HENRY, Ill. — Illinois Soil and Water Conservation Districts (SWCDs) are among agriculture and conservation groups anxiously awaiting Gov. Patrick Quinn’s signature on a controversial gaming bill sitting on his desk – but as of press time, the governor wasn’t tipping his hand.

“Some of the talk is that the governor has never been supportive of (the gaming bill),” said Terry Bogner, board chair of the Marshall-Putnam SWCD in Henry. “A lot of SWCD directors have been writing personal letters to the governor’s office asking for support.”

That’s because the gaming bill, SB 1849, would provide some $12.5 million in funding for operations and salaries for the 97 SWCDs across Illinois, or approximately $100,000-$110,000 per year for each district, according to Bogner. He has met with district state representatives David Leitch, Darin LaHood and Sue Rezin to inform them of the importance of the bill to conservation efforts within the district.

“I’m not saying I’m a big advocate of gambling, but gambling is the only thing that we’ve been able to tie onto for revenue,” continued Bogner, who is also a local corn and soybean farmer. “We had always received our (funding) from the general revenue fund for the state, which is almost completely dried up.

“Four or five years ago, the Marshall-Putnam district was receiving between $80,000 and $85,000 per year in operating money. This year we are slated to get only around $41,000, and that money is basically coming from Partners in Conservation and not the general fund.”

The bill directs that the revenue for SWCDs would be generated from slot machines placed in horse racing tracks, which is a controversial component of the measure. With many SWCDs down to half- or part-time staff because of recent funding reductions, most districts would use the infusion of cash to hire or rehire staff. Any leftover funding would be used to help implement federal soil and water conservation efforts on the ground within the district.

“We implement a lot of federal programs, and if we don’t have the technical staff and the office staff, then federal dollars won’t get spent out here on the land, for land treatment and water quality,” Bogner said.

The Marshall-Putnam SWCD has laid off both a part-time technical advisor and an educator in recent years due to funding reductions. It operates with just two full-time employees, though Bogner considers the district lucky to have them. “A lot of SWCDs have only one employee, and some are only part-time,” he said.

Illinois SWCDs are currently funded at around $3 million per year, with the majority spent on health insurance, training and salaries. Only about $1 million is actually spent on conservation practices throughout the state.

Revenue created by expanded gambling under the bill would also be used to fund other agriculture-based entities such as 4-H, University of Illinois extension, county fairs, state historical sites and more.

The bill was passed by both legislative chambers on May 31 and was handed to Quinn on June 29. He has 60 days from that date to sign, veto or disregard the bill – a non-action that would in essence make the bill law.