Budget may be costly for outdoorsmen
SPRINGFIELD -- Larry Dale loves deer and turkey hunting, even though it means paying fee after fee. On top of his state taxes, he pays for licenses, permits and the use of public wildlife areas.
Dale isn't looking forward to doling out even more under Gov. Rod Blagojevich's proposed budget. Dale said it's unfair for hunters and fisherman to shell out more for state conservation efforts they already subsidize.
"I find it disconcerting that we are again targeted," the 59-year-old Petersburg resident said.
Blagojevich wants to increase money in various Department of Natural Resources special funds by $37 million, or 28 percent, a move that would require raising fees.
What remains unclear is how much more consumers would have to pay.
The department is trying to become more "self-sufficient" so it depends less on tax revenue, spokesman Chris McCloud said, but it has not spelled out what that means for people who want to hunt or hike or camp on state property.
Environmentalists and legislators haven't been able to get answers either.
"No one has been able to articulate what fees they're talking about, specifically what fees would be or how much they would raise," said Jonathan Goldman, executive director of the Illinois Environmental Council. "There are a lot of unanswered questions at this point."
A chorus of negative responses met Blagojevich's budget proposal last week. His lack of detail was one sore point.
Descriptions of his changes at DNR mentioned only two possible fee increases: Floodway permits and reviews related to endangered species.
Electrical fees for campers might go up, too, to help pay for improvements to electrical systems, said McCloud, who added it's too early to say what other fees might rise. "Much of that will depend on legislative action," he said.
While fees would go up under Blagojevich's plans, the agency's share of general tax money would drop by $27 million, or nearly 40 percent.
Up to $15 million of that reduction can be attributed to shifting some of the agency's scientific research departments to the University of Illinois, Goldman said.
"There is still another $10 million or $12 million that they are cutting in (general funds) that we don't know why or what that would have funded," Goldman said.
He noted Blagojevich's plan includes cuts to open-space acquisition and preservation of natural areas.
A major union says the proposal is more of the same from an administration that neglects the DNR.
DNR employees have dwindled to the point where state forests, parks and nature preserves are rarely adequately staffed, said the Illinois chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
There has been a 29 percent staff decrease since 2001, the union said.
"The track record of this administration is one of neglect if not antipathy to essential public services," federation spokesman Anders Lindall said. "When you are talking about cuts of that magnitude, you're talking about serious harm to every aspect of this agency."
State Rep. Kurt Granberg, a Democrat from Carlyle, cautioned the plan still is in its infancy.
"This is just the first announcement, so we have a long way to go on the process. Everything is subject to change and nothing is written in stone at this point," said Granberg, who has been mentioned as a candidate for director of the agency, which is now run by an acting director.
Other officials said Blagojevich has put the agency on the bottom rung in the past half-decade.
"You want to have people at state parks available to help people who come long distances to see eagles fly over the Illinois River," Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn said. "I really feel that Gov. Blagojevich has not been friendly to conservation over the last five years, and it's been a disappointment."