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Illinois

BRINGING THE OUTDOORS CLOSER TO HOME IN 2026 AND BEYOND

Access to nature isn’t a luxury; it’s essential. You make it possible for Trust for Public Land to protect and create community-centered outdoor spaces that improve health and wellness, increase climate resilience, and strengthen social connections. Across Illinois, modest investments are generating outsized

their ancestors’ resilience in Reconstruction-era America. In

impacts in access to open space and safeguarding

Angola, we are advancing a proposed trail with residents of

landscapes with deep historical roots. In the last year, we

Fox Lake that will honor the story of a historic Black resort.

have partnered with local communities to:

Each effort reflects our shared commitment to support both

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people and the places that matter most to them.

Create welcoming gathering spaces in under-resourced areas like Clark Park in suburban Riverdale where residents lack access to quality parks.

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Expand opportunities for outdoor recreation along the Major Taylor Trail that foster social connection on the Southside of Chicago.

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Advance a green infrastructure project at Nuestra Plaza in Little Village to combat flooding and engage the

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As we celebrate all we have accomplished, there is more work to be done. The need for equitable access to nature continues to grow, and so do the challenges and opportunities facing our health, climate, and communities. With your continued support, we can rise to meet this moment.

community.

Thank you for joining us as we connect everyone to the

Protect culturally significant places that keep our shared

outdoors.

history alive through storytelling in New Philadelphia. We are also growing our work into Indiana. In Indianapolis, we are supporting descendants of Southside US Colored Troop Coalition who are working to preserve the legacy of

Sincerely, Caroline O’Boyle Associate Vice President, Illinois

Green Spaces, Healthy Places: Increasing Access in Illinois Thanks to donors like you, TPL is leading a nationwide movement to bring high-quality green spaces to everyone. Access to the outdoors is a fundamental human need; communities are stronger, healthier, and more connected when people can get outside and engage with nature and each other. Yet those who stand to benefit the most from green spaces often lack critical infrastructure and access. Decades of disinvestment and resource constraints have left many Illinois communities with underutilized or inaccessible gathering spaces. Because of your partnership, we are closing longstanding gaps in park quality to ensure that all residents—regardless of income or zip code—can benefit from safe, well-maintained public spaces. In the village of Riverdale, Clark Park is a quarter-mile linear park adjacent to commuter railroad tracks. Despite 5,600 residents living within a 10-minute walk, the park remains underused due to the absence of pathways and welcoming amenities. TPL is teaming up with L.L.Bean and the Oberweiler Foundation to add accessible walkways and enhanced park entrances that create a safer, more engaging environment for residents of all ages and abilities. These upgrades, set to begin

We are a small, suburban park district with a limited budget and staff capacity. Working with TPL has brought much-needed resources to our community. The deep expertise and generosity of TPL staff have accelerated our planning and enhanced park projects more than we ever imagined.” — Mari Barnes, Riverdale Park District Grant Manager this fall, will expand opportunities for physical activity, strengthen community connections, and contribute to a healthier environment. Strengthened by local partnerships, TPL brings decades of experience in expanding outdoor access. This summer, we collaborated with Major Taylor Trail Keepers, Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT), and Chicago’s 21st Ward Alderman Mosley to bring CDOT SAFE Ambassadors’ free Learn to Ride bike-riding classes to the Major Taylor Trail. TPL helped identify new class sites on Chicago’s Far South Side, offering under-resourced communities access to the trail. CDOT’s Learn To Ride classes are offered to adults and children in English and Spanish and educate Chicagoans on bicycle safety and active transportation, removing barriers to access and encouraging more people to get outside and experience the city through a new lens.

Alderman Ronnie Mosley, Nnenna Okore, Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, and Caroline O’Boyle cut the ribbon to celebrate the completion of Holding Space. PHOTO BY NATE PIRTLE

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TRUST FOR PUBLIC L AND IN ILLINOIS

In partnership with Major Taylor Trail Keepers and Chicago Park District, we celebrated the installation of Nnenna Okore’s Holding Space, a canopy-like steel art structure designed to create a vibrant gathering place along the trail. June’s ribbon cutting event featured artwork created by children ages 6 to 13 in workshops that TPL hosted in nearby parks. The event also celebrated the completion of a half-mile natural area restoration that now features native plants to support pollinators and mitigate effects of flooding.

