Briefs: DuPage forest chief gets new contract

Forest Preserve District Executive Director Brent Manning signed a new contract with the district, bringing his pay to $161,500.Manning currently earns $157,500. Under the new contract, he will receive a 2.5 percent raise starting next month. He will make $165,000 in the second year of the contract.During his tenure, taxpayers approved spending $68 million to purchase open space, and Manning has overseen acquisition of sites such as the 370-acre Dunham Forest Preserve near Wayne last year.Manning will receive five weeks of vacation annually and a car allowance of $400 monthly.Manning started with the forest preserve in September 2003.