The Brunner Forest Preserve is a good example.  Its acquisition was a high priority of the Forest Preserve District, based on size, natural areas, and river frontage.  But equally important, the County needed to acquire the road right of way for the Longmeadow Parkway and bridge.  The County had begun acquiring critical road right-of-way parcels in 2004, and in 2005 succeeded in getting $4 million in Federal funds from SAFETEA-LU earmarked for right-of-way acquisition and engineering for the Longmeadow Parkway.  The project's estimated cost of $88 million at the time (now more than twice that amount) far exceeded typical Federal [...]

In Kane County, the elected County Board members also serve as the Forest Preserve District Commissioners.  While this is a common practice of long standing, there is an inherent conflict of interest in "wearing two hats" when the interests of the County overlap and sometimes conflict with the interests of the Forest Preserve.  These two separate and distinct legal entities, supported by different taxes, have different missions.  For example, it is the County's job to promote economic development and to build roads and bridges, while the Forest Preserve District seeks to preserve natural areas, i.e., keep natural areas from being [...]

Concerns about the direction of the Kane County Forest Preserve District led to a quick comparison with other local districts.  DuPage County Forest Preserve District has over 25,000 acres, including some 60 preserves and three golf courses, but no large recreational venues.  Will County FPD, which has over 20,000 acres, has preserves and education centers, but no golf courses, stadiums, or ice rinks.  The McHenry County Conservation District has more than 25,000 acres but no golf courses or strictly recreational facilities.  Cook County FPD, the largest and oldest district, has more than 68,000 acres that include dedicated preserves, lakes, aquatic [...]

In addition to allowing other organizations to take over use of forest preserve land, the Kane County Forest Preserve District has been generous with taxpayer supplied funds.  In January 2013, a Finance Committee agenda item from Executive Director Monica Meyers and Finance Director Ken Stanish caught our attention.  It requested approval of a $2,000,000 transfer from the Land Acquisition Fund to the Construction and Development Fund for the City of Aurora's River Edge Park Pedestrian Bridge Construction Project.  The memorandum explained that the District had entered into an agreement with the City of Aurora in 2010 to assist with construction [...]