70 ILCS 805/5
Any forest preserve district organized under this Act shall have the power to create forest preserves, and for that purpose shall have the power to acquire in the manner hereinafter provided, and hold lands containing one or more natural forests or parts thereof or land or lands connecting such forests or parts thereof, or lands capable of being forested, or capable of being restored to a natural condition, for the purpose of protecting and preserving the flora, fauna, and scenic beauties within such district, and to restore, restock, protect and preserve the natural forests and such lands together with their flora and fauna, as nearly as may be, in their natural state and condition, for the purpose of the education, pleasure, and recreation of the public. Lands may be acquired for the consolidation of such preserves into unit areas of size and form convenient and desirable for public use and economical maintenance and improvement and when in the judgment of the Board the public access, use, and enjoyment of such preserves and other purposes of this Act will be served by connecting any such preserves with forested ways or links, lands for connecting links of such width, length, and location as the Board deem necessary or desirable may be acquired and held for such purposes and improved by forestation, public roads, roads, and pathways. Any such district may enter into contracts with any local governmental entities for such district to pay any or all costs of improving and maintaining any public roadway lying outside the district property but providing public access to the lands and facilities of the district. Any such district may also acquire lands along or enclosing water courses, drainage ways, lakes, ponds, planned impoundments or elsewhere which, in the judgment of its Board are required to store flood waters, or control other drainage and water conditions, or in any district in a county with a population of over 300,000 and less than 3,000,000, to recycle secondary treated sewage effluents or wastewater through the production and sale of agricultural, silvicultural or aquacultural products, necessary for the preservation and management of the water resources of the district, provided no debris, tree, tree limbs, logs, shrubbery, or related growths and trimmings therefrom shall be deposited in, along, or upon the bank of any waters and water courses within the State of Illinois or any tributary thereto where the same shall be liable to be washed into or deposited along waters and water courses, either by normal or flood flows, as a result of storms or otherwise, which may in any manner impede or obstruct the natural flow of such waters and water courses. Unforested lands adjacent to forest preserves may also be acquired to provide for extension of roads and forested ways around and by such preserves and for parking space for automobiles and other facilities not requiring forested areas but incidental to the use and protection thereof. All work done in or along any water course shall be done in accordance with the provisions of "An Act in relation to the regulation of the rivers, lakes, and streams of the State of Illinois," approved June 10, 1911, as heretofore and hereafter amended, insofar as such Act may be applicable.
For the purposes of this Section, "acquiring land" includes acquiring a fee simple, lease or easement in land.
70 ILCS 805/5