La Salle County opposes renaming Starved Rock

A resolution opposing any name change for Starved Rock State Park sailed Thursday through the La Salle County Board.

The resolution termed Starved Rock a “tremendous asset” and bore its name more than a century “without controversy or complaint.” The County Board said any name change would be “unnecessary,” confusing and detrimental to tourism.

Board member Arratta Znaniecki, R-Ottawa, said the calls that she has received since the resolution passed out of committee overwhelmingly opposed a name change.

“It was just boom, boom, boom,” Znaniecki said. “I had so many calls to bring this from committee to [the] full board.”

That was the extent of the floor discussion. Chairman Don Jensen, R-Deer Park, called for ayes and nays, and the resolution passed by unanimous acclamation.

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources had said April 5 that the names of state parks and other IDNR units could be reevaluated following discussions with Native American groups. No such talks have taken place, and the IDNR has since insisted that there are no immediate plans to change names.

But the April announcement unleashed an ongoing backlash, and the La Salle County Board is the latest to join the opposition. On Monday, a county committee voted unanimously to advance a resolution urging the state to leave Starved Rock intact.

“I am very confident the full board will pass the resolution,” board member Beth Findley Smith, R-Somonauk, predicted Monday. “La Salle County residents have sent a strong message to all of us that this is the stance we need to take.”

Board member Tina Busch, R-Tonica, said she’s received calls from constituents as well as Native Americans who are steadfastly opposed to a name change.

“Apparently, [the IDNR hasn’t] done any investigating or anything on this name change,” Busch said.