FEBRUARY 2009 TRAIL NEWS

Happy Valentines Day & Happy Trails to Everyone from Bev


BEV IS HOPEFUL NOW THAT WE HAVE PAT QUINN FOR GOVERNOR. He definitely has a BIG JOB on his hands trying to repair all the damage incurred over the last 6 years. WE NEED TO GIVE HIM OUR SUPPORT.

ANOTHER PLUS FOR GREENWAYS & TRAILS comes with our new US Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood.


ITC MEMBERS ARE ACTIVE AND TOTALLY SUPPORTIVE:

  • ITC received membership renewals for $100 each from Robert Murray in Chicago, William Lee in Barrington & Pat Cosgrove in Round Lake Beach. Julie & Bob Colby closed out the Friends of the New Hope Trail and sent ITC the remaining $126.72. Hopefully one of these days someone in the Danville/Champaign/Urbana area will get another group going and we can return the favor. THANK YOU EVERYONE SO VERY MUCH.

  • Peter Botzek from Chicago sent Bev a funny card with a dog unrolling all the paper off of the toilet paper roll and said it was like the recently impeached Governor from the State of Illinois who thought he could do no wrong. Peter had just returned from Florida where he had put 100 miles on his bicycle in January. Bev is spending time on her bicycle in Florida.

  • Julie Colby from Danville e-mailed Bev that the friend who has died was Dannie Meeker. She shared that they had spent the day with Dannie’s wife and had chilli along with some other friends. They also sent ITC the remainder of the funds from the Friends of the New Hope Trail. PEOPLE & ORGANIZATIONS COME & GO. IT IS SAD.

  • Phil De Buhr from Downers Grove e-mailed Bev that he would be happy to received TRAIL NEWS via e-mail.

  • Deborah Fagan at DuPage County shared that she was also having an exhibit at the Green Transportation Summit in Lisle and looked forward to spending time with Bev Check out the DuPage County website at www.dupageco.org/bikeways

  • JoAnn Fraser from Washington, IL. Shared the news that she would be retiring from Catapiller Feb. 1 and Bev could e-mail TRAIL NEWS to her home address. 31.5 years. WOW. JoAnn has been running on trails even after a heart attack in 06 and looks forward to a more balanced life style and some traveling. TRAILS PROVIDE A PLACE TO RELAX.

  • Gordon James from Elgin had a full e-mail box and could not get his TRAIL NEWS. Bev sent it via postal mail.

  • Sylvia Kellogg from BRATS in Wheaton sent Bev an announcement from American Planning Assn. About their inclusion of alternative forms of TRANSPORTATION such as WALKING & BIKING. I think most of us figured that out a long time ago. Sylvia is looking for ways to restructure BRATS. Whatever she does…I know…will be GREAT. The next meeting is February 10 at Wheaton Park District Community Center. BRATS ARE THE BEST!!

  • John Kremer from McHenry County Conservation Dist. E-mailed Bev that a representative would like to attend the next Greenways & Trails Meeting in Springfield. Bev e-mailed him the information he needed.

  • Phil Meyers from Durand renewed his membership and said he had a good bike ride on the C & O Canal.

  • Bruce Nelson from Burr Ridge thanked Bev for her efforts on behalf of the trails and bicycling. He shared an interesting web site www.crazyguyonabike.com that you might like to check out. Bev has time to do that in Florida.

  • Fred Siebert from Palatine sent Bev his updated e-mail address. IS YOUR ADDRESS UP TO DATE AT ITC??

  • Richard Steljes from Springfield sent Bev his new postal address.

  • Al Sturges from Park Forest shared his anticipation of the next LIB meeting in Effingham on March 7, 2009.

  • Gabby Greg Valent from Chicago is not pleased with changes that have been made at CBF. He is concerned that they did not seek out direction from the membership. MEMBERS ARE IMPORTANT TO ITC.

  • George Wight from Wight Consulting in Crystal Lake asked Bev to combine his personal membership and his business membership. Previously he maintained two memberships in ITC. Bev will do this.

  • Ron Ziemba from Chillocothe asked Bev if ITC is a 501c3 tax deductible organization. ITC IS A 501C3 GROUP.


ITC BOARD MEMBERS ARE BUSY WORKING FOR YOU

  • Tim Bartlett from Urbana Park District will be filling the Board Vacancy in May after Bob Hargis moves to Ohio.

  • George & Sandi Burrier from Morton are also in Florida somewhere between Naples & Miami. Bev will find them.

  • Bob Hargis from Charleston will be moving to Ohio the end of March. He will be GREATLY missed. He has been the impetus behind several Illinois trails. Bob reports that the Effingham Trail Meeting was a report on progress from last year. All property easements for the phase 1 trail from Calico Rd. to Nazarene Church Rd. have been obtained. All property owners understood the value of a trail in the community. Bob reports that the Kickapoo Trail Meeting is working on an agreement with CSX to obtain a right of way. TRAILS MAKE COMMUNITIES BETTER PLACES TO LIVE.

  • David Landeweer from Arlington Heights forwarded a request from Steve Buchtel for letters of support to acquire $4 million for closing the Burnham Greenway Gap. ITC supports this project to complete the link to Hegewisch and the City of Chicago’s bike network and lakefront. TRAIL SYSTEMS PROVIDE ALTERNATIVE TRANSPORTATION.

  • Bruce Perry from Port Byron will be covering the GIT Meeting at Starved Rock on Feb. 9th at 10:30 a.m.


TRAIL GRANT APPLICATIONS are accepted from Jan. 1 through March 1 at http://dnr.state.il.us/grants or 217-782-7481


OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOU IN 2009

  • Feb 10 - BRATS Meeting - 7:30 - 9:00 p.m. @ Wheaton Park District Community Center

  • Feb 28 - March 1, 2009 - Deerfield Outdoor Show at Deerfield High School, 1959 N. Waukegan Rd. 224-632-3465 for more.

