SPRINGFIELD — Correcting an injustice dating back over 170 years, State Senator Mark Walker’s legislation returning state-owned lands to the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation was signed into law Friday, March 21.

“This landmark legislation puts Illinois on the right side of history — fostering a partnership with Indigenous communities and returning what was wrongfully acquired,” said Walker (D-Arlington Heights). “I have worked with the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation on this bill since 2018, and today we celebrate this achievement together.”

Senate Bill 867 authorizes the state to transfer approximately 1,500 acres of land within Shabbona Lake State Park in DeKalb County to the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources will enter into a land-management agreement with the Prairie Band to maintain the park and keep it open to the public.

In 1829, the federal government gave the Potawatomi much of the land of what is now Shabbona Lake. However, the land was illegally sold in 1849. Illinois later purchased the land with federal grant funds in the 1970s to establish the state park. The Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, which is headquartered in Kansas, has spent over 50 years trying to reestablish roots on the Illinois land they once owned.

In April 2024, the U.S. Department of the Interior placed portions of the Prairie Band’s northern Illinois reservation — located northeast of Shabbona Lake State Park — into a public trust, marking the first federally recognized tribal nation in Illinois.

“The federal government has acknowledged wrongdoing in the sale of this land. With the support of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources and members of the Prairie Band, this transfer is not only a common-sense solution, it’s the right thing to do,” said Walker. “I am proud to call Illinois home and even prouder today to welcome the Prairie Band back to their ancestral lands.”

Senate Bill 867 takes effect immediately.