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Friday, April 23, 2004

GOP: Governor reneging on open space pledge

By Scott Richardson
srichardson@pantagraph.com

SPRINGFIELD -- Republican legislators chose Earth Day to kick off an effort
to stop Gov. Rod Blagojevich from cutting state funding for parks and
natural areas.
The lawmakers said Thursday they think Blagojevich is wrong to propose
moving about $54 million from the Department of Natural Resources to the
general revenue fund, where the money could be spent for other purposes.

At issue is 50 percent of the real estate transfer tax, which the General
Assembly has designated for parks and open spaces since 1989.

The governor, a Democrat, has called his proposal a one-year "holiday," a
short-term maneuver to help solve Illinois' current fiscal crisis.

But, Republicans, who said they expect bipartisan support, say Blagojevich
is reneging on promises to help programs that could raise Illinois from its
ranking as 48th of the 50 states with regard to land set aside for open
space.

Quoting Kermit the Frog's lament, "It's not easy to be green," state Sen.
Pam Altoff, R-McHenry, said, "We are asking the governor to keep his
campaign pledge and keep funding for open spaces.

"Open space is a diminishing resource. If we want to preserve land for
future generations, we cannot afford to take holidays."

State Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington, who supports keeping the money in DNR,
cited a rise in state spending of $1.7 billion on Blagojevich's watch.

"The fact is the governor needs to keep his hands out of the cookie jar and
live within his means," Brady said.

But, Becky Carroll, a Blagojevich spokeswoman in budget matters, said the
governor sees the issue as a matter of priorities. Blagojevich inherited a
budget deficit of $5 billion, she said, and his priorities have been to put
more money into education, health and public safety, she said.

"We've had to make a lot of tough choices," Carroll said. "We just can't
afford everything this year."

Republicans were joined by representatives of a newly formed coalition of
more than 120 outdoor, conservation and environmental groups in Illinois
that rallied at the Capitol to keep the money in DNR.

Partners for Parks and Wildlife praised a DNR survey that showed 78 percent
of Illinois residents agreed open space is an important issue, and nearly
half said no other issue ranked higher.

"The preservation of natural areas is one of the most significant issues in
the state of Illinois," said Bloomington lawyer Guy Fraker, former chairman
of The Nature Conservancy, which is a member of the coalition.

Althoff is sponsoring Sentate Bill 3375 to reinforce action the General
Assembly took 15 years ago to designate 35 percent of the tax for the Open
Space Lands Acquisition and Development Fund. The fund has provided $197
million in matching grants to local governments for 8,631 acres for parks
and open space.

The General Assembly set aside another 15 percent of the tax for the Natural
Areas Acquisition Fund. Money from that fund has paid for setting aside more
than 20,000 acres of fragile natural habitats for endangered and threatened
species.

Opponents of Blagojevich's plan say cutting the funds could result in the
loss of about 50 wildlife biologists from the DNR staff, which is still
reeling from staff cuts from prior budget reductions and early retirements.