Another Legislative Session Ends with No Action on Paddler’s Access to Illinois Rivers
By Scott Hays
Despite a strong effort involving the re-introduction of a companion bill designed to clarify that Illinois’ many rivers rightfully belong to our citizens and not to landowners owning property along their banks, no action was taken on our legislative proposals on public access to Illinois rivers again this year.
This session, our friends at the Illinois Chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers – who have been a leader in public river access in other states – shepherded the introduction of HB 5165, which was drafted to potentially address some concerns by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and the Illinois Farm Bureau. Both have remained firmly opposed to making any legislative changes that would clarify that our rivers are rightfully owned by the people. Both hold fast to the incorrect argument that such legislative changes would be an unlawful “taking” of what many landowners consider to be their personal “private property”.
HB5165 was given a favorable vote out of the Agriculture and Conservation Committee, but the sense of sponsor Larry Walsh (D) Joliet, was that it would not get a floor vote unless support was forthcoming from IDNR. It was not.
Sponsor Walsh redrafted the bill to merely create a “Public Waters Access Task Force” to open a discussion among all parties with the goal of creating a new bill to address the issue. This bill was given near-unanimous approval by the House, but never made it through a committee vote nor to a floor vote in the Senate before the session ended.
If you care to review the bill’s journey, you can review that on the General Assembly website here:
Our other bill, HB1873, was never referred out of the House Rules Committee, the first step in the legislative process. Many advocates set aside prioritizing this bill due to the continued opposition from IDNR.
At this point, the IPC is considering our options, we have recently joined forces with the legal team at American Whitewater, a national organization that has extensive experience navigating river access issues in other states so their help and support will be most welcome. We are considering our options for using the courts as well.
Meanwhile at IDNR, the previous Director, Natalie Phelps Finnie has resigned and has been replaced with Interim Director Renee Snow, who was promoted from IDNR’s legal department. The IPC expects few immediate changes in the stance of IDNR on river access issues until a permanent Director is installed, but perhaps with a new Director more committed to the recreational mission of the Agency, they can support our legislation in the 2027 legislative session.
Please continue to support the IPC and more importantly, stay attuned to new developments as we continue our efforts to restore the public’s right to recreate on all Illinois rivers.