The Forest Preserve District’s Board of Commissioners approved a $50 million general obligation bond issue at its monthly Board meeting on June 13. 

Bond sale proceeds will be used to fund a 2025-2030 Capital Improvement Program that will allow the District to preserve more green space for future generations and add access to open areas so people can reap the physical and mental benefits of being in nature.

The bond issue will provide $25 million for land preservation, $12 million for critical regional and local trail connections and the creation of new preserve access areas, and $13 million for habitat restoration. The interest rate for the bonds can’t exceed 5.5% and the bonds will be repaid over 20 years.

The Board’s vote gives authorization for the bonds to be sold in an amount not to exceed $50 million. The process will be overseen by Board President Annette Parker, Board Treasurer Sherry Newquist, Forest Preserve Executive Director Ralph Schultz, attorneys and bond underwriters. 

The amount of money property owners will pay in taxes in 2025 for the Forest Preserve District’s portion of their tax bill – which is around 1.5% of their total bills – will not increase as a result of the bond sale and the total will decrease from taxes paid in 2024.  

As an example, the owner of a $300,000 house will pay $95 dollars to the District in 2025, down from $116 in 2024. If the bonds hadn’t been approved, the homeowner would have paid $84, an $11 annual difference, based on Will County’s estimated equalized assessed valuation. The District waited until past bond issues were retired to propose the new bond issue so the tax rate would not increase.

Will County projects

Proceeds from the bond sale will be used for a variety of projects that are spelled out in the Capital Improvement Program. The money also will be used as the local match for grants, which will make local tax dollars stretch even further by securing federal grants designed to protect open space and improve transportation options. 

The goal is to preserve more than 1,000 acres with the portion of the bond sale that will be set aside for land acquisition. The parcels that will be considered for purchase from willing sellers have been pre-screened and approved by the Forest Preserve’s Citizen’s Advisory Committee. 

Projects will be located throughout Will County so all residents can benefit from new trail segments, trail connections, improved facilities and expanding open space. 

Here are some of the highlights. 

• DuPage River Trail – Weber Road Connection ($5 million, 2026): DuPage River Trail segments north and south of the river will be connected. The new path will be constructed on property owned by the City of Naperville east of Weber Road. The path will connect trail systems in the City of Naperville and the Village of Bolingbrook as well as the Forest Preserve’s Whalon Lake Preserve and Hidden Oaks Preserve including Hidden Lakes Trout Farm. Engineering has been initiated and this project requires a 20% local match.
• Wolf’s Crossing Road Trail Connection ($3 million, 2026): Working in partnership with the City of Aurora, this project will connect the trail systems of the City of Aurora, City of Naperville, Forest Preserve and the Naperville and Plainfield park districts. Engineering has been initiated and this project requires a 20% local match.
• Veterans Memorial Trail – 159th to 135th Street ($12.5 million, 2027): This trail extension will complete the northern segment of the Veterans Memorial Trail and will be constructed in partnership with the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority. Engineering has been initiated and the project requires a 20% local match.
• Veterans Memorial Trail – Spring Creek Greenway Trail to US Route 6 ($4 million, 2028): This project will complete the southern segment of the Veterans Memorial Trail and will be constructed in partnership with the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority and the Village of New Lenox. Engineering has been initiated and this project requires a 20% local match.
• Riverview Farmstead Loop Trail and Amenities ($3.1 million, 2027): This project entails the construction of a one-mile segment of the DuPage River Trail and an adjacent 1.5-mile loop and other associated trail amenities. Habitat restoration and development will occur simultaneously. This project is planned to be supported by Open Space Land Acquisition Development (OSLAD) grants and Illinois Bikeway grants available through the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
• Jackson Creek Greenway Trail and Access ($3 million, 2029): This project will establish the first trail and access area in the Jackson Creek Greenway. Habitat restoration and development will occur simultaneously. This project is planned to be supported by both OSLAD and Illinois Bikeway grants available through the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
• Forked Creek Greenway Trail ($6.4 million, 2028): This project will link the City of Wilmington to the Forked Creek Preserve – Ballou Road Access and Wauponsee Glacial Trail. The project is eligible for state and federal grants.
• Plum Creek Nature Center Improvements ($1.5 million, 2026) – Plum Creek Nature Center was last renovated in 2002. This project entails exhibit design, fabrication, and installation as well as limited interior renovations and upgrades.
• Wauponsee Glacial Trail Paving – Laraway to Hoff Road ($3.5 million, 2030): This project entails the replacement of an existing limestone surface with an asphalt surface to improve accessibility and maintenance. Accommodation in the trail design will allow continued equestrian use of the trail. 
• Habitat Restoration/Agricultural Land Conversion ($19.4 million, 2026-2032): The Forest Preserve has a long and successful history of managing our highest quality natural areas, restoring degraded habitats, and creating new healthy native landscapes through agricultural land conversion. The Capital Improvement Program includes funding to create more than 800 acres of new habitat through agricultural land conversion and to restore greater biodiversity to 1,700 acres of existing degraded natural areas.
• Land Preservation ($27 million, 2025-2030): In April 2024, the Forest Preserve’s Citizens Advisory Committee completed development of a Land Preservation Plan outlining more than 12,250 acres across the county that should be the focus of a future land acquisition plan. This investment could preserve up to 1,100 acres or more of these sites, expanding the Forest Preserve’s existing holdings to maximize management efforts and promote equitable access to nature. The land preservation program would continue preservation efforts in the DuPage River, Jackson Creek, Spring Creek, and Plum Creek greenways along with the natural resource rich Braidwood Sands Area in southwestern Will County.

Project estimates shown in the list above include projected state and federal grant dollars. In trail-related projects, those grants can cover up to 80% of the total cost. Other projects are ideal partnership projects with local municipalities and park districts. As in the past, efforts would be made to secure these and other dollars to offset project costs or expand visitor opportunities and extend the reach of the plan further.