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As Budget Shrinks, Park Maintenance Suffers

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Aug 2, 2008 3:52 pm US/Central

As Budget Shrinks, Park Maintenance Suffers

CHICAGO (AP) ― State park directors say Illinois' park system is suffering from years of budget cuts.

Parks have lost staff and cut back hours of operation. And maintenance is sometimes kept to a minimum.

Things look even gloomier now that Gov. Rod Blagojevich has cut more than $9 million in state park funding.

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources has lost more than a third of its funding and a quarter of its staff since 2004.

The budget for 2009 is $68.8 million. That's down from $108 million five years ago.

The department will employ 1,420 people in 2009, down from 1,885 in 2004.

Visitors complain grass is several feet high in spots in some parks. Picnic tables haven't been painted and fire pits are rusting.

(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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