You really have to hand it to the DuPage Forest Preserve District. The monster garage they plan to fabricate in McKee Marsh will be the Taj Mahal of bureaucratic waste and mismanagement. It comes with a $7.5 million price tag, but don't worry taxpayer, they've got it covered. They have $5 million in O'Hare Wetland Mitigation money burning a hole in their pockets.

That's right. DuPage County received $10.8 million from Cook County to create or restore 90.5 acres of wetlands due to O'Hare expansion. They, in turn, gave $5.5 million of it to the forest preserve. Rather than using the funds to restore habitat, the forest preserve is using the money to build an industrial maintenance complex just feet from an existing wetland.

It's all OK, though, because the director of natural resources will inform you that McKee Marsh is nothing but disturbed land. Thanks for the insight. Of course, it's disturbed land. There are no native prairies left here because this entire area used to be farmland. But what forest preserve officials don't understand, or maybe they are just hoping the public doesn't understand, is that restoring disturbed land is what the forest preserve is supposed to do. It is their job to take disturbed land and turn it into a natural habitat, not a building. But unfortunately, every time the forest preserve district gets a chunk of change, construction is inevitable.

The forest district's mission statement currently means nothing. It isn't how this administration operates. They are not a benevolent, environmentally protective entity as their title suggests. It is time for a change. These elected officials need to begin respecting the wishes of their constituents and use taxpayer dollars for their intended purposes. The overdevelopment and industrialization of our natural spaces must come to an end.

Shelley Landman

West Chicago