Illinois Department of Natural Resources grants full of waste

Taxpayers are on the hook for $8 million a year in wasteful grants for amenities ranging from dog parks to disc-golf courses.

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner announced June 2 a litany of spending cuts in order to address the nearly $4 billion shortfall in the recently passed state budget. Among them was a suspension of grants doled out by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources through the Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development Program.

A review of these grants reveals that a majority fails to advance the department’s mission, taking the form of $8 million in wasteful spending each year.

In other words, this reform should come as welcome news to taxpayers.

The problem

For years, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, or IDNR, has spent millions of dollars on grants that are unrelated to the department’s mission.

The IDNR distributes grants to park districts, forest preserves and municipalities to help pay for land and recreational infrastructure through the Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development Program, or OSLAD.

The IDNR’s mission is “to manage, conserve and protect Illinois’ natural, recreational and cultural resources, further the public’s understanding and appreciation of those resources, and promote the education, science and public safety of Illinois’ natural resources for present and future generations,” according to the agency’s website. But a review of public documents shows many of the grants awarded by the IDNR are going to programs that do not advance that mission. Instead, millions of dollars in taxpayer money is being spent on playgrounds, skate parks and pools – even dog parks.

According to IDNR records, the agency distributed $123 million in OSLAD grants over the last 10 years. Of the projects with detailed descriptions, the Illinois Policy Institute identified about 60 percent as departing from the agency’s mission, which works out to nearly $8 million a year. Examples of wasteful OSLAD grants awarded in recent years include:

• $359,000 to add a children’s “music sensory” playground, a sled hill and a “multi-generational” family gaming area in Butterfield Park District in Lombard
• $400,000 to build an “adventure playground” with a zip line, custom climbing tower and a poured-in-place wave climbing wall in Burbank Park District
• $400,000 for reconstruction of a stone waterfall and upgrades to plumbing and basin systems in Evanston
• $400,000 to develop a winter activity center and family golf course for the Rockford Park District
• $400,000 to replace Crystal Lake Pool with the Crystal Lake Park Family Aquatic Center in Urbana Park District, which will include a sand play area, slide and water playground
• $297,200 to develop a Lake Barrington park to include an ice rink, council pit fire ring, sledding hill and areas for horseshoes and “baggo”
• $105,000 for a park project including an upgrade to a basketball court and replacement of playground equipment in the Grayslake Park District
• $260,300 for a project including a bandshell, basketball court, two volleyball courts, “baggo” and horseshoe courts, and disc golf in Brookfield
• $368,500 to renovate an aquatic park, including new tube and drop slides and a “sprayground” in the Alsip Park District
• $400,000 for a new playground, tennis courts, sitting deck and intergenerational game tables in the Elmhurst Park District
• $400,000 for a splash pad, “skate spot,” soccer field, fitness stations, community performance area and butterfly garden in the La Grange Park District

Over the past decade, more than $2 million alone was designated for projects that included dog parks. Five years ago, for instance, the Plainfield Township Park District received a $400,000 grant to help pay for a new park featuring a fenced-in dog area, which the district now advertises as a place where dogs can “socialize and have a bow-wow good time.”

Most recently, in January 2015, then-Gov. Pat Quinn announced the distribution of $26 million in OSLAD grants. Quinn issued these grants days before leaving office, and they ultimately were suspended by Gov. Bruce Rauner.

The solution

The governor took the right step to not distribute OSLAD grants in 2016, given the state’s budget crisis. If the program is reinstated, the state should reduce it by 60 percent, which represents the proportion of spending that has veered from the IDNR’s mission over the last 10 years. Each grant should be subject to a strict standard of scrutiny and meet IDNR’s “manage, conserve and protect” mission. State grant funds should not be spent on local amenities; the state has its own park system to maintain, and if local residents want a dog park or disc-golf course they should pay for it – not all taxpayers in Illinois.

Why this works

State government needs to prioritize its spending. It’s wrong to ask struggling families to pay high taxes because a community they don’t live in wants a specific amenity and doesn’t want to pay for it. It’s better for each town to pay for its own recreational amenities. Open Space Lands Acquisition and Development Program, or OSLAD, grant money likely encourages wasteful spending at the local level. If a park district knows it can count on state grants for amenities, it can continue to spend money on amenities it otherwise could not afford. Reducing OSLAD grants would help drive park districts and other entities to spend their dollars more prudently.