Prairie State Wire

Illinois Department of Natural Resources Chief of Staff Kristin DiCenso recently testified at the Senate Tourism and Hospitality Committee hearing.

DiCenso presented the agency’s challenges and current situation. Specifically, how COVID-19 has impacted the department. She told the committee that “so many things were unclear, we as an agency knew we had to act quickly to make sure the safety of our citizens was ensured.”

“That meant fully closing state parks, fish and wildlife areas, recreational areas, and historic sites,” she said. “This was not an easy decision to make ... but looking back we know we made the right decision as we saw other local state and federal agencies grapple with large crowds in their parks or were forced to close their sites due to overcrowding.

The agency opted to slowly reopen since the first day of May last year, reopening 60 sites. Safety concerns were met with handwashing facilities at the sites, and rules that staff and visitors maintain social distancing and wear face coverings. Despite the restrictions and shutdown, she said the agency saw the number of visitors increase to nearly 2 million. Despite this good news, which the agency expects to continue throughout the remainder of the year, it is challenged by staffing concerns.  

“We get a lot of complaints from not only the general public but legislators about staffing at sites,” DiCenso said. “If you want our sites staffed up, please help us. We cannot have one site superintendent managing four sites and that's what we're doing now, it doesn't make sense. It's not providing the best experience for our constituents and for those who come out of state to visit our parks. Our parks are free. Most surrounding states are not, so we have to ensure the best service to our constituents and right now we're not doing that because we can't, we don't have enough staff.”

She shared that when she began working at the department in 2003, its headcount was more than 1,700, but the current workforce is only at 1,170.

“Keep in mind in 2003 we had a little over 300 sites just of our own, and since then we've taken on the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency and historic sites and we have about 400 sites now with less staff,” DiCenso said. “It’s very difficult to manage.”

She said that increased state funding could help the department address staffing shortages. The appropriation to IDNR for the upcoming fiscal year is unchanged from the previous year at approximately $40.3 million.

DiCenso applauded her team, saying that “our staff got creative using drive-thru registration methods or even using local radio frequencies to announce blind winners so we didn't have crowds congregating."

Later on, an app was developed allowing users to acquire licenses, check regulations, and access contact information for conservation police, among other advantages. “Feedback from the app has been great,” DiCenso said.