We are also partnering with OPEN Center for the Arts to build El Jardín de Agua in Little Village. This rain garden, located in front of Saucedo STEAM Magnet Academy, will address chronic flooding and a need for shared community space. Known as the “Mexico of the Midwest,” Little Village is a frontline environmental justice and immigrant community that has the lowest green space per capita in the City of Chicago.

Once complete, Saucedo STEAM Magnet Academy students and 15,685 residents within a 10-minute walk will gain access to an inviting green space with seating areas and native plants. El Jardín de Agua sits along Chicago’s historic boulevard system. It is part of a larger community vision called Nuestra Plaza that empowers neighbors to reimagine the boulevards in Little Village as multifunctional green spaces reflective of the community’s identity and public space needs.

Honoring our Shared History: Protecting Land with a Legacy Your philanthropy ensures public lands, parks, trails, and schoolyards reflect the full breadth of our nation’s stories and the people who shaped them. These places are living reminders of where history unfolded—where cultures and people met, clashed, blended, and existed beside one another to become America. When we preserve and celebrate these places, we not only keep our history alive, but we also become more unified by seeing a little bit of ourselves in each other.

The National Park Service told us ‘we’re in the forever business’… It is important for all of us to protect the history of freedom, particularly now.” — Abdul Alkalimat / Gerald McWorter, great-great-grandson of Frank McWorter, speaking at On the Ground event

From the Great Migration to the historical figures who championed the civil rights movement, Illinois has been shaped by Black Americans. By sharing their stories and thoughtfully preserving historic sites and green spaces, we carry forward the powerful and enduring legacy Black Americans have had on our great state. In western Illinois, New Philadelphia is the first known town in the United States planned and legally registered by an African American. Its founder, Frank McWorter, was born into slavery and, through his initiative and determination, purchased his family’s freedom and established a town that grew into an integrated community and a stop along the Underground Railroad. Today, it is recognized as a National Historic Site and a unit of the National Park Service (NPS). – continued on page 4.

Abdul Alkalimat / Gerald McWorter, greatgreat-grandson of Frank McWorter, and Dr. Jocelyn Imani, TPL Senior Director of Black History & Culture at On the Ground. PHOTO BY NATE PIRTLE

TRUST FOR PUBLIC L AND IN ILLINOIS

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TPL is partnering with NPS and the New Philadelphia Association (NPA) to preserve this powerful story of freedom, resilience, and community building by exploring options to protect additional land where these stories unfolded to expand the National Historic Site. We are also working in collaboration with NPA to bring this story to more Illinoisans. This spring, we kicked off our 2026 On the Ground series to spotlight the extraordinary legacy of New Philadelphia and the importance of preserving this land for generations to come. This project was part of TPL’s Illinois Black History and Culture Program, which is dedicated to creating and protecting public lands that honor and strengthen Black history and culture across the state.

Growing the Movement. Our efforts to preserve historically significant public land are growing into Indiana! In the heart of Indiana, Southside US Colored Troop Coalition veterans and newly emancipated African Americans established six neighborhoods in the 1860s that became home to iconic spaces like Indianapolis’s Black Wall Street and New Crown Cemetery. Now, through a partnership with Southside US Colored Troop Coalition descendants, we are combining local expertise with TPL’s spatial analysis and mapping tools to identify and protect open spaces that safeguard this important legacy.

THANK YOU for helping create parks, protect special places, and connect more people to the outdoors in Illinois and beyond.

55 West Monroe Street Suite 3360 Chicago, IL 60603

Join us Your gift ensures everyone has access to the outdoors. Every park we create, schoolyard we transform, trail we extend, and landscape we protect is thanks to supporters like you. tpl.org/donate

Caroline O’Boyle Associate Vice President, Illinois caroline.oboyle@tpl.org 312.564.8169 Lacee O’Brien Director of Philanthropy, Illinois lacee.obrien@tpl.org 312.750.9822