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Decatur and it is clear that additional corrective measures are 
demanded. 
At the same time, | see no conclusive evidence that maximum 
inundation of Allerton Park is the final corrective. 
As a long time conservationist | am committed to the ideal of 
preserving such truly rare natural laboratories as Allerton 
Park. And it matters little whether they are erased inch by 
inch or in one swoop. Once they are gone they are gone 
forever. 
| would also like to note that the Ford Foundation has just 
announced the availability of 3.9 million dollars in grants to 
advance the science of ecology and to “rescue,” if you will, 
those natural habitats confronted with man’s exploitation. 
Allerton Park, in my opinion, is such an area. 
At the same time, as a public official, | am closely in tune with 
the real and often aching needs of the urban centers of Illinois. 
And | am in total sympathy with those needs. For such rapidly 
expanding communities as Decatur, delay often means decay. 
Certainly, all parties have suffered, in one form or another, 
from six years of devisive inaction. 
It is now apparent that all sides in this issue are committed to 
an absolute victory for their particular viewpoint. It is, there- 
fore, equally apparent that: 
1. There must be a compromise. 
2. Or the project must be abandoned. 
3. In either case an immediate decision is 
mandated to avoid what will soon be a 
decade of delay and debate. 
| suggest that those dedicated to the preservation of Allerton 
Park determine a final position, one that considers limited 
inundation of the grounds. 
| would suggest that the City of Decatur consider scaling down 
its proposals and, at the same time, look to the new technology 
now emerging in the science of water quality control and 
treatment. 
It would then seem prudent for selected representatives of 
these groups, with the authority of spokesmen, to meet jointly 
with the State and Federal officials involved in this project and 
achieve a final disposition based upon flexibility of position 
and mutuality of interests. 
| think this meeting should be attended by all segments of the 
local press, held in Allerton Park, and convened as quickly as 
thoughtful reconsideration permits. 
The current impasse is disruptive and detrimental to the overall 
interests of central Illinois. 
Sincerely, 
/s/ WILLIAM G. CLARK 
Attorney General 
State of Illinois 
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