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Kane County on verge of adding more open space

The next use of new money granted to the Kane County Forest Preserve District in its last referendum will likely come in two pieces of property that will add more than 100 new acres to the preserves.

District officials announced Friday they had closed on 20 acres of green space along the lake run near Dick Young Forest Preserve in Batavia.

Forest Preserve Commissioners on the Land Acquisition Committee also voted to proceed with formal negotiations on a parcel on the west end of the district, in Burlington Township, known as the “Paul Beck property.” That property has been tied up in a trust, but long-coveted by the district. It’s now for sale and believed to be about 120 acres of land.

The other parcel the district will attempt to purchase is in a more densely-populated area near the center of the district’s territory, in Plato Township. The land is known as the “Gehrke property.”

Forest Preserve District President John Hoscheit said district officials are looking at land that links existing trails or is adjacent to existing forest preserve property.

The full forest preserve commission must vote on any final land deal. Voters gave the district $30 million in a referendum this past spring to add more open space to the county.