DuPage River- Access for everyone

The Issue

**Please note: Friends of the DuPage does not request any donations. Change.org includes a request for donation upon signing and Change.org receives those funds NOT FOTD. There is no requirement to donate to Change.org in order to participate with the campaign. 

To everyone in the general public who uses the DuPage River for recreational purposes, please read this message because your right to use the river may be coming to an end. Based on complaints from landowner(s) regarding public use of the river, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) is in the process of determining whether the DuPage River is public or private and, if designated private, could mean the public no longer has access. Currently the river is designated “Private”, but has dozens of “PUBLIC” launches along both branches that were paid for and provided by local park districts and approved by the IDNR. 
Our goal is to show the organizations and government bodies that are making these decisions that there are a lot of people that use the 28.3 mile DuPage River for recreational purposes and want to continue to do so for generations and generations.

Personally, I have been a resident of Plainfield for 21 years. I have been fishing, kayaking & tubing the river since I’ve lived here and thoroughly enjoy spending time on the river with family and friends. I couldn’t imagine if this privilege was abruptly taken away from the public. 

Thank you for your support. Please feel free to share this petition with others. 

avatar of the starter
Ralph OsuchPetition StarterI have been a resident of Plainfield for 21 years. I have been fishing, kayaking and tubing the river since I’ve lived here and thoroughly enjoy spending time with family and friends. I couldn’t imagine if this privilege was abruptly taken away.
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11,342

The Issue

**Please note: Friends of the DuPage does not request any donations. Change.org includes a request for donation upon signing and Change.org receives those funds NOT FOTD. There is no requirement to donate to Change.org in order to participate with the campaign. 

To everyone in the general public who uses the DuPage River for recreational purposes, please read this message because your right to use the river may be coming to an end. Based on complaints from landowner(s) regarding public use of the river, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) is in the process of determining whether the DuPage River is public or private and, if designated private, could mean the public no longer has access. Currently the river is designated “Private”, but has dozens of “PUBLIC” launches along both branches that were paid for and provided by local park districts and approved by the IDNR. 
Our goal is to show the organizations and government bodies that are making these decisions that there are a lot of people that use the 28.3 mile DuPage River for recreational purposes and want to continue to do so for generations and generations.

Personally, I have been a resident of Plainfield for 21 years. I have been fishing, kayaking & tubing the river since I’ve lived here and thoroughly enjoy spending time on the river with family and friends. I couldn’t imagine if this privilege was abruptly taken away from the public. 

Thank you for your support. Please feel free to share this petition with others. 

avatar of the starter
Ralph OsuchPetition StarterI have been a resident of Plainfield for 21 years. I have been fishing, kayaking and tubing the river since I’ve lived here and thoroughly enjoy spending time with family and friends. I couldn’t imagine if this privilege was abruptly taken away.
Media inquiries
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11,342

The Decision Makers

Forest Preserve District of Will County
Forest Preserve District of Will County
Responded
“The commissioners of the Forest Preserve District of Will County voted on and passed the following resolution on September 9, 2021: A RESOLUTION CONCERNING THE PUBLIC USE OF THE DUPAGE RIVER WHEREAS, the Forest Preserve District of Will County (hereinafter referred to as FOREST PRESERVE) is a body corporate and politic organized under the Downstate Forest Preserve Act (70 ILCS 805); and WHEREAS, the FOREST PRESERVE owns various preserves adjacent to the DuPage River in the communities of Naperville, Plainfield, Joliet, Shorewood, and Channahon; and WHEREAS, residents of the FOREST PRESERVE and other members of the public have, for many decades, used the DuPage River for recreational purposes including but not limited to such activities as fishing, kayaking, and canoeing throughout the jurisdiction of the of the Forest Preserve; and WHEREAS, the State of Illinois has assisted in funding capital improvement projects undertaken by the FOREST PRESERVE to create and improve public access to the DuPage River for recreational purposes; and WHEREAS, Illinois statutes and administrative regulations grant jurisdiction over public bodies of water to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), but those same statues and administrative regulations exempt from that jurisdiction of IDNR all “normal and lawful” uses of a public body of water (see, e.g., 615 ILCS5/5 and Part 3704 of the Illinois Administrative Code); and WHEREAS, the United States Government and the State of Illinois, acting through the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, have each recognized that the DuPage River constitutes a “navigable” body of water, a “water of the United States’ and, therefore, also a “public body of water” (see, e.g., NPDES Permit Number IL0073253 Responsiveness Summary; see also Roger Stone v. Naperville Park District 98 C 1881 (Northern District of Illinois)); and WHEREAS, any attempt by IDNR to prohibit, restrict, or otherwise regulate normal and lawful recreational activities on the DuPage River would be contrary to Illinois law as outside the jurisdiction of IDNR; and WHEREAS, the FOREST PRESERVE works with its residents, government agencies and not-for-profit organizations to protect Will County’s natural and cultural resources, foster environmental sustainability and to provide access to nature for everyone. O.4.a Packet Pg. 159 Attachment: Attachment 1 - Resolution No 21-24 (Use of the DuPage River) Resolution No. 21-24 NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF THE FOREST PRESERVE DISTRICT OF WILL COUNTY: SECTION 1: The foregoing Recitals are hereby incorporated in this Section 1 as though fully set forth herein. SECTION 2: The FOREST PRESERVE joins with State Representatives Mark Batinick, Janet Yang Rohr, and Terra Costa Howard, and State Senators Laura Ellman and Meg Loughran Cappel in supporting the position that normal and lawful use of the DuPage River by the public cannot be denied by IDNR, any other agency of the State of Illinois, or any other unit of local government. SECTION 3: The FOREST PRESERVE encourages IDNR to articulate a clear and correct position that IDNR is not attempting to limit, and will not limit, normal and lawful recreational activities on the DuPage River. SECTION 4: This Resolution shall be in full force and effect upon its passage and approval as required by law. Passed this 9th day of September 2021. Gretchen Fritz, FPDWC Commissioner District 5”
Mark Batinick
Mark Batinick
Former State House of Representatives - Illinois-97
Village of Plainfield
Village of Plainfield

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Petition created on July 7, 2021