Finally found them today. Took my son out for the first time. He was the one who found them first, something to be said about beginners luck.We went to our local forest preserve, I honestly didn't think we would find any. Delighted that we did. Found about 20-30 of various sizes. Going out again on Weds, and hoping for more luck.

Kane County Illinois ????

Yes - Illinois. sorry for the mistake. I realized it after I posted.

Found none yesterday and 15 today in Cook County, hoping the weekend is better , weather looks like it should be perfect, just hope its not over, my gut tells me it is going to be a good weekend.

HI great to here of your luck! Just a few words to be careful in the forest preserves in Kane county. I here that the forest rangers are starting to prosecute mushroom pickers here. No first hand accounts only friend of a friend type information, but I know all the forest preserves do have the no taking anything from the park rules and it does list fruit, berries, fungus, etc.... So if some one asks whats in the bag? I usually say my lunch and yes I have been stopped and asked, by different rangers. I only got asked once this year and was lucky enough to had picked up some litter,(it just happened that the litter was by a huge dying elm, right along the park road), the ranger pulled up right next to me and asked what i was doing and i just told him "picking up some trash", and asked him if i needed to move my car off to the side more or something? He said no, but that he would check back in with me. I left and went to another park. I only had picked one mushroom from that spot and i know that there were more. Well any way..... does anyone else feel like they are too strict in the preserves, like they are trying to preserve the oak trees and no other vegetation seems to mater? They kill most other types of trees by ringing them, then cut them down and burn them, all for saving the oaks which are dying anyway and possibly faster now that there is no wind barrier between the oaks. Oh i guess i have gone off on a tangent, Sorry, it doesn't seem right that they go in and kill off all these trees and bushes,and then tell us we cant pick a mushroom? Nope it doesn't seem right, and when the oaks all die what trees are going to be left? They have done this in parts of silver springs state park. also at a park in sugar grove Il off Merrill rd I don't know the name of that one, possibly Blackberry Forest preserve, they are called forest preserves not oak tree preserves... I know i have seen this in DuPage county Il also and I don't agree with there practices. Ok anyone else disagree with the department of forestry?
Ok sorry for the tangent its been bottled up for too long i guess.
Happy hunting!
mushroompickerIL.

I have been hunting morels in Kane County for many years in the forest preserves and have never been stopped by anyone, in fact the officer who takes care of the one by my house has, on several occasions, asked me if I found any. I have never heard of anything like that in Kane County. Went out Sunday and found 40 huge fresh yellows.

I called the Cook County Forest Preserve District and to my surprise was told mushroom picking was not allowed ! and further more if caught the fine could be 500 dollars, my friends have been arguing this point for a while now, so I'll pass this info on to them. One Forest Preserve Cop told one of them that you could take mushrooms, who to believe ? I'll stick to the private lands out west of Crooked County.