FILE - In this Friday, Feb. 26, 2010 file photo, ice fisherman Tim Rasmussen, left, and Seamus, a miniature Schnauzer, endure freezing temperatures to enjoy ice fishing near Ashland, Ill. Outdoors enthusiasts are hoping Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner, a hunter and fisherman who touts a love of the outdoors on Facebook, will bring a friendly perspective to natural resource issues and dozens of proposed new laws related to guns, hunting and wildlife. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman, File)
The Associated Press
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - Illinois hunters and outdoors enthusiasts see Gov. Bruce Rauner as a potential new ally in Springfield as they advocate for a number of pieces of legislation this year.
The Republican often touts a love of hunting, fishing and the outdoors. Fellow hunters are hoping he brings a friendly perspective to natural resource issues and bills related to guns and hunting.
Among them are bills that would ban drones while hunting, resurrect the hunting of bobcats, allow silencers at gun ranges and open up coyote hunting to crossbows.
Outdoors enthusiasts meanwhile fear the state's budget crunch will hurt management of the Department of Natural Resources and state parks.
The budget Rauner proposed this month would reduce the DNR's budget by $8 million. Most savings would come from managing staffing levels.
In this April, 4, 2009 photo, Tad Allen prepares to release a muskie he caught at Jim Edgar Panther Creek State Fish & Wildlife Area near Chandlerville, Ill. Outdoors enthusiasts are hoping Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner, a hunter and fisherman who touts a love of the outdoors on Facebook, will bring a friendly perspective to natural resource issues and dozens of proposed new laws related to guns, hunting and wildlife. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)
The Associated Press
In this Jan. 18, 2009 photo, Eleanor Perlman, 8, enjoys ice fishing with friends at Jim Edgar Panther Creek State Fish & Wildlife Area near Chandlerville, Ill. Outdoors enthusiasts are hoping Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner, a hunter and fisherman who touts a love of the outdoors on Facebook, will bring a friendly perspective to natural resource issues and dozens of proposed new laws related to guns, hunting and wildlife. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)
The Associated Press
In this Saturday, Jan. 24, 2015 photo, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner arrives at the Executive Mansion with his two bird hunting dogs, Stella, left, and Pumpkin, right, in Springfield, Ill. Outdoors enthusiasts are hoping Rauner, a hunter and fisherman who touts a love of the outdoors on Facebook, will bring a friendly perspective to natural resource issues and dozens of proposed new laws related to guns, hunting and wildlife. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)
The Associated Press