Put lawmakers in a boat to see what they're missing
Once everything greens up in this state, we will see a canvas of natural beauty.
And if state lawmakers and our new governor would just pick up a few paint brushes, and maybe a pallet knife as well, life here in the flatlands could be a bit more tolerable.
Perhaps the light at the end of the state's financial tunnel could be a few broad strokes of understanding. Even with all the clout coming from the city of Chicago to promote Michigan Avenue and the wonderful tourist attractions and shopping, there is more to life than the ritz and glitz.
How many of you have looked carefully at the recreational opportunities in just about every corner of Illinois?
Even though our Legislature is crammed with representatives and senators from the more outdoors-friendly counties, I can't recall any of these policy makers standing up and pointing to fishing and hunting as a sure-fire way to tempt out-of-staters to sample our wares.
Yes, there was a television campaign some time ago that hyped the theme "A Million Miles From Monday," and the state tourism people did see some nice response in terms of numbers. But Wisconsin unashamedly continues to pick our pockets and wallets while adding to that state's bank account in a grand fashion.
Imagine, for example, if a dozen or so state lawmakers spent a couple days in boats and canoes, just lazily floating down the Cache River, taking in scenery that can be best described as pure art in a wilderness.
Take another bunch of Chicago-area polticos on a tour of Old Shawnee Town, right there on the banks of the Ohio River. I suspect it would prompt a few sighs and whispers.
Maybe they could trip the light fantastic on Lake Kincaid north and west of Carbondale and witness what beauty sans concrete is all about.
And then send a cadre of lawmakers into the Shawnee National Forest. Make them ride horseback, like I did, and inhale the fragrances of the woods and hills.
There are dozens of other destinations the honchos could explore. And when they return to Springfield, perhaps the governor could issue a directive requesting they all write an essay as to what they experienced when they weren't involved in wheeling and dealing for various state pork projects.
Once the tour is done and their minds have been opened to possibilities, allow them a year to find some cash to make new commercials to be run outside Illinois, just so non-residents will come here and spend lots of money.
Is this a pipe dream? Maybe. Is this an attainable project to help get the state out of its financial straits? I believe there is a chance it could work.
We had a program in the state for a while that was targeting out-of-state deer hunters. It was called "Access Illinois." It worked for a couple years while bringing in hunters from as far away as New York and New Jersey. But it did a rapid dance of death because some southern Illinois outfitting services didn't like the number of non-residents taking big, Illinois whitetail deer.
We have state park lodges that can be filled to the brim.
We have lakes and rivers that cry out to be fished. We have hunt clubs and private lands throughout the state that could help generate revenue for the state in a grand way.
All it takes is a gaggle of state lawmakers willing to stand up and urge the governor to find some donors or benefactors willing to pony up the cash to tell the world that we've got something extraordinary here that needs to be sampled.
Of course, the easy and lazier alternative is to raise taxes at a time when many are feeling great pain. It's time to get smart and act in the public's interest.
angler@mikejacksonoutdoors.com