VOTE YES for the Cook County Forest Preserves

LWV Chicago is a proud supporter of the upcoming referendum found at the bottom of our November ballots to VOTE YES for funding the Cook County Forest Preserves. 

The Forest Preserves give us all an opportunity to explore nature as well as to protect clean water sources, air quality, and wildlife habitats. There are more than 62 million visits to the Forest Preserves each year for walking, jogging, or biking the more than 350 miles of paved and unpaved trails. Additionally, the Forest Preserves include nature centers, campgrounds, aquatic and boating centers, fishing lakes and even a Zipline course. 

Brookfield Zoo and the Chicago Botanic Garden are on Forest Preserves land. A successful referendum will allow these local treasures to complete urgent repairs to buildings, repair storm water and irrigation systems, install new paths, and more. 

Cook County’s Forest Preserves were created in 1914. The last time there was a request for a minimal property tax increase to support them was in the 1930s.

Why now? 

Approval of the referendum will allow the Forest Preserves to purchase and protect an estimated 2,700 additional acres of open land for future generations, before it disappears. More than half would be in Southeast Cook County, where less natural land has been protected than elsewhere in the county.

Today the Forest Preserves give a home to bald eagles, Blanding’s turtles, river otters and other species that were almost gone or had disappeared entirely from our region. 

Cleaner air and less pollution result in healthier open lands, which benefits us all. With tens of millions of trees, the Forest Preserves clean and cool the air we breathe. These lands absorb as much greenhouse gas annually as is produced by more than 330,000 cars. They filter stormwater to keep pollution from entering our waterways and help protect against flooding by absorbing hundreds of millions of gallons of rainwater each year.

The Cook County Forest Preserves are committed to being inclusive, accessible and culturally relevant for everyone—regardless of race, color, disability, sexual orientation, religion, age or gender. 

The referendum requests a property tax increase of 0.025%, which amounts to less than $1.66/month or for the average Cook County homeowner—approximately $20 for the year! Please VOTE YES!

The League of Women Voters is proud to host a Chicago In Focus program on the Cook County Forest Preserve Referendum on Thursday, October 6. It is our FIRST in-person event, though it will also be available via zoom. Please register to join us. 

And join us for our last Forest Preserve walk on October 12 in Schiller Woods. 

Please share your comments below and share our blog with friends. For more information, contact environment@lwvchicago.org.