Legislation submitted to establish Prairie du Rocher National Park
THE CASE FOR A NATIONAL PARK–Pictured on Labor Day 2020 is Congressman Mike Bost and Randolph County Economic Development Director Chris Martin. Bost had agreed to hand carry to Washington D.C. copies of the report making a case for the Prairie du Rocher French Colonial National Historical Park in Randolph County.
Who would have imagined that Randolph County could someday be home to the first national park in Illinois?
It isn’t something in most people’s everyday thinking, but that became more likely this past week as Senators Tammy Duckworth and Dick Durbin introduced S4525, A Bill to Establish Prairie du Rocher French Colonial National Historical Park, to the United States Senate on Wednesday, July 13. Congressman Mike Bost introduced similar legislation on Thursday, July 14 in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Once the legislation is passed by the House and Senate and signed by President Joe Biden, Randolph County will be home to a national park. The first national park in Illinois.
So, how did we get here?
For more information, please see this week’s print edition.