Cranes can fly the coop with help from donors

Two sandhill cranes should be moving on up to a swanky new nest at Willowbrook Wildlife Center with little cost to taxpayers.

DuPage County Forest Preserve District commissioners had hesitated over approving $101,000 to build a new enclosure for the birds, considered a threatened species.

But officials learned Tuesday that the center's fundraising arm, the Willowbrook Wildlife Foundation, is eager to help out with the expense.

"The Foundation is ready to undertake the project," the organization's President Coco Luedi said.

The birds were owned by Warrenville-area philanthropist Brooks McCormick, but became the property of the forest preserve after his death last year.

The cages the cranes live in now at McCormick's former estate are inadequate, staff naturalists said.

Their new digs will be 1,800 square feet, constructed of wood and steel with a pond and nesting shelter.

The district and the foundation still need to formalize an agreement for reimbursement, which will be done as money is raised.

Another issue is altering the forest preserve's rules to allow naming rights as an incentive to a donor who wants to contribute 50 percent or more of the cost.

"There are certain donors who like to have that type of recognition," Commissioner Roger Kotecki said. "This could save the taxpayers a lot of money."

In the past, the district's been reluctant to offer naming rights, President Dewey Pierotti said, but allowing them for exhibits is often done at museums.

Fundraising plans include holding a concert this fall, officials said.

Willowbrook Wildlife Center, in Glen Ellyn, provides rehab and a home for injured animals and birds.