Thank you for your excellent editorial describing the work of the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission. Many people in Illinois fail to recognize how ecologically diverse this state is.

According to one estimate, the only state with more diversity is California, which is almost three times larger. Many of the natural areas of Illinois have disappeared under the plow or under asphalt.

But not all.

Scattered throughout the state are sites containing the diverse species that made early settlers consider Illinois a paradise. It is the mission of the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission to try to protect as many of these sites as possible.

The Commission currently protects over 100,000 acres of land as dedicated nature preserves or land and water reserves. Some of these sites are owned by government agencies with fine records of preserving land. These include the Cook County Forest Preserve District and the other forest preserve or conservation districts in the collar counties.

However, many others are small private or government-owned sites without the funding or expertise to manage them properly. The Commission’s staff attempts to fill this need, but that staff, dedicated as it is, has been starved of support for a number of years.

Unfortunately, several previous administrations seemed to consider the Commission and the Department of Natural Resources as piggy banks to fund other state programs.

Money, such as a small portion of the state real estate transfer tax that was dedicated to natural area preservation, was “swept” from the Commission and the DNR and spent on matters unrelated to conservation.

However, there are hopeful signs on the horizon. We are optimistic that under the new administration, preserving Illinois’ natural heritage will once again receive the attention it so richly deserves.

George M. Covington

Chair, Illinois Nature Preserves Commission

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Do more to fight corruption

The passage of ethical reforms by Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the City Council is to be applauded. Yet, there is still much more that can be done.

The reforms approved this week make it harder for council members and their staff to cut deals that benefit their clients or cronies. Giving the inspector general subpoena and auditing powers is useful and long overdue.

But increasing fines from $2,000 to $5,000 is still not a big deterrent against corruption when insiders give large amounts that surpass the cost of fines, encouraging politicians to take more “pay to play” donations.

Banning outside employment so council members focus full-time on their constituents is a common sense reform that is urgently needed. If someone wants to be in public office, they should prioritize that commitment. The Board of Ethics proposed tougher guidelines and hopefully will be added in the near future.

Also needed: Posting aldermanic recusals online in a more user-friendly format so the public knows why officials have a conflict of interest; and requiring a detailed explanation of those conflicts.

As a candidate for Illinois Senate, I am leading by example, posting online all of my campaign donations so the public can check who is giving and how much.

It’s already public information, but often difficult to access. This way voters have a one-stop, user-friendly format to get information about my platform and who supports my campaign.

I hope other candidates and officials follow suit so we have a well-informed electorate and improved ethics in public service.

Froy Jimenez, Democrat for Illinois Senate, 1st District