Kevin,

The permit system in Illinois has been around, to my knowledge, since they restocked deer and startting allowing folks to hunt them back in the 1950s or 1960s. And you would think that the DNR would make some effort to develop more public access hunting ground, but it aint gonna happen unless people organize and push for it. Beyond that, if you want guaranteed access to hunting ground in the future, you better beg, borrow, or steal the money to buy your own ground. It is still affordable in some places if you keep your eyes open.