The University of Illinois extension program is facing massive budget cuts.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich is holding funds for the extension program that amount to about $12 million, said State Rep. Bob Pritchard (R-Sycamore), although the money is already in the proposed 2008 budget.

The extension program helps run the county’s 4-H program and the cuts will be very detrimental.
“We’ve lost 50 percent of our revenue,” said John Horn, county director for the extension program in DeKalb County, 1350 West Prairie Drive, Sycamore.

The budget cuts are not limited to 4-H and affect the whole extension program.

“I’m concerned not only about the 4-H program, but the whole extension program in general,” Pritchard said.

The extension office has programs throughout the county such as the master gardener program, family nutrition programs and the Natural Resources Center located in Genoa’s Russell Woods Forest Preserve.

Peggy Doty, a natural resources educator for the extension program in DeKalb County is very concerned about the budget cuts.

“In order to run the program at the level it is at now, we need the funding,” Doty said.

The Natural Resources Center is currently seeing up to 6,000 children a year, with three employees to teach the children.

The Natural Resources Center could lose employees.

“It would be impossible to teach over 5,000 kids at a time,” Doty said. “We could stay open, but it wouldn’t be the same.”

Both Horn and Pritchard encourage contacting Blagojevich to have the funds released.

“It puts uncertainty in the extension office here,” Horn said. ”There is a very high priority for our office to keep programs.”

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