LETTERS

Public should
have a role in
land-use policy

I read with interest the article "Troubled waters" (see Illinois Issues, January 1997, page 22). It hit close to home when it mentioned the 15 "ecosystem partnerships" developed through the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR).

I currently serve as a representative on the "ecosystem partnership" in Ogle County. I represent the Ogle County Farm Bureau on this group as our organization was invited by IDNR to participate.

This participation, however, did not come easily. In the article, Brian Anderson, IDNR ecosystem state coordinator, noted that the first partnership began in the Rock River Valley and in his words, "We (IDNR) got creamed." I would like to shed some light on what "creamed" was in Ogle County.

The Ogle County Farm Bureau was involved from the beginning of the project in the Rock River Valley. We first queried about IDNR goals and objectives for the project. In the summer of 1994 an IDNR representative denied there was a management plan for this area, and said, "This project is only a concept, and concept isn't reality." A year later that same representative told us, "This project is going to happen, and you can choose to be a part of it or not." So much for reality.

Not until our organization and citizens of Ogle County demanded a public meeting — a meeting that drew a standing room only crowd — did IDNR adopt their "you-come-to-us attitude," as cited by Anderson in your article. Just like the folks cited in another article in your January issue; "Nurture or nature?" the IDNR and environmental groups just don't seem to get it.

Bureaucrats and environmental groups always look to control the natural resources before ever letting the public have their say.

Until citizens got involved in the ecosystem project in our area, it was going to be the same old, "We'll tell you what to do because you're too ignorant" smug attitude demonstrated by IDNR. How many others in Illinois will have to experience it before bureaucrats and environmental groups learn that people want the opportunity to be involved before it's too late?

Chuck Cawley
Oregon

Same old game of topdown land use control

Your recent article "Nurture or nature?" (see Illinois Issues, January 1997, page 25) raised some basic questions and opened the door for real reflection on public policies.

Why do the scientists and environmental groups mentioned in your article remain nameless, when they propose to have expertise to offer? They say that the Old Edgebrook citizens' complaints are based on ignorance of the restoration process.

An unnamed landscape activist in the article refers to the debate as a "cultural war" rooted in the "wise use" and "property rights" movements. Aren't property rights guaranteed to all of us?

Your article demonstrates that the "war" is fueled by nameless activists lacking credibility, who insist on demeaning individuals asking very basic questions. It goes to show that the activists are up to their same old game of top-down land use control. Will they ever learn?

Bureaucrats and environmental groups, continue to harbor the same old philosophy that has led to the decline of natural resources. They continue to push their heavy-handed agenda across the country and citizens no longer will sit idly by and be steam-rolled into unwise management of the natural resources we enjoy. Instead, these citizens are banding together to create a property rights movement; and it's not just rural anymore, as the citizens of Old Edgebrook are proving. It's a grass-roots movement of citizens demanding their right to be heard in decisions that affect their lives.

Why do government agencies and environmental groups feel so threatened by this?

Ron Kern
Leaf River

Good eye

Regarding the visual puzzle in "Presidential Politics: Clinton sweeps Illinois ... But GOP might see a silver lining" (see Illinois Issues, January 1997, page 10), aren't the two maps one and the same? Am I missing something? Do I win a prize?

Bill Handzel
Skokie

How to write us Your comments on articles and columns are welcome. Please keep letters brief (250 words). We reserve the right to excerpt them. Send letters to: Letters to the Editor Illinois Issues University of Illinois at Springfield Springfield, IL 62794-9243 e-mail address on Internet: boyer-long.peggy@uis.edu

Corrections... Michael Briggs spent four years in the Statehouse Press Room for the Chicago Sun-Times, not 14 as we reported in our February issue. ... and apologies A number of lines of text were inadvertently dropped by the printer in the final production stages of our February issue. We regret any inconvenience this may have caused our readers.

44 / March 1997 Illinois Issues