FROM THE EDITOR

It was one of those gifts we sometimes get downstate in February: 55 degrees, sunny and a Sunday to boot. We pulled into our parking space at the Washington Park playground, and a van took the one beside us. A 10-year-old bounced out. She looked at the 100 plus kids on the swings, slides and monkey bars. She stamped her foot, shot her mother one of those looks and said, "See? I told you. Everybody is here except us!"

What I like best about the playground is the instant amorphous community kids make there. It doesn't matter if the equipment seems filled to overflowing. Kids just seem to find room for one more little guy. And I like the grown-ups at the playground, too. I've seen otherwise cranky adults take a lesson from their kids and scoot over on a crowded bench to make space for another mom to rest and watch.

A few days before our trip to the park, Governor Blagojevich announced a plan to take a "holiday" from funding the Open Space Land Acquisition Act. Ever since, IAPD and IPRA members have been sending us their OSLAD success stories to pass on to state legislators and to the governor's budgeteers.

I think about Wing Community Park in Elgin, renovated in 1999 with $78,000 in OSLAD seed money, and I wonder what park in which other city may have to miss out on funding next year. Even in the best of times, kids grow up faster than parks do. It doesn't seem prudent to take a break for even one year.

The newspapers have weighed in. The IAPD web site posts more than 35 articles about the drawbacks of adhering to the governor's proposition. In addition to losing the opportunity to preserve undeveloped land, some critics worry about what will become of all those DNR naturalists and legislative specialists who make sure OSLAD programs function responsibly. Will they really just cool their heels for a year, or will the inertia cause the state's capacity to run an OSLAD-like program to evaporate?

Maybe it's just the crowd I run with, but when it comes to saving OSLAD funding, it seems everybody is here -except for one guy.

By the time you read this, we may know if the IAPD and IPRA's lobbying efforts paid off. But you should know, changing a line item in a huge budget is tough. Traditionally the budget gets dropped on the rank-and-file members of the general assembly only after the governor and party leaders have thrashed out the most important details. Then, the legislature is under tremendous pressure to pass the fiscal plan, sometimes in a matter of hours. (Going into overtime triggers a whole new set of rules that makes passing legislation even more difficult.)

Still, I'm optimistic. Somehow, some way, OSLAD is going to pull through. The cause is too good. So, whenever the ultimate decision maker decides to get on board with saving OSLAD, I want him to know that I'll be glad to see his family at the Washington Park playground. And I'll be happy to slide down the bench and make room for him to watch the children play.

RODD WHELPLEY
Editor

4 ¦ Illinois Parks and Recreation