Rep. Severin: Progress Being Made at Rend Lake Resort

BENTON, IL - State Representative Dave Severin (R-Benton) joined officials from the state of Illinois and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources for a tour of Rend Lake Resort on Monday. Rep. Severin says he is pleased with the progress being made to renovate and eventually reopen the resort.

"Crews are hard at work on renovations at Rend Lake Resort, and I am encouraged by the actions being taken by IDNR and the contractors working at the facility," Severin said. "I set a goal of getting Rend Lake Resort back open to the public, and we are making progress toward that goal every day."

Severin says construction crews are cleaning up the grounds and completing a wide variety of construction and renovation projects, including new walls, new flooring, new roofing, new HVAC systems, a new kitchen in the Great Room area, and a new laundry room. Conference rooms are being completely redone. Old rotted wooden decks are also being replaced with composite non-slip decking.

"This is an impressive renovation. Quite simply, IDNR is doing this right, and the people of Southern Illinois will eventually have access to a world-class facility where they can gather for special events and make memories that last a lifetime," Severin said.

Staff from IDNR and the Illinois Capital Development Board were on hand to provide Rep. Severin with tour of the project and the progress being made.

Severin says that IDNR plans to be finished with renovations in spring of 2026 and seek a Request for Proposal from a potential vendor with the goal of reopening the entire Resort and Conference Center in 2027.