Summer
2001
We
the People
When
in the course of human events it becomes necessary for one
people to speak out and be heard, to seize control of their
destiny, we as Americans have the freedom and good sense
to do so.
Consider,
for a moment, the people of Homer Glen, a brand-new town
(b. 4/17/01) in Will County populated by approximately 22,000
citizens of this great republic. The people of Homer Glen
have lived in a broad and rolling land of fields and woods,
far from the bustling city. The people of Homer Glen loved
their land, its open vistas and rural way of living. But
they felt threats on their borders, subdivisions marching
unchecked and unregulated across their (unincorporated)
land. Similar areas in other parts of the region had gradually
let pro-density towns annex more and more land, until there
was nothing left but the least attractive kinds of sprawl.
To
hold on to their values as a community, they needed to work
together in a formal democratic institution. To control
their destiny and save their way of life, the people of
Homer Glen needed to establish a different kind of government.
So they voted and won and formed a new "open lands"
kind of town (see our story about
their success and their plans).
Charting
our destiny is at the very foundation of our American political
system. Honoring, as it does, our passion for freedom, our
system is also an intellectual construct: it is rooted in
reason. And it is no longer reasonable for us to gobble
up land without regard for the consequences. It’s not
good for the cities, or the suburbs, or the countryside.
It is no longer reasonable to disregard the health and welfare
of our non-human neighbors,
to live in a way that only consumes natural resources and
does not replenish them.
Will
County is on the front lines of urban sprawl, but it is
not the only front line. McHenry County and Kane especially
face similar aggressive growth rates. Popula-tion and employment
forecasts for 2020 suggest that the Chicago Wilderness region
will sustain significant growth, perhaps 25 percent overall.
But, according to a report by the Openlands Project, developed
land could increase by 55 percent in the next 10 years alone
with Kane and Will Counties experiencing the greatest development
pressure.
The
people of some of the towns and counties surrounding Chicago
have begun to respond to these projections by voting for
candidates who support open lands and a better way of growing
their communities (see our victory stories starting with
McHenry Mandate).
So
it is here, in both older communities and in the new village
of Homer Glen, that our future is being scripted and sculpted.
Will this end in a kind of sprawl that works neither for
people nor the ecosystem? Or will we manage, as communities,
to grow smartly, sustainably?
Will
we continue on the path of unchecked, irresponsible growth?
Or will we manage, as communities, to retain those things
we cherish — open spaces, farms, prairies, oak woods,
and nature in the neighborhood? Chicago’s planting
wildlife-friendly trees on streets and in parks — and
even making space for nature on Navy Pier.
We
are at a special moment in world history — and we have
a lot to lose. Or we have something great to build. Chicago
Wilderness is leading the effort to put nature and humans
into the picture together. Healthy natural communities depend
utterly on the wise and caring intercession of people. Healthy
human communities depend equally on woods and fields, to
replenish our spirits as well as to cleanse the air and
water.
Who
can restore the balance? We the people.
Debra
Shore may be reached at editor@chicagowildernessmag.org.
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