The Forest Preserve District of Will County hosted a Legislators’ Breakfast on Monday, March 2, to acquaint newly elected and re-elected state representatives and senators with the District and its legislative priorities.
“Every two years we have new state legislators, so we introduce ourselves and tell them about our initiatives,” said Suzanne Hart, president of the Forest Preserve District’s Board of Commissioners. “We need to have these relationships so we can get bills passed and grants approved in the Legislature.”
The District received $2.1 million in grants in 2014 and approximately $28 million in grants in the past 15 years.
“They have supported us 100 percent,” Hart said of the District’s representatives in Springfield. “And any grants we have applied for, they have been big advocates on our behalf.”
Each legislator received a packet of information on the District and its legislative initiatives during the breakfast, which was held at the Sugar Creek Administration Center in Joliet. State Rep. Margo McDermed said she like learning “exactly” what the District’s priorities are for 2015.
“And as a legislator, it helps me to know exactly what’s important to the Forest Preserve and how I can be on the lookout for its interests,” she added.
Legislative Objectives
Marcy DeMauro, the District’s executive director, and Brent Hassert, the District’s lobbyist in Springfield, outlined some of the Forest Preserve’s legislative objectives including:
- The transfer of the 730-acre Prairie Bluff Preserve in Crest Hill from the state to the District. The District has invested $2 million in the preserve, which the state currently leases to the Forest Preserve. Having ownership of the land would allow the District to apply for federal grants to further improve the site.
- The transfer of 135 acres of open space near the dormant Joliet Correctional Center in Joliet from the state to the District and/or other local agencies. This goal is pending the outcome of environmental studies at the site, which is located east of Collins Street.
- The protection and enhancement of state grant funding sources that assist the District in fulfilling its mission.
In addition to Hart and McDermed, elected officials who attended the breakfast were: state Reps. Jim Durkin, Natalie Manley, Emily McAsey, Larry Walsh Jr. and state Sens. Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant and Pat McGuire. State Rep. Mark Batinick and state Sen. Christine Radogno were represented by aides.
Forest Preserve Board members in attendance were: Vice President Ragan Freitag, Treasurer Jim Moustis, Secretary Judy Ogalla, Joe Babich, Steve Balich, Herbert Brooks Jr., Ken Harris, Don Moran, Annette Parker, Jackie Traynere, Ray Tuminello and Denise Winfrey.
News release and photo submitted by Cindy Cain, Public Information Officer
