In an effort to ensure safety and upkeep at Starved Rock State Park, State Senator Sue Rezin (R-Morris) is sponsoring legislation that would allow the Illinois Department of Natural Resources to implement a parking fee. Senate Bill 1310 passed the Senate Environment and Conservation Committee Thursday.
“Due to the large amount of visitors at Starved Rock, the park has had trouble keeping up on maintenance projects and ensuring safety to its visitors,” said Sen. Rezin. “This would be a very minimal parking fee that would help the park stay clean, maintain its trails, and provide additional parking.”
Sen. Rezin noted that Starved Rock State Park sees well over two million visitors annually, and if it were a national park, it would rank 11th in the amount of visitors it sees.
“We are so fortunate to have such a beautiful park in our region,” said Sen. Rezin. “We must do what we can to maintain this asset and keep it attractive so that visitors continue to want to come here.”
Fees collected under SB 1310 can only go toward infrastructure and public safety purposes.
SB 1310 now heads to the full Senate for a vote.