Oak Brook Park District Awarded $400,000 OSLAD Grant

The Oak Brook Park District was awarded $400,000 and is one of 75 agencies to benefit from the $26 million Illinois has available in the Open Space Land Acquisition and Development [OSLAD] grant fund as announced by Gov. Pat Quinn in a press conference on Sat., Jan. 3, 2015.

Money for the OSLAD grant comes from the state's Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development program. It will provide $24 million to support 75 projects in 28 counties throughout Illinois. Another $2 million comes from the Federal Land and Water Conservation Fund. Agencies are awarded funding to pay up to half of each project's cost.

The Oak Brook Park District will utilize the grant funds to make improvements to Central Park athletic fields. The park district has received two OSLAD grants in prior years which allowed the agency to add amenities to Central Park, such as the original splash pad and horseshoe pits, and helped finance the restoration and development of the Dorothy and Sam Dean Nature Sanctuary located on Canterberry Lane.

The OSLAD program is funded by a portion of the state real estate transfer tax. Since 1987, it has provided $391 million to 1,700 local parks.