​My name is Brad Schultz  and I am writing to you, asking for your help with exclusion of Jeeps and Trucks at The Cliff’s Insane Terrain Off-road Park per IDNR grant rules. The reasons to these specific grant rules, as I understand, are that Jeeps and Trucks inhibit OHV use and do not financially contribute to the grant fund. I will debunk this thought and have a mutual viable solution.

​First on the thought of Jeeps and Truck inhibiting OHV… The Cliff’s have been open since 2004 with thousands of OHV customers sharing the trails with Jeeps and Trucks. There has never been an injury with an OHV customer and the larger vehicles, and most customers enjoy watching the larger vehicles. Also, there are several parks in surrounding states such as Indiana that allow all to ride together and have no issues. An example would be The Badlands Off-road Park in Attica, Indiana that has been open for over 20 years.

​Next would be the financial contribution to the grant. The grant is funded by a $ _______ registration fee and an $11.00 OHV State sticker. The biggest complaint I have heard is the Jeeps and Trucks do not contribute to this fund. My suggestion would be that a special sticker be sold for Jeeps and Trucks with the price of $50.00 to make up for the size and lack of original contribution. With the previous numbers I have stated, a normal OHV would contribute $86.00 in a 5-year period. With a $50.00 Jeep and Truck sticker, they would contribute $250.00 in a 5-year period, more than making up for the size and lack of original contribution.

​Lastly, I would suggest that the allowance of Jeeps and Trucks be based on the grant’s parks discretion. Certain parks may not want the upkeep or feel their park is set up for the larger vehicles. The benefit to the other grant parks would be that they are not forced to allow Jeeps and Trucks but would be helped by the extra funds into the grant program.

​In conclusion, the State of Illinois is losing money to other states by not allowing Jeeps and Trucks and the grant is losingextra funding that could be used to promote more OHV usage, bringing in more tourism money to the state of Illinois. By removing the Jeeps and Trucks from The Cliff’s, the city of Marseilles and Seneca are going to lose revenue hurting more small local businesses that are already struggling after COVID-19. Other local businesses that rely on the Jeeps and Trucks at the Cliff’s would lose their customer base. The Cliff’s has operated for over 15 years with Jeeps and Trucks sharing the trails with OHV customers proving that Jeeps and Trucks do not inhibit OHV usage and would only further benefit the grant program.