Tri County State Park

For Immediate Release:
Press Release
For Immediate Release
Contact: Rob Bisceglie
Candidate for State Representative, 45th District
Phone: 630.229.4108
E-mail – rob@votebisceglie.com

Tri-County State Park Raises Questions: Democratic State Rep Candidate Bisceglie

A recent announcement disclosed that a funding agreement will keep Tri-County State Park, soon to be renamed Pate Philip State Park, operations open for only nine more months, until June 30, 2005.

Tri-County State Park is important to our communities. By preserving open space and making available recreational activities, Tri-County State Park in nearby Bartlett, Illinois if funded, will continue to develop and become a destination for families in DuPage, Kane and Cook counties.

Illinois provided over $20 million dollars for the creation of this park. Without funding, the visitor center and tour operations would have closed on September 30, 2005. The park’s closure was forestalled, at the last minute, by closed-door funding negotiations between the State of Illinois and the DuPage County Forest Preserve District. Unfortunately, the agreed-upon solution is for the short term only.

These facts lead to some obvious concerns and questions:

How did Illinois and DuPage County spend the $1 million allocated to the park in 2003?
How much does it cost to run the park annually?
Why are funding negotiations proceeding behind closed doors?
What is the long-term plan for the park? Who will operate it? Who will fund it?
What steps can be taken to keep the park open beyond June 30, 2006?
How much will it cost in new signage and materials to rename the park to Pate Philip State Park?
Why aren’t local legislators speaking out to protect our only state park in the region?

The closing of operations at Tri-County State Park would be a significant waste of taxpayer funds, $20 million originally. The failure to adequately fund, plan for and care for Tri-County State Park is just one example of bad government and wasteful spending, but it is one that we now have the opportunity to correct to protect the only state park in our region.

Tri-County State Park provides us an opportunity. By preserving open space and making available important recreational activities to families, Tri-County State Park will continue to develop and become an important destination for everyone in DuPage, Kane and Cook counties.

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