ACT NOW: Bill passes committee, cosponsors needed: Without question the Forest Preserve Board Separation Bill, HB 5128, passed the Illinois House of Representatives Counties and Townships Committee as a result of your efforts!

Now we need to add cosponsors to demonstrate that this bill has the support it needs to pass. Please contact (call, email, or visit) your State Senator and Representative and ask them to join on as a cosponsor. Our goal is to sign on as many cosponsors as possible for SB 176 and HB 5128.

At a minimum, ask them to commit to vote yes for these bills. And, please be sure to let us know what you find out.

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It’s time for Cook County to have a separately elected board for the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, allowing voters to elect Commissioners on the basis of candidates’ positions, credentials, experience and interest in forest preserve governance. Separating the board would not create a new government entity because the District is already a separate taxing body.

The Forest Preserve District is currently governed by the Cook County Board – the same board that oversees the largest integrated court system in the country and the second largest health system. Separating the boards will eliminate the conflicts of interest inherent in the current system of governance and allow for better oversight of the Forest Preserve District.

Sponsored by Senator Don Harmon in the Senate, SB 176 will create a separately elected board of commissioners for the Forest Preserve District of Cook County. SB 176 is poised to pass the Senate and now HB 5128, sponsored by Representative Elaine Nekritz (D-57^th), is doing well in the House.

“This would be truly historic,” said Steve Packard, a Friends’ founding board member. “It would be the single-most important step forward for the Forest Preserve District since it began buying land in 1915.”