A person who started a fishing tournament south of Peoria is an Illinois Conservation Foundation Hall of Fame winner. Betty DeFord was involved with the Redneck Fishing Tournament when it started in 2006. She says the invasive silver and bighead carp took over the Illinois River and were making it dangerous to be on the river. The community came up with a tournament to catch them.
Audio PlayerOther Illinois Conservation Foundation Hall of Fame winners this year are Brian Drendel of Batavia for promoting competitive bass fishing and John Burke Jr. of Bartelso for hunting safety work.