Work at Matthiessen State Park annex may begin in 2025

The director of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources hopes construction on the Matthiessen State Park annex will begin next year.

During a Zoom conference on park safety Monday, hosted annually by state Sen. Sue Rezin, R-Morris, IDNR Director Natalie Phelps Finnie said she hopes to soon see development of some of the Matthiessen land acquired from Buzzi Unicem.

“I don’t know when shovels will be in the ground,” Finnie said, “but I’m hopeful for 2025.”

As previously reported, IDNR has mapped out the 2,629 acres into eight zones. One will be annexed to the far western end of Starved Rock State Park featuring a scenic overlook of the Illinois River. To the south are parcels to be annexed into Matthiessen, one of which will include a 200 site campground, park office and a BMX riding area.

New areas to attract visitors would be welcome because Starved Rock is bracing for a big summer. Site Superintendent Alvin Harper reported during the Zoom conference park attendance has ticked up thanks to a mild finish to winter.

“With this nice spring, we’ve had extremely busy month in April,” Harper said, reporting a recent weekend that drew 40,000 visitors – a volume comparable to Independence Day.

Harper said park staff have added large trash receptacles and portable toilets in place ahead of Memorial Day weekend, at which point attendance is likely to surge.

Traffic has not been a problem. Save for some pavement repairs coming in May at the interchange of Route 178 and Interstate 80, there are no major road repairs planned in and around Utica. The traffic circle installed at Route 178 and U.S. 6 is getting rave reviews from Utica first responders.

“The traffic has been fantastic and the roundabout has been working very well,” Utica Fire Chief Ben Brown said.

With big crowds come safety issues, however, and here the news was mixed.

On the plus side, the influx of families has meant more on-trail, minor-injury accidents as opposed to catastrophic falls more from the cliffs.

On the downside, IDNR Conservation Police Sgt. Phil Wire reported an increased number of missing person and/or suicide calls.

Starved Rock is in the process of updating signage mounted near the cliff edges. The signs direct the despondent to where they can seek help. Wire also said Conservation Police are looking into acquiring license-plate reading cameras to facilitate the search for missing and at-risk persons.

“It will be a good tool in the future,” Wire said.

Suicides are, however, an issue at state parks and not just at Starved Rock.

“Suicides in general are up and we do, unfortunately, see suicides at parks across the state,” Finnie said.

Keeping the parks safe means more off-road work for Conservation Police. Eighteen officers have trained in all-terrain vehicle operations.

Conservation Police could use some reinforcements, though. Finnie said the state is trying to keep Conservation Police salaries and benefits in line with what the state police are offering in an era when recruitment remains challenging.

“We just need three times as many (Conservation officers),” Rezin said.

“We’re working on it,” Finnie said.