Illinois enjoys a great heritage in hunting and trapping. Your support of our outdoor recreation programs is very important. All of us who enjoy spending time outdoors are aware of the key role sportsmen and women play in managing wildlife populations, conserving our natural resources, and protecting the environment. I look forward to working with you to expand outdoor opportunities in Illinois. -- Rod Blagojevich

This wonderfully shallow quote can be found on page one of the 2007-2008 Digest of Hunting and Trapping Regulations for the state of Illinois. I noticed it while browsing the digest this year, and while a similar (if not verbatim) declaration graces the handout every year, reading it this year filled me with a small flicker of rage not usually native to reading a hunting regulations manual. This year is different though.

This is the year that "Bag-o-Chips" as he is so often affectionately referred to on the Mint has proposed to cut one of the few state programs outside of infrastructure that I actually participate in. His office has decided to cut the controlled pheasant hunting program after this year which is the only opportunity many Illinois hunters get to get out and enjoy the activity they love... an activity many people have been doing their entire life. I'm not going to try to persuade anyone to adopt my views of the merits of hunting, the merits of this particular program, or even the merits of firearm ownership (A great shock probably to those that know me). I will simply express my disdain for the reasoning our esteemed governor gives for this cutback, an explanation which is simply an outright lie.

The governors office maintains that the program costs the state $1.3 million dollars a year to operate. The program consists of operations at three rookeries to raise the birds, and operations to transport and release the birds at a variety of state parks. What they don't disclose is that not one dollar of state money not collected directly from the hunters or sportsmen's pockets goes to fund the program. Not one cent.

Anywhere from thirty seven to forty thousand hunters buy permits in a given year at a cost of $15 a piece. All of this money goes directly to fund the program for a total of between $550,000 - $600,000. The remaining $700,000 to $750,000 needed to operate the program comes directly from excise taxes paid in the state when purchasing firearms, ammo, and other hunting equipment. Typically eleven percent. In order to make this cut palatable to taxpayers, the governor has run out the usual ruse that the program cut will save money for the state in these hard economic times. Another lie. The stated mandate of the program cut is that the employees will not be laid off, instead absorbed into other state programs... another win/win.

... Their salaries are paid for from the funds mentioned above, meaning that instead of turning the cutback into a surplus for the state (not possible to begin with) it actually turns into an extra shortfall. As the employees are absorbed into other programs, so do the costs of the employment including health care and salary.

I'm not that upset about the loss of the program. I will go out of state to hunt I guess... Just not as frequently. What really upsets me is that this is just another example from this administration of the worst in politics. Lies, misleading statements and double talk to further a personal or unstated agenda.

I marvel day after day watching the acts of this guy as he sleazes his way through my state and I wonder how people were duped into electing this confidence man in the first place.

We can do better than him. We need to do better. I don't know what else to say.