CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- You’ll find it tougher to be able to get into some of the more popular Cook County Forest Preserve locations on weekends starting Saturday.
Parking lots will be closed on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays at six of the most popular Cook County Forest Preserve sites.
"These particular sites can no longer remain open on weekends because people are not observing social distancing and we don’t want the preserves to be a contributor to the spread of the pandemic," County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said.
Forest Preserve General Supt. Arnold Randall said he's now asking forest preserve police to ticket people who are standing too close together, who are gathering in groups, or violating other coronavirus-prevention rules.
"I’m now asking Forest Preserve District police to issue citations to individuals who are showing a willful disregard for public health and safety rules for such issues as, social distancing, large gatherings, using restrooms that are marked clearly 'closed,'" Randall said.
The newest sites where parking lots are closed on weekends: Busse Woods in Elk Grove Village, Maple Lake and Saganashkee Slough in the Palos Forest Preserves, Catherine Chevalier Woods near O'Hare, LaBagh Woods on the city's North Side, and the Bunker Hill Forest Preserve in Niles.
County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said that if people continue to ignore social distancing rules in the woods, officials may shut down some trails, as well.
"We cannot and will not allow sites in forest preserves to contribute to the spread of COVID-19," she said
Preckwinkle said Cook County is blessed to have open land and access to the natural world that the forest preserves provide and that the preserves "provide great benefits for physical and mental well-being."