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THE NATURAL RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT BOND ACT 
There has been, of recent years, an increased concern on the part of the general 
public with the quality of our environment - the cleanliness of water and air, 
the effects of pesticides upon our fauna, the availability of space for outdoor 
recreation, the beauty of the countryside, the preservation of natural areas 
and the effect of crowding upon the human mind and spirit. This concern has not 
been without influence upon our elected officials, particularly in the area of 
quality of our water resources. 
At the Federal level, a number of water pollution control acts have gone on the 
books - the various conferences to "Save Our Lake’! Michigan are one result. At 
the State level, a wide ranging plan for the management of the water resources 
of the State, developed through the coordinated efforts of nine State agencies, 
was completed in 1967 after some 3% years of research. The resulting report, 
‘Water For Illinois - A Plan For Action! resulted in Governor initiated legis- 
lation enacted with bipartisan support in 1967 and amended in 1968, 
A Natural Resources Development Board" has been created, the membership of which 
consists of the directors of those State agencies which have obligations in the 
area of water resources and environmental control. This Board has been given the 
duty to plan, review projects, make recommendations to the General Assembly, 
advise local governmental units and generally administer and supervise programs 
for the conservation, development and proper use of the water resources of our 
State. Specifically, this Board is given the responsibility for administering 
all programs authorized by the general Assembly for which funds are appropriated 
from the Natural Resources Development Fund. 
This sounds great - but wait, one step remains. The "Natural Resources Develop- 
ment Fund'' does not now exist. What we do have is an Act, the "Natural Resources 
Development Bond Act" enacted concurrently with the Act that created the "Natu- 
ral Resources Development Board’, which authorizes the issuance and sale of 
bonds of the State of Illinois for $1 billion to provide funds. The State has 
developed a program, the machinery for funding has been established. The next 
step is up to you. The bond issue must be approved by a majority of the voters 
at the November 5 election. You cannot avoid your responsibility - a failure 
to vote is a "NO" vote. 
The bond issue is designed to: 
To aid in securing adequate curative and preventative water and air 
pollution control now. 
To aid in providing adequate pure water supplies for domestic use 
in municipalities throughout the State. 
To insure the availability of an adequate supply of pure water for 
the future needs of Illinois. 
To provide incentives for industry to locate or expand in Illinois 
because of the availability of good water for industry and its 
employees. 
To provide water-based recreational areas for both urban and rural 
populations. 
