Blagojevich Even Took Money From State Parks, Among Other Offenses

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Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s arrest makes me laugh a little. Not just because he tried to sell Obama’s seat, but also because I happen to have been born and grew up in Chicago’s suburbs, and it’s always fun to hear about corruption going on back home.

With all the fuss over the Senate seat and the Tribune Company’s editorial board and the five-year investigation that’s been going on and Rod’s wife’s potty mouth…I decided to check in on Blago’s environmental record.

Turns out that last month, he closed seven state parks in Illinois because of the state’s budget deficit of $2 billion. Although the state parks will all still have one on-site staffer and conservationists to patrol the areas, they will close their campgrounds and organized activities, says the Rockford Registrar Star, a local paper in Rockford, IL.

Other state parks are staying open, but the General Assembly of Illinois had to take money from other state programs to fund those, which include Rock Cut State Park in northern Illinois – known for its canoeing and hiking.

Members of the public can wander the pathways of some of the closed parks, but for others the entrance gates are going down.

Lawmakers from the areas of the closed parks want the state to look elsewhere to finance its budget deficit (it could probably start with just looking in Blago’s pockets), but the budgetary committee won’t be meeting for another month, so the parks will stay closed until then.

Blagojevich hasn’t said he’ll step down from the gubernatorial position – though chances are he won’t be able to hold it up for that much longer. Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn would be next in line, and he’s already said he would re-open the seven state parks.

Although the state is largely responsible for taking care of the parks, it’s also important to remember from this that parks aren’t necessarily safe in the state’s hands – especially when those hands belong to an Illinois politician. Donate when you walk through a local state park. A few dollars here and there can help out a lot.

Photo Credit: hwky556 at Flickr under a Creative Commons License