Summer 2001

Campton Township: $18 Million for Land

Sometimes an increased tax is a good investment. So voted the citizens of Campton Township. Campton is only the fourth township in the Chicago region to begin buying open land, said Jerome Johnson, executive director of the Garfield Farm Museum. "The voters spoke quite clearly and loudly in voting for not just the referendum," Johnson said, "but in agreeing to tax themselves to do it, and in voting in a full slate of trustees that supports open space."

Still, that doesn’t end the battle to keep the rural character of Kane County’s Campton Township. The next step, Johnson said, is to find people willing to sell their land, and that may not be as easy as it sounds. State law requires parcels of 50 acres or more and willing sellers, Johnson explained.

Fewer than 7,000 acres remain undeveloped out of the 20,000 acres in Campton Township. The stated goal during the campaign was to purchase 1,000 acres, and Johnson thinks that number is still very possible.

"Development pressures are extremely high," Johnson said. "Every township in Kane County should have 2,000 acres preserved, and Campton has about 300. We’re way behind, and the catch-up is going to be very difficult simply because of the rapid development, the extension of the commuter rail. But this referendum gives us an opportunity."

— Adam Wilson