FROM THE EDITOR

On its own merit, Springfield doesn't deserve a bedroom community. But, it is the capital city -even though the governor sometimes forgets - and being the capital has its privileges. So we get Chatham, a village five miles to the south.

"Suburban living in the country" is how I described it on the "we've moved" cards notifying friends and family of our new home in Chatham.

And we aren't the only ones sending out those cards. Good schools, solid construction and low interest rates have helped boost Chatham's population eight percent since the last census.

In a few weeks, the farmers will take what may be the last-ever corn crop from the field to the west of our house. Since June, when we moved in, the field to the north has sprouted two new streets that are blooming with the shells of three- and four-bedroom homes.

The Chatham natives must have concerns about this quick growth.

My fellow eight percenters and I have a lot to get used to, too. The paper comes out once a week. The grocery store remains open only 16 hours a day. The librarians learn — and use — our names. And our public recreation comes by way of the village park and recreation department, not a park district.

In a way, my new home town is what this issue of the magazine is all about. The dual focus is on rural recreation and municipal agencies. Ann Austin, a long-serving commissioner for the city of Rock Island points out that only nine percent of IAPD members are municipal agencies. Her article on page 12 explores some of the special challenges and advantages that arise from a municipally based structure.

Nathan Schaumleffel teamed up with a group of fellow academics to study the fiscal health of rural and small town and park and recreation agencies. You can read their sometimes surprising findings on page 22 and as this edition's Web Xtra (see the description on page 29).

These pieces make for thoughtful reading. But I hope you'll permit me these grossly simplistic conclusions about them. First, the differing administrative structures in municipal agencies and park districts do indeed create unique organizational hurdles. Second, except for a few missing zeros at the end of the numbers, small town and rural agencies face some of the same economic hardships that larger districts do (and employ the same tools to generate more resources). Third, the desired goals and outcomes are the same at all good agencies. Municipal, rural and small town agencies, just like their often larger park district counterparts, are employing park and recreation professionals who are using cost-effective methods to bring residents the best conservation and recreation opportunities — and values — possible.

For a guy who suddenly finds himself living in a rural area served by a municipal park and recreation agency, that's a very reassuring conclusion.

RODD WHELPLEY

Editor

4 - Illinois Parks and Recreation