Springfield Approves Legislation Allowing Hunters to Pick Up Roadkill
By Chuck Sudo in News on Nov 17, 2011 10:45PM
Here's one bill that made it through the veto session in Springfield. Macomb Republican State Rep. Noreen Hammond sponsored legislation that will give Illinois residents with valid hunting licenses the right to remove roadkill from roads.
I know, right?
Hammond said she caught some good-natured ribbing about the nature of the legislation, but she believes it could eventually be a good thing. Allowing hunters to remove the dead animals can be seen as a cost-saving measure by the state. Hammond also believes hunters may then be able to skin the furs off the roadkill and sell them. If you're in the market for a coonskin cap, get a hunting license, instead.
Hammond believes Illinois residents will utilize common sense if Gov. Pat Quinn signs the legislation into law.
“I didn’t see a lot of raccoons on Lake Shore Drive. However, we do have a lot of that type of animal in the rural areas, so we have confidence in the citizens of the State of Illinois that they are going to use good common sense,” Hammond said.
There may not be any raccoons on Lake Shore Drive, but here at Chicagoist headquarters a family of raccoons have built a nest in a tree. And there's one chef who's been known to cook a raccoon now and then.