The Cook County Forest Preserves Referendum

-A Walk in the Woods-

You are walking along a wooded trail skirting a large pond. The autumn leaves have only recently begun to fall. They dot the path with dashes of amber and orange, crunching and crumpling underfoot as you pass. Through an opening in the foliage, framed by white-flowered Snakeroot and Goldenrod below, hanging green boughs of chestnut above, you glimpse a Great White Egret folding and unfolding his wings in the morning light. He sees you, lingers a moment, and then, with a great whooshing wingbeat, takes flight, leaving behind a flash of memory that will be with you indefinitely. And you will recall the scene long after it has passed, in moments when comfort or pleasure are needed. 

     Such scenes are commonplace in the Forest Preserves of Cook County. Each day, hundreds upon hundreds of Chicago-land inhabitants flock to the preserves, as well as to the Chicago Botanic Gardens and Brookfield Zoo, seeking encounters just like the one described above. And for over 100 years, our forest preserves have supplied the backdrop for generations of wonder and recreation. 

     This year, however, the preserves need your help, and they will be asking for it at November’s ballot box in the form of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Wildlife Habitat Protection Referendum. Quite a mouthful to say, I know. So let’s take a minute to examine what the preserves are asking for and why.

-What’s Being Asked-

I encountered Kyung as I rounded a bend in a path flanked by towering, bright Prairie Sunflower. The first thing I noticed was her smile. It was as though she was trying to imitate the sunflowers themselves, and doing a pretty good job of it. “Whenever I walk in here, my mouth is from one ear to the other,” she said. She told me that money can’t buy the kind of peace and satisfaction one finds in the forest preserves, adding that, if we’re wise, we’ll value that fact. 

     While I agree completely with the spirit of Kyung’s statement, it turns out that one can make a monetary contribution toward sustaining our green spaces. On November 8th, The Forest Preserves of Cook County will be seeking 0.025% increase over the tax rate for the 2020 levy year. I know, I know: death and taxes, right? Let the groaning commence. But before you navigate away, consider that over the last decade, the forest preserves have nearly doubled the amount of land under restoration, while at the same time the district’s overall budget has expanded by less than 10%, according to General Superintendent of the Forest Preserves Arnold Randall.

     If secured, here’s what the new funds will be used for:

     – To purchase and preserve more natural open land for the enjoyment of future generations.

     – For the protection and restoration of habitat that is home to native plants and animals, some of which are threatened or endangered.

     – To increase outreach programs and school events for communities from every part of Cook County. 

     – To resolve the Forest Preserves’ pension shortfall.

     – To address the differed capital needs of the Brookfield Zoo and Chicago Botanic Garden.

     Not a bad shopping list. But what will that 0.025% tax hike mean for your tax load? The Forest Preserves calculate that the average Cook County home owner will see a monthly uptick by roughly a dollar-and-a-half, an annual increase in the neighborhood of $20. 

     And, hey, at least this time no one’s going after your Red Bull.

     But what is really at stake here?

-The Stakes for the Environment-

When asked why she does what she does for the preserves, Liz tells me, “They’re life-giving. I don’t feel right if I don’t spend my time in the preserves.” She is a retired special-needs teacher who spends her time volunteering at three different county preserves- Crabtree, Bluff Spring Fens, and Poplar springs. 

     Cook County currently boasts 70,000 acres of protected land, which amounts to a staggering 11% of the county’s total acreage, making Cook one of the greenest urban counties in the nation. It is estimated that our nature preserves absorb enough greenhouse gases annually to offset the emissions of more that 330,000 cars. Our natural spaces also filter hundreds of millions of gallons of stormwater each year, acting as a shield against flooding and a ready-made filtration system, keeping pollutants out of our water table. 

