Offer to restore power at shuttered state park rejected

BELLEVILLE, Ill. (AP) - An Illinois utility has rejected a local park district's offer to cover the unpaid electric bills at a state park that was recently closed under the ongoing budget impasse.

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources temporarily shuttered Ramsey Lake State Recreation Area in Fayette County and Horseshoe Lake State Park in Granite City in April.

The Belleville News-Democrat (bit.ly/1O6ITDu ) reports that the Metro East Park and Recreation District offered to pay the trash and electricity bills at Horseshoe Lake during the state budget stalemate.

But the deal fell through because the Southwestern Electric Cooperative won't turn the electricity back on at Horseshoe Lake unless it also gets paid for what it's owed by the state at Ramsey Lake as well as at Carlyle Lake State Fish and Wildlife Area.