Incompetent cloak of King
Blago's reign
By: Jeff Lampe
Journal Star
May 29, 2008
Campers arriving at state sites last
Friday were treated to an unwelcome surprise.
Unbeknownst to many, camping fees had
increased without much fanfare. Sites with electrical
service cost $5 more. And there's a new $10 fee for
premium weekends. If you missed that news you were not
alone.
Site staff at the Department of
Natural Resources' 74 campgrounds were not officially
informed of the increases until late last week, either.
Some of that was due to bad timing. On
May 20 a legislative committee voted 5-3 to approve Gov.
Blagojevich's proposal for a camping fee hike. Three days
later people started arriving at state sites for one of
the season's biggest camping weekends.
Some blame also falls on DNR. The
agency's lone public notice of the change was on its Web
site (www.dnr.state.il.us).
Normally a decision of this magnitude
would prompt a press release. Not in this case. Hmm,
seems almost like someone decided to squelch the news.
"I would not assign motive to what can
otherwise be explained by gross incompetence," said Rep.
David Leitch, R-Peoria, uttering what to this point is
quote of the year regarding the DNR.
Leitch and Sen. Dan Rutherford,
R-Chenoa voted against the camping fee increases.
Naturally, word eventually got out.
Once it did, many unhappy campers griped after learning
the cost for sites offering electrical service had
doubled to $10. They were even less happy to learn DNR is
now charging a $10 "premium fee" for Memorial Day, the
Fourth of July weekend (July 2-4) and for Labor Day (Aug.
30-31 and Sept. 1).
Leitch said he received calls from
several angry constituents. He empathized.
"The most objectionable thing to me is
that, as in the case of Wildlife Prairie State Park, they
are taking away general fund appropriations to pay with a
far less certain funding source. And that's with these
exorbitant fees," Leitch said. "I don't think they should
be funding general operations with exorbitant fee
increases. They put Wildlife Prairie park and others at
risk by doing so."
Fortunately, campers with reservations
for last weekend and those who checked in last Thursday
did not have to pay the premium fee. Not so in the
future. Letters are being sent to campers with
reservations to inform them of the changes.
"They will have an option to cancel
their reservation if they choose and to get their money
back," said Chris McCloud, DNR spokesperson.
Some may seriously consider that
option. For campers visiting one of the state's handful
of Class AA sites, a prime holiday weekend will now cost
$35 per site. That's nearly double the cost prior to this
change.
"We realize it's unpopular but
necessary for IDNR to recuperate some of the $900,000 it
loses annually to provide electricity and water for the
campgrounds," said Paris Ervin, the other DNR
spokesperson. "Without the increase we simply cannot
provide the same services to our campers that we have in
the past due to rising utility costs."
That's no doubt true. Given relentless
budget slashing under Blagojevich, DNR needs to be as
creative as possible in finding funding. The plan is for
new fees to bring camping income (previously $1.2
million) up to or above camping expenses ($2.1 million).
So why not explain that to campers
before making a change hours before they show up?
And how often can Illinois increase
user fees without impacting attendance? This is the
second camping increase under King Blago's reign. The
last increase was a $4 bump from $11 to $15 and to $20 at
premium sites.
McCloud said Illinois camping prices
are near or below most neighbors - particularly when you
consider that Illinois is one of eight states that does
not charge to get into its parks.
Then again, sources say state park
entry fees were discussed but tabled this year. Barring a
sudden change of economic fortunes, I'm betting that idea
will be revisited during this governor's tenure.
Here's hoping if any change comes, DNR
does a better job promoting its actions.
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