     The Forest Preserves also comprise the bulk of natural habitat space in the county. Thanks largely to the preserves and the efforts of their naturalists, Bald Eagle populations have begun to soar once more, and River Otters, those furry little freshwater pranksters, have been sighted again in our waterways. But in spite of these gains, the Endangered Species Act lists 31 species- 20 endangered, 11 threatened- still at risk in Illinois. 

     As Liz says, nature is certainly life-giving. It protects and heals both itself and us. But the equation works both ways. If we pass this referendum, we’ll be giving the preserves the opportunity to fully restore an estimated 20,000 acres of land, in addition to the large swathes already the focus of restoration efforts. This would give stable and endangered species alike space to breathe. And it will allow the preserves to purchase 2,700 more acres to augment that breathing room, most of which will likely be in the southeastern area of the county, where public greenspace is less abundant. But if the referendum fails, the preserves might be forced to sell off sizable portions of its holdings to commercial developers, land that will never be recovered again. 

-The Stakes for Us-

Keesha is visiting from Kentucky. She works for the airlines and lives in her Airstream van while she’s on the road. Her living arrangements on the road are a lifestyle choice; she likes it free and easy, as does her companion, a Doberman-mix puppy named Tyke (Ty for short). “Traveling in my R.V. quite a bit, the parks give me a place to stay and give my dog exercise,” she told me as Ty ran circles around us both. “Last night I stayed at [Camp] Reinberg and it’s really awesome. The people over there are great. And lots of cool hikes.”

     In addition to their ecological benefits, the preserves also provide us humans with much needed recreation space. An estimated 80% of Cook County residents live five minutes from a forest preserve. Webbed with more than 350 miles of paved and unpaved trails, the preserves offer all of us a place to get out and be active. Whether you’re into cycling, rollerblading, or some other flavor of human-powered locomotion, there’s ample space for you to roll. Paddlers have a place here too, with rivers, small lakes, and reservoirs to kayak, canoe, and paddle board. Land and water recreation not your thing? You can fly a kite, a drone, or an R.C. plane in the clean and open skies. And that’s just the crust off the loaf. A cursory examination of the “Guide to the Forest Preserves of Cook County” reveals entries for boat rentals, disk golf, birding walks, fitness hikes, even ziplining. 

     Prior to COVID, the preserves clocked an estimated 62 million visits per year. But with the advent of the pandemic, as people have begun to seek out more open-air entertainments, those numbers have risen to nearly 100,000,000 visits annually for the last two years. To keep pace, a lot of repairs are needed on our already over-worked trails, to say nothing of the work required to maintain the preserves’ various nature centers, campgrounds, aquatic centers, fishing lakes, and boating centers. And of course, all this work is done by staff who’s pensions could dry up if additional funding can not be found.

-The Upshot-

For a while now, a need to involve myself in something bigger has been growing in me, to aide in the work toward some tangible good. I believe I am not alone in this. No matter how you categorize yourself and regardless of which “side” you back, I think the one thing most people share in common is a sense of apprehension about the future. It was this sense of dread and dissatisfaction that led me to get involved with the forest preserves in the first place. And, if it weren’t for my volunteer time there, I never would have learned of the referendum. 

The question is, why has so little been said up to now?

     I suspect that it comes down to that cherished American tradition of toxicity and accusation that is an election year. Too often, as our leaders and elective hopefuls take aim at each other, truth and positive information become casualties of the crossfire. But this election season I’d like to humbly ask my fellow Chi-landers to consider the land we all stand on. Prairie land. Land of the buffalo and indigenous community, land of the homestead and the pioneer. Now, land of one of the greatest metropolitan areas in the nation. 

     When we who reside here think of ourselves, we often think of the crime, the violence, the corruption, the ups and downs of our sports teams. Rarely do we consider the legacy of conservation and stewardship that belongs to each of us as well. So this year, as we go to the polls to choose between this or that candidate and this or that issue, I encourage us all to think of the land we share and live on. Sadly, the votes we cast so rarely garner the benefits and improvements we were promised for them. But a vote for the land is always a vote for us all.