Sierra Club’s Livable Lake County Campaign hailed an important milestone in February when Gov. J.B. Pritzker included $1 million in his proposed state budget for the Lake County Greenway conservation project.

This win comes after a decades-long local movement to prevent construction of the Rt. 53 Tollway Extension—and then a strong push to preserve the allotted land as a natural area.

Under the governor’s proposal, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources would receive $1 million to prepare a master land use plan to preserve the 12-mile corridor in central Lake County as open space with public access.

Transforming the now-defunct Route 53 Tollway property into a state park or greenway was the recommendation of a 2022 state task force. The task force included local and regional elected officials, state department representatives, and representatives from the Sierra Club, Openlands and the Midwest Sustainability Group.

For more information about the Livable Lake County campaign, contact Staff Organizer Sam Beard.

Photo by Robert Kruzic for the Green Corridor Photo Contest.