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Illinois DNR director’s priorities: staffing, funding

Illinois DNR Director Natalie Phelps Finnie at the ATA Grand American this month. (Photo by Gretchen Steele)

The feeling during DNR Director Natalie Phelps Finnie’s recent visit to the ATA Grand could be summed up in two words: Enthusiastic and hopeful. 
Since taking on the role in January, Phelps Finnie has proven that she not only talks the talk but walks the walk. During an interview about her plans for the agency, the southern Illinois native spoke humbly of hoping to inspire those working at DNR. She explained that various divisions inside the agency had become “siloed” and that one of her first moves was to open communication lines between the respective divisions, directors, and division chiefs.

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