Closed Campground Scheduled To Re-Open May 1

by Britten Follett - WTVO

Lifetime members of Willow Creek, a campground resort south of Rockford, say the resort has been closed for a few years. But they're still being charged dues.

Members tell us they paid about $5,000 to join nearly 20 years ago and have been paying yearly dues ever since. Well, hundreds of members have had enough and they're looking for more information about how to get out of the 99-year lease they signed.

One woman is spearheading the fight, trying to reach all of the estimated 1,000 members. And she says, claims that the campground will re-open this weekend don't match her facts.

Call Willow Creek resort in Rockford, and you will hear, "Thank you for calling Willow Creek. We are closed for the season and proud to announce we will be opening May 1 under new ownership. We are upgrading the resort over winter and it will be done by grand opening."

Sounds good right? Well, member Murna Lindsey isn't convinced.

" They claim they're going to open May 1, so that's why I've been making calls to see what's really going on down there and if they don't have a license, sure they can open the gate but they can't legally accept campers," Lindsey says.

Lindsey is leading the fight to get out of their life-long leases. Recently she filed a Freedom of Information Request and got a pile of documents from the Illinois Department of Public Health.

These reports say based on the most recent health inspection in 2001, the facility is not eligible to receive a regular license. Health inspectors gave the owner one month to make several improvements. Reports show not all of them were made.

A letter in 2002 later states the campground license expired. Now, nearly two years later Lindsey's request produced no documents that would indicate a more recent inspection or a new license.

" They're not licensed as of last Tuesday. There was no application, no request for inspection and that was from the inspector himself," adds Lindsey.

WTVO stopped by Willow Creek and found maintenance workers who said, the campground is scheduled to open Saturday. But Lindsey says if she sees any campers on May 1, she plans to notify the Health Department. Because as far as she knows, the campground is closed.

WTVO made numerous attempts to contact Willow Creek Resort, but no one has returned the phone calls.