The great outdoors can be a fiscal plus for Ilinois

Last month I took my ice-fishing gear to a special spot connected to the Fox Chain.

And there he was, sitting next to a huge pile of bluegills and walleyes. I was flabbergasted because I had seen this same character on the back channels of Bluff Lake, filling 55-gallon steel barrels with fish.

I was so disgusted I didn't even bother to get this creep's license plate off his snow machine. So I just got back in my truck and drove home.

I am at the point here where I believe it doesn't make any difference what I write in these columns, especially when it comes to defending our state's resources and promoting fishing and hunting in Illinois. And here's why I believe what I just wrote.

The only DNR director I personally knew who gave two hoots about the everyday person and their pursuits of fishing and hunting recreation was and is Brent Manning. But he is no longer in charge of the IDNR.

And with Republican Governor Bruce Rauner constantly telling you and me that our state is going down the fiscal drain faster than a healthy shot and beer at one of our state lawmaker's Springfield watering holes, I would expect to anticipate the DNR ultimately will be the unwelcome cousin we wouldn't invite for dinner.

All the economic brains in this state have all adorned themselves with the exact same set of blinders when it comes to finding the right amount of dollars to help keep sorry old, sinking Illinois afloat.

Without asking for a single dime from what has been described as empty state coffers, I have been putting my suggestions out on the table for everyone to see and perhaps put some of them to good use.

So here it is again.

I agree that once northern Illinoisans get a whiff of the trees and fresh air in downstate's Shawnee National Forest they will forever etch that moment in to their vault of treasured memories.

Right now, money continues to flow in to the cash registers of goose-hunting operations in the southern part of the state. I know all about that and how the bucks impact the local economy.

But our beloved state tourism department is so impressed with itself and the commercials it produces (with its little Abe Lincoln) that that agency hasn't linked up with the IDNR and pushed the fabulous muskie, walleye, crappie, Lake Michigan salmon and trout fishing, along with some of the best and biggest white tale deer hunting in the country.

At the same time, criminals get away with poaching fish and game because the DNR game wardens are so badly understaffed, the crooks already know their routines and strike any time it suits them.

As I have said numerous times in this column, if it wasn't for resident and nonresident fishing and hunting license revenue plus all the ancillary expenditures put out by visitors and residents alike, states such as Wisconsin and Minnesota would find huge gaps in their revenue, thereby becoming an empty well - like the one we have here.

The dollars spent in those states go for DNR programs such as fish stocking. The dollars go for warden paychecks, squad cars with full gas tanks and state-park upkeep.

Our governor is on the fast track to cut dollars from anywhere he thinks it should be trimmed. No argument from me, but, governor, I would be happy to work for free so as to create a campaign to tell the world we will not take a back seat to our neighbors to the north.

And I'd wager I could muster a few other volunteers as well who would join me in reading from the same script.

• Contact Mike Jackson at angler88@comcast.net, catch his radio show 7-9 a.m. Sundays on WGCO 1590-AM (live-streamed at www.1590WCGO.com) and get more content at www.mikejacksonoutdoors.com.