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Decision to close state parks hits hard
(The Pantagraph (Bloomington, IL) (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Sep. 17--LEROY -- Closing state parks is more than a quality of life issue for Dave O'Brien. It could be a matter of life and death.
Moraine View State Park near LeRoy is home to the popular Tri-Sharks Triathlon, where about 500 endurance athletes from around the state compete every June.
O'Brien, 36, who received a heart transplant in 2005, takes part in the event. The advance training he needs to swim, bike and run helps to keep him strong and healthy.
"If I got out of shape, that could affect my mortality rate and my quality of life, definitely," said O'Brien, a farmer who lives in Bloomington.
The future of the triathlon, and O'Brien's participation, is unclear after Gov. Rod Blagojevich included Moraine View State Park among 11 state parks scheduled to close Nov. 1. Others include Weldon Springs State Park near Clinton. Thirteen state historic sites, including the David Davis Mansion in Bloomington, are slated to close Oct. 1.
Blagojevich, a Democrat, blames the cuts on a $1.4 billion shortfall in revenue in the state budget the Democratic-controlled Illinois House passed earlier this year. Blagojevich and Democratic Speaker of the House Mike Madigan are not resolving their differences.
Leon Gibson, who runs the concession at Moraine View with his wife, Judy, called the stalemate
a high-stakes "kid's game." Four people will be laid off at Moraine View among the 43 Illinois Department of Natural Resources employees scheduled to lose their jobs statewide in the latest round of cuts to impact IDNR since Blagojevich took office.
One more Moraine View staff member will retire. Only the site superintendent, Bruce Howes, will remain. A recent memo related to cuts reminded staff members not to speak to the media, and Howes did not return calls from The Pantagraph.
For the Gibsons, the closing would mean the end of a nine-year run after another nine-year stint as owners of Gibson's Old Bank Inn, a restaurant in LeRoy. That followed Leon Gibson's retirement from a career in the grain and seed business and Judy Gibson's career as a nursing home administrator and bookkeeper at the former Mike's Market in Bloomington. The Moraine concession kept them busy and yielded a little extra income.
"We don't get rich, I'll tell you that," said Leon Gibson, 69.
The Gibsons will miss the customers, who've become more like friends.
"It's a fun business," Leon Gibson said. "It's the people, the people who keep coming back to see us."
You can count Richard and Sharon Shepherd of Bloomington among them. The retired couple has visited Moraine View State Park for 15 years.
"I've got seven kids, and they all come out here," said Richard Shepherd. "We do a lot of fishing and camping here. My brother, Tom, keeps a pontoon (boat) here."
"The kids are so upset," added Sharon Shepherd. "Where can you go and stay when you don't have the money with the economy the way it is? ...We're on a fixed income. You can't afford to go out of state or something."
"I can drive 15 minutes and set up my camper," agreed her husband.
Information sought
The Pantagraph filed Freedom of Information requests with IDNR for data on the cost of maintaining Moraine View and Weldon Springs versus the income they generate. Though the newspaper asked for the information by Tuesday, the Pantagraph had received no official word on the request last week.
But The Pantagraph has learned Moraine View State Park's campground took in about $16,000 in revenue over Labor Day Weekend alone. The Gibsons said they sell about $5,000 to $6,000 in fishing and hunting licenses annually. The concession stand generates $1,000 a month in sales tax for Illinois at the peak of the season, they added.
That's only a small portion of the overall picture.
The Pantagraph also asked IDNR and the Illinois Bureau of Tourism about the economic impact state parks have on Illinois as a whole. Both agencies said they don't keep such figures. But the Illinois Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan, which IDNR published in April 2004 on its own Web site, estimated fishing and hunting alone bring more than $4 billion dollars in economic output to Illinois' economy, 42,000 jobs and $315 million in state and local taxes. The document goes on to say:
"IDNR owns or leases several hundred outdoor recreation sites throughout the state. These sites include state parks, conservation areas, nature preserves, natural areas, fish and wildlife areas, greenways and trails, state forests, and more. The average annual attendance over the last five years at these sites was estimated to be over 42 million. This translates to about $500 million a year spent on trips to state parks and other recreational sites, leading to $790 million in economic output, 8,500 jobs, and $240.5 million in earnings."
Ready for a fight
Madelon Gallagher of LeRoy, who is circulating petitions to oppose the closings, has no doubt the economic impact of Moraine View is huge to the region.
"At IGA (in LeRoy), I picked up a stack like that," she said, holding her fingers two inches apart.
Added Leon Gibson: "The LeRoy stores tell me it affects the gasoline stations, the stores, the restaurants ... just about everything in town really."
Lisa Wiggins, 40, of Downs, visits Dawson Lake five or six times a week on average to bike, roller blade, run or ride horses.
"It needs to be open," she said. "We moved to the area 19 years ago, and we've used it ever since. I have two boys, 8 and 5. We do a lot of family picnics."
She continued, "What response should I give my 8-year-old son who asked if he will have to sell his horse because we will have no place close to ride? We had previously discussed that we could not afford to drive to parks that are farther away on a regular basis due to gas prices."
Wiggins, who teaches reading recovery at the elementary level in LeRoy, also was saddened about the potential loss of the state park as an educational facility. She noted area schools take students to Moraine View for everything from science class field trips to cross country training. Boy Scouts camp there. Nursing homes take seniors there to fish. She also mentioned David Davis Mansion and other sites, mostly downstate and far from Blagojevich's Chicago home.
"One would have to wonder, too, they just spent all that money getting ready for the anniversary (of Lincoln's 200th birthday in 2009) and now you are going to close the site you put money into? That just doesn't make sense," she said.
Leon Gibson also wondered about how much money would eventually have to be spent to repair the state parks from damage due to vandalism and disuse while they remain shuttered.
The state Republican Party sees politics at work, pointing out in e-mails that many of the closures are in Republican districts. They dispute the cuts will save the state money.
"If we could just get the governor and the speaker (Madigan) out here to see what they are doing, it could get some common sense here," said State Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington, whose constituents visit Moraine View State Park.
Brady thinks several alternatives exist other than closing facilities, including the possibility of charging a state park user fee. Leon Gibson mentioned ramp fees for fishermen.
"These are the people's parks," Brady said. "We should be sitting down and figuring out a way to save them ... and the same for David Davis Mansion."
To see more of The Pantagraph, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.pantagraph.com.
Copyright (c) 2008, The Pantagraph, Bloomington, Ill.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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