Most of Illinois is in a drought, and the state is unprepared. Last week, the U.S. Drought Monitor showed parts of 19 Central Illinois counties are suffering from “extreme drought.” That means we’re looking at “major crop/pasture losses, extreme fire danger, widespread water shortages

Illinois is dangerously dry. Decades of policy negligence have left the state unprepared, and the crisis is only beginning.

Last week, the U.S. Drought Monitor showed parts of 19 Central Illinois counties are suffering from “extreme drought.” That means we’re looking at “major crop/pasture losses, extreme fire danger, widespread water shortages or restrictions,” according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. All of Champaign County, where I live, is in an extreme drought.

Statewide, 80.88% of Illinois is under some level of drought and another 15% is “abnormally dry.” Over 90% of Lake, Kane and McHenry counties are currently “abnormally dry,” and portions of Cook, Will and DuPage counties are as well, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, which is produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, NOAA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.