State Lawmakers Voice Support For Public Access To DuPage River

PLAINFIELD, IL — Local lawmakers, including State Representative Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield), are voicing their support for public access to the DuPage River.

Following "reports of ambiguity on this issue," the lawmakers sent a joint letter expressing "support for any petition and/or clarifications that public use of the DuPage River cannot be denied."

Earlier this month, around the 4th of July weekend, issues surrounding the public's use of the DuPage River — which is a private body of water that the public doesn't have a right to use for recreation, representatives from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources confirmed with Patch — rose to prominence when it was made public that homeowners off the river filed complaints with companies that use the river for profit.

RELATED: 'Logic Would Say Keep It Open': Use Of DuPage River In Question

"The DuPage River is a beloved waterway in the Chicago suburbs," Batinick said about the letter in a statement released July 22. "I am committed to allowing public use of the DuPage River and would support related legislation on this matter. Clarification that the public cannot be denied access to this important part of our communities is needed."

The letter was signed by the following state senators and representatives:

Mark Batinick
State Representative, 97th District

Laura Ellman
State Senator, 21st District

Meg Loughran Cappel
State Senator, 49th District

Janet Yang Rohr
State Representative, 41st District

Terra Costa Howard
State Representative, 48th District

The letter, Batinick said, seeks the natural resource department's clarification because "for reasonable and navigable purposes, public use of the river cannot be denied."

Plainfield resident and outdoorsman Ralph Osuch also started a Change.org petition a few weeks ago to rally support for public access to the river. Since then, it has garnered more than 10,000 signatures with the goal of showing the "organizations and government bodies that are making these decisions that there are a lot of people that use the 28.3 mile DuPage River for recreational purposes and want to continue to do so for generations and generations."

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