  • March 18 – Environmental Lobby Day in Springfield. See envirobulletin@lists.ilenviro.org for more information.

  • April 18 - Long Prairie Trail Cleanup - Meeting in Poplar Grove at 9:00 a.m. Continental Breakfast & Bags provided

  • April 19 - Go Green! DuPage County Forest Preserve Dist. event at Fullerburg Woods from Noon - 4:00 p.m.

  • April 23 - Earth Day Benefit Dinner sponsored by The Conservation Foundation

  • April 25 – Great Western Trail &The Illinois Prairie Path Annual Cleanup Day frndsgrtwstntrl@aol.com will get info.

  • May 3 - Green Earth Fair sponsored by the Conservation Foundation

  • May 4 – Green Earth Fair @ 10S404 Knoch Knolls Rd. in Naperville. 1-5:00 p.m. See www.GreenEarthInstitute.org

  • May 16 - DuPage River Sweep sponsored by The Conservation Foundation

  • June 6 - NATIONAL TRAILS DAY

  • June 14-20 - GITAP Grand Illinois Trail & Parks Ride - Contact Chuck Oestreich at 309-788-1845 or oestreich@qconline.com


ITC ACTIONS IN JANUARY INCLUDE:

  1. January 1 – Created, copied & distributed JANUARY TRAIL NEWS to 231 ITC Members & Groups

  2. January 4 – ITC mailed letter to IDOT responding to a request for input regarding roadway repairs in Bureau County.

  3. January 5 – Received a notice from Marla Gursh at IDNR regarding a change in the Route 66 Trail Executive Council Meeting to February 19 in Pontiac at 1:00 p.m. BEV WILL ASK BOARD MEMBERS TO SUB FOR HER.

  4. January 6 – Received e-mail from Diane Banta at National Park Service to “Keep up the GREAT work in 2009”.

  5. January 7 – Received e-mail from web manager Jim Gehrke that he has been hibernating. Check out our ITC web site.

  6. January 8 – Bev took the ITC exhibit to a “Green Transportation Summit Meeting” in Lisle. All kinds of information about asphalt, road treatment projects, swale treatments as well as environmental information was available. It was definitely worth the trip. Bev shared information with Moorings about Insurance Liability coverage for the Illinois Prairie Path. A visit with some ITC members including Sylvia Kellogg was exciting. ITC MEMBERS ARE THE BEST.

  7. January 9 – Bev shared information that she picked up at the Green Transportation Summitt with Todd Hill at IDOT.

  8. January 12 – Received a reply from Jay Behnke at State Testing LLC that he will mail her a brochure on Asphalt

  9. January 14 – Completed an evaluation on the DuPage Environmental Summitt. IT WAS TOTALLY GOOD.

  10. January 16 – Received notice from George Bellovics regarding the next meeting of the GIT Council. It will be held at Starved Rock Visitors Center on February 9 at 10:30 a.m. George included a FANTASTIC map of the Grand Illinois Trail with gaps circled. GIT has accomplished SO MUCH. ITC BOARD MEMBER BRUCE PERRY WILL ATTEND.

  11. January 21 – Bev attended the Greenways & Trails Council Meeting at IDNR in Springfield in the morning and the IABWGC Council Meeting at IDOT in the afternoon. EVERYTHING IS IN LIMBO DUE TO GOVERNOR. Bev was totally frustrated with the lack of movement anywhere. She was totally depressed when she left other than comments by Megan Holt regarding Safe Routes to Schools Progress and support by Diane Banta at the National Park Service. Ed Barsotti from LIB continues to press on in spite of the status of the State of Illinois. Ed is planning to attend a summit meeting in Washington DC in March and hopefully meet with the new Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood.

  12. January 21 – ITC received the Recreational Trails & Transportation Enhancements forwarded to her by Dick Westfall at IDNR. See http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/rectrails/news/jan2009/ for more information.

  13. January 23 – Received the Envirobulletin that Gov. Blagojevich announced his choice of former State Rep. Kurt Granberg (Carlyle) for the IDNR director post. IEC expressed strong opposition to Grandberg’s appointment because of lack of experience in the natural resources field.

  14. January 26 – Bev e-mailed Megan Holt at Safe Routes to Schools to commend her for her work at IDOT.

  15. January 27 – Bev again received encouragement from Diana Banta. We will meet to work out some strategy.

  16. January 29 – Riverfront Development Meeting in Belvidere notice was received. Bev will check on progress in March.

  17. January 29 – Received a Friends of the Parks E-Newsletter for February 2009. Call 312-857-2757 for information.

  18. January 29 – Received a request from Amy Madigan at IDNR for a list of upcoming meetings and events.

  19. January 29 – Received information from Illinois Enviromental Council re LOBBY DAY in Springfield. Bev will go.

  20. January 30 – Heard the news of the appointment of PAT QUINN to Governor of Illinois. BEV IS HOPEFUL NOW.


ITC HAS NEWSLETTERS TO SHARE FROM: McHenry County Bicycle Club, The Confluence, Trailnet, Winnebago Co. Forest Preserve, National Park Service & OUTDOOR ILLINOIS. Subscribe at 1-800-726-3249.


CONTACT ILLINOIS TRAILS CONSERVANCY at www.ILLTrails.com Contact Bev about anything mentioned in TRAIL NEWS. E-Mail her at ITC bebomoore@aol.com for info. Illinois Trails Conservancy is P.O. Box 10, Capron, IL. 61012. Cell phone is 815-289-1024.