The nip in the air this week and leaves changing color give many of us the impetus to get outdoors for last strolls before winter’s grasp comes calling. We may adore spring and summer in the Midwest, but we’re smitten with fall.
Nothing like ambling around the walking paths Lake County’s parks and forest preserves offer in crisp autumn air. Follow a walk with some crunchy apples and it’s like living a Robert Frost poem.
While taking those healthy hikes, trekkers may want to mull what they’re going to do on Election Day with the $155 million bond issue the Lake County Forest Preserves District is asking voters to approve. The question is the lone countywide proposition on the Nov. 5 ballot, although there are three statewide advisory referendums facing voters.
Forest Preserves officials say approval of the referendum will cost taxpayers who own a $300,000 home about $33 a year, or $2.75 a month. The average cost of a Starbucks coffee ranges from $2.75 to $5.75, depending on which specialty drink customers request from baristas, and they only get a temporary jolt.
A fleeting day at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee will cost visitors $45 plus parking. Forest preserves are forever.
The current district tax rate takes $1.87 for every $100 of property taxes. That’s a fairly cheap amount to preserve what’s left of what we used to call “country” in this county.
Without the founding of the Forest Preserves District by voter approval, Lake County would look quite different. Housing and development certainly would straddle the flood-prone Des Plaines River, from the Wisconsin border to the Cook County line, more than is already there.
Visionaries like North Shore resident the late Ethel Untermyer, who led the successful forest district referendum in November 1958, saw forest preserves in our future. The 500-acre Ethel’s Woods near Antioch is named after her.
Forest board commissioners in the 1970s and ‘80s, such as Waukeganites Dr. Rolland Sandee and Janet Morrison, along with F.T. “Mike” Graham of Libertyville and Norman Geary of Grayslake, began urging expansion of the district’s holdings with purchases quite a few opposed, calling them “land grabs.”
Their wise decisions have stood the test of time. Those “land grabs” stopped housing developments from being built and from asphalt paving over environmentally sensitive acreage.
Currently, there are more than 31,200 acres the Forest Preserves District oversees. That includes about 200 miles of biking, hiking, cross-country skiing and horse-riding trails. Add to the list paddling at Van Patten Woods near Wadsworth and Independence Grove by Libertyville. Don’t forget outdoor educational programs, field trips and guided walks.
The district’s last referendum was in 2008, when county voters overwhelmingly approved a $185 million bond issue to purchase land and develop preserves. The same is expected of funds if the Nov. 5 proposal is approved.
Indeed, district officials say of the $155 million requested, $65 million will be used for land purchases, $60 million for trail construction and development in current preserves and $30 million for restoration of district properties to natural states and reduce flooding. There certainly isn’t more cheap land being made in this county, so we might as well get what we can for the future of recreation and reducing suburban sprawl.
Approval of the referendum incidentally ties in with the $2.5 million Lake County Tree Initiative, which kicked off earlier this month with hopes of planting 1,000 trees by the end of the year. Paid partly with federal COVID-19 infrastructure money, trees currently are being planted in Antioch Township, Hawthorn Woods, Highland Park, Lindenhurst, Vernon Hills and Waukegan. Other communities also are in line to get trees as the program continues.
Postings in support of the referendum have been cramming county mailboxes as the election grows closer. One could quibble about some of those being printed in Des Moines, Iowa, but perhaps county union compositors are too busy with other local election candidate pamphlets and mailings.
Most Lake Countians appreciate the active and passive nature of the forest preserves system. Planners over the years have cited forest preserves in locales across the county and in close proximities to where people live. Most of us live less than a 10-minute drive from a forest preserve, district officials proudly point out.
Yet, when taxing bodies seek homeowner support for improvements, whether they be for land purchases or school buildings, it’s always a gamble. After all, who among us wants to volunteer to raise taxes in Lake County, which has some of the highest in Illinois?
Forest Preserve District officials are rolling the dice and asking us to do just that. If you use forest preserves or enjoy their looks while merely driving by, or believe in the quality of life they provide, the referendum deserves our vote.
Charles Selle is a former News-Sun reporter, political editor and editor.
sellenews@gmail.com
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