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Conservation coalition backs Forest Preserves referendum on Nov. 8 ballot

A coalition of groups organized as Vote Yes for Clean Air, Clean Water and Wildlife in Cook County is supporting a Nov. 8 referendum to increase funding for the Forest Preserves of Cook County.

The ballot question asks voters to support a 0.025% tax increase that will increase a homeowner’s property taxes by an estimated $20 a year. The coalition says the additional funding will help restore and expand forest preserve land and allow the forest preserve district to implement its Next Century Conservation Plan developed in 2014 as a vision of restoration and growth for the next 25 years.

The Forest Preserves of Cook County was organized in 1914. It includes 70,000 acres of public land, which equals 11% of all the land in Cook County. The South Suburbs have nearly 20,000 acres within a 15-minute drive of the Homewood and Flossmoor communities.   

Estimates are that 62 million people visit the forest preserves each year, and 80% of residents live within five miles of a forest preserve. 

Ecologists say 100-plus threatened and endangered species depend on the forest preserves. The coalition says the forest preserves protect millions of trees that absorb pollution helping to keep the air clean. The forest preserves filter storm and rainwater, keeping pollution from entering the waterways and reduce flooding in neighboring communities.

Vote Yes coalition members include Brookfield Zoo, the Chicago Botanic Gardens, the Illinois Environmental Council, the Nature Conservancy, Openlands, the Audubon of the Great Lakes, Friends of the Chicago River and dozens more. A full list is at voteyesforestpreserves.org.

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