12021-03-02T09:46:21-06:00Kate Flynn89ab0aeaf9441ebcfe2d9d020d3b00b0ffd82873138Large group walks, including those by Perkins' Saturday Afternoon Walking Club, helped demonstrate the need for natural spaces in the midst of a growing county.Forest Preserve District of Cook County records (MSFPDC09), FPDCC_00_01_0002_030, box 0-1-2, item 30, Special Collections & University Archives, University of Illinois Chicago Library.plain2023-09-15T15:24:55-05:00Dan Harpereff3db32ed95b3efe91d381826e2c10c145cd452
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12021-01-25T12:11:11-06:00Back to the Drawing Board7plain2023-11-03T11:27:18-05:00After the disappointment of 1905, Dwight Perkins immediately embarked on a plan to lobby the General Assembly to pass another, more clearly written, forest preserve law.
The lobbying campaign took a while. At that time, the General Assembly convened only once every two years. That practice prevented swift action by lawmakers, especially when they had more pressing issues to consider, such as the state’s budget. They nevertheless took the time to hear testimony about the forest preserve proposition from state, county, and city leaders in 1907 and scheduled more hearings for the following winter.
At the same time that lawmakers considered new legislation, Perkins continued to cultivate public interest in the forests. He invited citizens to participate in a “Saturday Afternoon Walking Club” that sponsored weekly nature outings. The members of this club took excursions away from the bustle of Chicago’s city life to explore the land along the Des Plaines River. Numerous photographs, later used to promote the campaign for the forest preserves, depicted these nature walkers traipsing across farms and fields, climbing over fences, and observing the area’s rich plant and animal life.