I cannot recall much being written about this in our local papers. And from the article you posted, it seems like most of the attention towards this issue is coming from the Chicago area.

Sorry, I can't be of much more help, but it's not receiving a lot of ink in the central part of Illinois.

You also asked about the Illinois River - well, the first three letters of it tell you about all you need to know about the Ill-inois River.

On its best days it is a dark greenish color, but most times it is of a shit brown color. It's quite sad really. Though, near where I am at, there is a huge area the state is returning to a natural marsh area from farm land and a lot of people are very exited about its future. You would drive down in the river valley and see nothing but farm land and that now is being flooded and returned to its former natural state.

Mostly though, scenic wise, Illinois is a boring state - especially through its bread basket.