[BCNnet] Fwd: CW Illinois Funding Action Alert

[Judy Pollock]

>From: Debra Shore <dshore@chicagowilderness.org>

>November 11, 2002 
>
>Action Alert for Chicago Wilderness Members in Illinois 
>HB 6294 
>
>PLEASE ACT IMMEDIATELY.  The veto session of the Illinois General Assembly
>begins on Tuesday, November 19, 2002.   
>
>Write, fax or phone your legislators and ask them to support HB 6294
>(Hamos), which restores the formula for allocating Real Estate Transfer Tax
>proceeds for the Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development Fund (OSLAD)
>to 35% and for the Natural Areas Acquisition Fund (NAAF) to 15%.  These are
>the funding levels that existed prior to passage of legislation by the
>General Assembly in June 2002.     
>
>Background: 
>
>In 1990, the General Assembly set aside a portion of the Real Estate
>Transfer Tax as a designated funding source for OSLAD and for NAAF. In the
>closing days of the spring legislative session, the formula for allocating
>the Real Estate Transfer tax was changed, reducing the percentage of the tax
>for OSLAD from 35% to 20% and slashing the percentage for NAAF from 15% to

>5%.  The net impact on funding for OSLAD was a reduction in the amount of
>money available for grants from the $21 million available in FY 2002 to $13
>million in FY 2003.   The reduction in funding for NAAF was even more
>draconian-from $9 million to $3 million.   
>
>OSLAD is a grant program to local governments to acquire land for parks and
>forest preserves and to pay for recreational facilities.  OSLAD has been
>invaluable to local units of government such as park districts and forest
>preserve districts that are limited by tax caps and struggling to acquire
>land and provide recreational opportunities to their communities.  
>NAAF is used by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources for the
>acquisition, preservation and stewardship of natural areas including habitat
>for endangered and threatened species, high quality natural communities,
>wetland sand other areas with unique natural qualities.  NAAF has enabled
>the IDNR to acquire over 17,551 acres of high quality lands and pays for the
>staffing of the natural heritage programs at the Department of Natural
>Resources and the Illinois Nature Preserves Commission.   
>Both of these programs have been highly successful, making up for the sharp
>decline  
>in federal grant money available to local governments 
>
>The cuts to these funds were different than other budget cuts because they
>were the result of amending the statute, which allocates monies from the
>Real Estate Transfer Tax. Consequently, funding for these programs will be
>permanently reduced unless the legislature takes action. 
>    
>Rep. Julie Hamos introduced HB 6294 at the close of the spring legislative
>session. It would restore the formula for allocating the Real Estate
>Transfer Tax to what it had been prior to July 1, 2002. Within a matter of
>hours, 25 sponsors had signed on to the bill. They are Representatives May,
>Winters, Slone, Garrett, Bassi, Burke, Coulson, Currie, Dart, Delgado,
>Erwin, Feigenholtz, Hoffman, Kurtz, Lang, Lindner, Mendoza, Novak, Osterman,
>Pankau, Soto, Tenhouse, Art Turner and Yarbrough. 
>
>Reasons to support HB 6294:   
>
>... Passage of HB 6294 (Hamos) would not affect the state's revenues for FY
>'03.  It would not take effect until July 1, 2003 and, consequently, would
>not impact this year's budget. 
>
>... Voters care about preserving open space.  In surveys across the state
>and around the country, voters continue to rank the loss of open space as
>one of their greatest concerns.  In northeastern Illinois alone, voters have
>supported every countywide open space referendum on the ballot in the last
>ten years.  
>
>... These programs have been extremely successful.  Every legislative
>district can point to parks and forest preserves that have been acquired by
>local governments with funding from the Real Estate Transfer Tax. 
>
>... When you talk to your legislators, be sure to mention any projects in
>their districts that have received funding through these programs.   
>
>... Illinois ranks 46th among the 50 states in the amount of public open
>space per capita.  These programs provide the foundation for land
>preservation in Illinois.   

>
>Please distribute this action alert to your members and volunteers. Urge
>them to send personal letters to their representative in the general
>assembly. Tailor these letters to your own situation and legislator. 
>
>If you have questions, feel free to call Joyce O'Keefe at the Openlands
>Project (312) 427-4256 x236, jokeefe@openlands.org 
>or Debra Shore at Chicago Wilderness (847) 965-9275,
>dshore@chicagowilderness.org  
>
>