STATEHOUSE  I N S I D E R
ISSUES & INSIGHTS FROM THE L E G A L / L E G I S L AT I V E  S C E N E

Peter M. Murphy IAPD General Counsel

IDNR Cuts Take Effect

On July 22, Illinois' natural resources took center stage across the state, as a coalition of local conservation groups, outdoor enthusiasts and park districts and forest preserve officials held simultaneous press conferences to protest $14 million in cuts to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) budget.

Twenty-nine organizations spoke at five press events in North, Central and Southern Illinois. Groups ranging from conservation police to hiking clubs to waterway agencies came together to stand up for Illinois' environment and demand the governor and legislature delay the cuts and resolve the issue in the veto session. The story struck a chord with reporters throughout Illinois, and more than 30 TV, radio and print outlets covered it. For links to the stories, visit http://ilenviro.org/inthenews/.

On July 11lth, Governor Blagojevich cut $14 million from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources' (IDNR) budget, decreasing by another 20 percent the general fund budget for an agency that has lost nearly a quarter of its staff from budget cuts and hiring freezes since 2001. This move, which could force the department to close some parks for lack of staffing, comes at a time when those parks are experiencing increases in attendance.

The budget passed by the Illinois General Assembly for fiscal year 2009 included more expenditures than revenues, putting it out of balance by approximately $1.5 billion. In response, Governor Blagojevich made $1.5 billion in line-item budget cuts without waiting for lawmakers to balance it in on their own in a special legislative session he had set for July 9th. This did not materialize.

Cuts Will Force IDNR Layoffs

The loss of 163 critical staff positions across eight divisions at IDNR will have a long-term negative impact on Illinois' environment. For example, the Wildlife Prairie Park in Peoria and the Water Supply Planning Initiative will lose all of their state funding, and the Office of Realty and Environmental Planning will lose half.

For the Wildlife Prairie Park, this represents a loss of 60 percent of its operational funding and may result in limited hours, closing more exhibits and reducing its herd of bison and 50 other species native to Illinois, if the private sector doesn't help close the gap, according to James Tomlin, vice-president of a non-profit foundation that established the wildlife preserve 30 years ago.

These cuts will severely impact a department that is already understaffed and will further decimate Illinois' natural resources by:

• Eliminating $2,146,000 in funding for water supply planning that will impede the ability of two regional groups, the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning and the Mahomet Aquifer Consortium to complete regional water supply studies with the assistance of the State Water Survey due in June 2009.
• Eliminating staff that maintain and protect 4.5 million acres of forest and woodland areas.
• Eliminating staff that complete annual water surveys on more than 87,000 miles of streams and 91,400 other water bodies. These assessments of the quality offish and wildlife populations will occur every two to four years.
• Eliminating conservation police. Experts agree this will likely contribute to increased poaching and violations of laws protecting sensitive natural areas.

IDNR informed members of its investigative unit that the unit has been disbanded as of August 15. Officers in the unit were sent back to the field. The investigative unit was first formed in 1980 as an undercover group to tackle those people the local officer, using normal procedures, would not catch. The first operation resulted in 54 arrests and 327 citations being issued. The now-disbanded unit was responsible for handling all violations of fish and game regulations when commerce was involved.

Answer the call. The IAPD legislative survey goes to all member agencies in September. Your agency's responses will help determine the legislative agenda for the association.

The governor has cut the IDNR law enforcement personnel budget by an additional $781,700 or 12 percent, with an additional six percent cut in personnel expected. If 10 to 12 officers are cut, the number of sworn personnel would be the lowest since the 1960s. At that time, the state's population was 1.3 million less than it is today.

New Bill introductions Address IDNR Funding Vetoed by the Governor

In mid-August, members of the legislature introduced a couple of bills that seek to restore funding that the governor has vetoed.

Senate Bill 3057, sponsored by Senator Linda Holmes, would amend an appropriations act (Public Act 95-731) to restore appropriations to the Department of Natural Resources that were reduced or vetoed by the governor. At press time, the bill was in the Senate Rules Committee.

House Bill 6687, sponsored by Representative William Mitchell, amends the same appropriations act to restore certain appropriations to the Department of Natural Resources that were reduced or vetoed

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by the governor and increases certain appropriations to the department. At press time, that bill was sitting in the House Rules Committee.

New Data on City Park Systems

Parks are getting record attention from the nation's largest cities, but experts suggest more investment is needed.

The nation's largest cities spent a record $4.3 billion on their park systems in 2005, but it still wasn't enough to meet all the park and recreation needs of the urban residents whose neighborhoods are too crowded or whose homes are too far from green space or playgrounds.

The results are based on an eight-month study by the Trust for Public Land's Center for City Park Excellence. 2005 is the most recent year for available data.

The gains, however, were not across the board. For every two cities whose park spending went up, one went down. New York and Chicago had the largest park budgets, and, on a per-capita basis, the highest spending cities were Seattle, San Francisco, Washington, Sacramento and Minneapolis. But Los Angeles, Denver, Indianapolis and Fresno all had decreases in their park spending. In addition to studying acreage, The Trust for Public Land (TPL) also compiles information on recreational facilities, park employment, the historical growth of systems and a variety of budgetary measures.

"Revitalized cities need revitalized park systems," said Peter Harnik, director of the Center for City Park Excellence. "They help clean the air, reduce stress, improve health, diminish crime, increase tourism and property value, and provide an alternative to sprawl. Parks are the urban land issue of the 21^st century."

TPL's Center for City Park Excellence survey received a 97 percent response rate from the main park and recreation agency within each city. For more information, visit the center on the Web at www.TPL.org/ccpe.

Gubernatorial Action

The governor recently signed four measures of interest to park, recreation and conservation agency commissioners and professionals.

IMRF Pensions and Benefits

On August 22, the governor signed Senate Bill 1957 (now Public Act 95-890). Under the new law, the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's annuitant trustee will have the right to vote on any and all actions before the board of trustees. The bill also increases from four to five the number of concurring votes necessary for every decision or action by the board of trustees.

Parental Responsibility for Property Damage

Senate Bill 1865 (now Public Act 95-914), sponsored by Senator Michael Noland, amends the Parental Responsibility Law so as to increase parental responsibility for the second offense of a minor child from $20,000 to $30,000 and permits government entities to recover attorney's fees in an amount not to exceed $15,000. Prior to this, units of local government were unable to recover attorney's fees.

Day Camp Counselors May Not Be Subject to the Adult Minimum Wage

House Bill 4583 (now Public Act 95-945), sponsored by Representative Kathleen Ryg, amends the Minimum Wage Law so that day camp counselors are not subject to the adult minimum wage, if specified requirements are met.

Sales or Leases of Chicago Park District Property

Senate Bill 2788 (now Public Act 95-936), sponsored by Senator Don Harmon, amends the Chicago Park District Act to allow the Chicago Park District to sell, lease, or otherwise convey all or any portion of district-owned property that is used solely and exclusively as office or administrative space.

Legislative Survey

In the even-numbered years, the Illinois Association of Park Districts sends a legislative survey to all member agencies seeking input on the legislative agenda for the association for the upcoming biennial general assembly. The survey is being sent to agencies in September and is an important building block for the association's legislative success in the future. If you have any questions with regard to the legislative survey, please do not hesitate to contact me at the IAPD office at 217-523-4554 or via e-mail at pmurphy@ILparks.org.

As of Thursday, August 28, the IDNR laid off 39 workers (36 full-time employees) and
the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency will be cut by 34 employees.

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