you learn about the best ways to make contact and what to say?

Again, don't overlook the obvious. The IADP and IPRA websites have been designed to be the source for park district, forest preserve, conservation district and recreation area information in the state, so check them out. For example, under the "Communication Tips" option in the "Public Policy" section of the IAPD's site, you'll find articles, links and power-point presentations that show you the most effective ways to make contact with decision-makers. Share these with your board.

And don't miss the opportunity to take seminars on lobbying, such as the annual IAPD legislative conference held in the state capital each spring. These events can teach you the nuts and bolts of lobbying and get you up to speed on current hot issues. Just as important, they allow you to network with peers who have loads of experience in this area. They also give you a venue for contacting legislators as part of the seminar. Other events, such as the IAPD/IPRA legislative awareness golf outing, provide more relaxed opportunities to network with peers and policymakers.

To dig in deeper, you can look to a number of books. Specific to lobbying for parks, forest preserves and conservation districts in Illinois are The Park Commissioner's Handbook and Are You on Board, both available from the IAPD. Chapter 13 of Are You on Board, by IAPD President Ted Flickinger offers a bite-sized - but substantial — introduction to the topic, while Chapter 6 of the Handbook offers a 25-page primer to lobbying and the Illinois legislative process.

A more general, but highly useful text is Lobbying Illinois: How You Can Make A Difference in Public Policy. Written by University of Illinois at Springfield political science professor

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Christopher Mooney and Barbara Van Dyke-Brown, the assistant director for the Institute for Legislative Studies at the U of I's Springfield campus, Lobbying Illinois' well-designed 130 pages allow you to zero in on the information you want quickly. The book is detailed and highly practical. Illustrations of bills, hearing notices, daily calendars, witness slips - even a map of the state capitol complex - are all designed to put you more at ease with the legislative process. When it comes time to contact legislators, the book is filled with sample fact sheets, letters, strategies and tips to get you lobbying effectively right away.

"Many grassroots organizations.. .mistakenly believe that money and political intimidation are required to have an impact on public policy," write Mooney and Van Dyke-Brown. "But.. .all legislators - on the federal, state, and local levels -are politicians whose continued success depends on their ability to satisfy voting constituents. Re-election, recognition, and status are powerful motivators. Effective lobbying can wield as much influence on these outcomes as the biggest corporation or trade association."

Stick to It

"Lobbying is frustrating - get used to it," say Mooney and Van Dyke-Brown. "It is an ongoing, never-ending process."

That's something to keep in mind when it seems you have nothing to show for your effort.

This past spring session was a banner year for IAPD-IPRA-backed legislation in the Illinois General Assembly. Both houses passed measures critical to the delivery of parks and recreation services in the state. Among them is Senate Bill 1881, which exempts the levy for recreation for the handicapped from the aggregate in the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law. If the measure becomes law (the governor had yet to sign the bill at press time), then the state's 25 special recreation associations would have some relief from the tax cap restrictions, which should allow them the resources to serve more effectively the 90,000-plus Illinoisans who sign up for special recreation district programming. And this tax relief could pave the way for more communities to join special recreation districts.

It's a highly favorable piece of legislation for IAPD and IPRA members. And it took a lot of lobbying — in the form of legwork, organization, education and grassroots advocacy - to convince enough state legislators that it was an idea worth supporting. Did it happen overnight? No. IAPD General Counsel Peter Murphy and the Joint Legislative Committee have been pounding the pavement for the bill for years.

But that's what lobbying is: building the relationships; making the calls; writing the letters; preparing the information - all with an eye toward the horizon, even if it does seem distant today.

Rodd Whelpley is the IAPD publications director. He is a contributor and co-editor of Governing Illinois, a textbook on state government and public policy for high school students.

Lobbying by Phone A brief well-timed phone call can keep you on a legislator's radar screen, especially if you are calling just before a key vote to remind him or her about the pertinent facts of the personal letter you wrote. Call the right place - During a session you will want to call state legislators in Springfield. Otherwise, it's best to reach them at their district offices. A great source for addresses and phone numbers is the IAPD-IPRA Legislative Directory, available by calling the IAPD at 217-523-4554. State your name, your organization and position - If you are authorized to call on behalf of your district, be ready to give key facts about how a bill impacts your agency. Ask for the legislator's point of view - Politely try to get a commitment on how the legislator is going to vote. Be brief - Refer to the bill by number, state your position and tell your legislator how you would like her or him to vote. Be ready to leave a message - In or out of session, legislators are heavily scheduled people. Give the secretary or aide your message and your number. Legislators can call you from the chamber floor; so if a vote is coming up, ask that your call be returned right away. Follow-up - If a legislator asks you for written information, have it on its way within minutes or hours. Show appreciation - Remind the legislator how well you have worked together in the past and thank her or him. Adapted from Lobbying Illinois.

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